This Is Why Our Calendar Is The New Hell.
This is the ultimate question. Do you love what you do?
We better love what we do if we have a stacked calendar. Otherwise, hell awaits. I know that feeling too well. I have gone through days where I get into the office, opening up the Microsoft Outlook application, only to see back-to-back-to-back meetings from start to end.
It is a dream come true for those diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyper Disorder (ADHD), and it is a nightmare for the introverts.
My mind swings in between those lines, so there are days where I rejoice because I was in the mood to kick ass. Then there are those where I was frantically searching for white spaces in between to insert a private appointment for a toilet staycation before it gets snapped by others.
As the pace of work accelerates, the need for communication and alignment increases. There seem to be endless meetings. Or meetings to discuss what we have to discuss before the big meetings.
I remember staring at my calendar one afternoon while sipping my coffee. It was a marvel. The calendar was working for me as others are inserting in appointments while my Executive Assistant was playing a game of worktime defense.
I sat and started wondering what if.
What if I didn’t like what I do?
For one, I will be crushed by my calendar even before starting work for that day. When we have at least 6 appointments and each of them potentially an hour-long, every day could be a drag. We got to love what we do. Otherwise, the grind will catch up with our extrinsic motivation.
In this aspect, indeed, Money doesn’t prevent or cure prolonged burnouts.
Looking within ourselves is more important than ever before.
I used to have one calendar in the past. Now, there are multiple. Every company has a separate calendar, and the Calendly application is now exposed to external parties for ease of booking.
I remember tasking my Executive Assistant to integrate all calendars. It was a nightmare for her, and she was rightfully upset then. I recall her saying that she used to run an orchestra. Now she has to manage orchestras in synchronicity.
It was well said.
The integrated calendar was a marvel. It showed me that I had no breaks for hours at end. What it does was to visualize what the reality is. It has, by no means, altered what reality is.
Seeing is believing.
Visuals can be insightful because it prompts action. My life flashed before me as I saw my life energy slowly sapped away by what I saw. I acted immediately that morning.
I canceled many meetings because there is no need for my involvement. I reviewed those that were pending my acceptance, ran through the agenda points, and accepted only when my inputs are required as part of decision making.
I also inserted daily no-contact time within my calendar. This ensures that I have my thinking time built into the workday. I added daily coffee breaks as private appointments to ensure that I get my daily caffeine shots.
Spacing things out matters when we have a stacked calendar. Fill it with things we love doing. Empty those that suck our time.
The calendar is just another working tool. Their purpose is to support us in terms of managing our time. We have to learn to manage them.
If we don’t — Things can get ugly.
We probably wouldn’t want our calendar to manage us because we might just not like our calendar’s idea of time utility.
Take control before it controls. We don’t have to get to the New Hell. That is if we know that we are on our way there and we can do a turn.
Have You Reviewed Your Calendar?
Aldric
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