The Life Calendar
Here is a snapshot of my life calendar for the week of Thanksgiving Monday.
I chose after Thanksgiving because that is the first week I don’t have anything other than my non-negotiables scheduled yet.
A few years ago one of my mentors taught me the value of a life calendar. As a young entrepreneur, he had always made his own schedule and in an effort to manage what were sometimes long and inconsistent hours, he blended his work and personal life into one Google calendar.
When I worked for him a few years ago I started doing the same and I haven’t looked back.
Here are my LIFE CALENDAR RULES:
1) Non-negotiables- My workout and exercise time are non-negotiables. So what that means is I can move them but I cannot REMOVE them. The banana-coloured BIG LIFTS, those are what I am referring to. 3x a week I strength train, and I have decided that is my minimum no matter what is happening or where I am.
Again I have the flexibility to move them but NEVER REMOVE them.
2) Important Priorities- For me, my brain never shuts off and my body tends to be tight so I prioritize a daily walk and a half hour of mobility exercise in the morning (Grey). I know this makes me FEEL AMAZING, so these are never REMOVED but sometimes I miss 1-2 a week. These are scheduled at my ideal time and are there for me to always consider this:
“If you skip this, what are you doing instead? You said this makes you feel good, has that changed? Was what you did instead worth it?”
For example, one time my sister and I chatted on the phone during my morning walk and the conversation was great so I kept chatting and skipped mobility.
WORTH IT.
Other times I have missed one or both of these priorities because I went to bed too late and woke up even later. I no longer had the time.
NOT WORTH IT.
The point is not for me to get angry at myself when I miss these, the point is to reflect on my priorities and remind myself where I am spending my time.
(NOTE: These do not have to be exercise they could be something like a coffee walk with my partner, or nightly reading, etc.)
3) Weekly Reflection- Each week I reflect on last week’s calendar and ask myself these questions.
What did this week look like overall, how did I feel, and what do I need to change or do better?
Again I can MOVE this time slot anywhere on my Sunday, but I NEVER REMOVE it.
Then I prioritize the upcoming week. By this time I find it is probably already full of things, but that is the point. I stay ahead, I know my non-negotiables are safe, I can re-strategize if I need to and I can even make more time for myself, my friends, or my family/ partner.
A full week looks like this.
I chose a week snapshot from a few months ago so you know I am not full of shit!
Look I even worked out a 4th time that week, what a coincidence! 😉
Don’t worry I know what you are saying:
“ Well Connor this is great for you and other entrepreneurs, but I have a demanding and unpredictable job.”
”Connor what a great thought, but I have kids, and you don’t”
”Neat calendar, nice colours Connor, but I don’t even have time to think about putting my life into a calendar, I’m barely keeping up.”
I can appreciate all of that, and we don’t have the same life or lifestyle necessarily.
But keep in mind I also work in the evenings with clients because they work during the day and this calendar only shows you until 6:00 pm. I also prioritize work and exercise 7 days a week, even on weekends as you can see, so no life schedule is perfect.
I made the choice to get off my BUT and make time.
We all make choices and choose how to spend our time. Removing things to make way for priorities is hard but is absolutely necessary. Again if you are unhappy, only you have the power to control what next week looks like.
I promise THIS IS A GAME CHANGER and like anything it will take some time. You will have to merge your work calendar, maybe your partner’s calendar with yours, but that is just a couple of clicks away.
Start the process by setting aside some reflection time this Sunday and use it to answer these questions:
What things are important to me?
How can I prioritize these things weekly?
What isn’t important to me and how do I remove it?
*Book 1 non-negotiable and 1 important feel good and go from there!
Thanks for reading!
Your habit & happiness coach,
Connor
PS. I absolutely book time with friends and send them calendar invites and you should too! They will go “Do you actually have a hard stop at 11:00 pm loser” and you get to honestly say yes I want to go home and go to bed.
It’s perfect.
