How Effective Calendaring Speaks Volumes About Your Priorities

“Show me your calendar and I’ll show you what you value.” Joel C. Peterson, Professor at Stanford Business School, said these words over 20 years ago, but they still hold true today. Your calendar and your checkbook, those two pieces of data quickly tell us about your priorities.  Learning to realign the priorities to point you to where you want to go is the secret sauce.

In my experience, many business owners find themselves stuck between the work that they love (strategizing for growth, defining culture, and creating the vision for others to follow), with the “DOING” of all the day to day work, and the life that they love (family, free time, travel, supporting what they’re passionate about). They especially try to find a balance between work and life – but far too often, they find themselves sucked into working on the things that don’t align with their goals or values.

Now don’t get me wrong: there are times you’ll need to work in various parts of your business. I’m in one of those times now. It’s part of developing a strong team and equipping them with the systems and skills they’ll need to do the job without you down the line.

However, these times should be temporary. Far too often, business owners and key leaders in your company stay in the “doing” phase for too long – and in the process, they not only lose sight of their priorities, but they miss chances to let their team members excel.

But how do you keep track of that timeline, and how do you keep your schedule aligned with what is truly important to you?

Good question. The answer is one you might not expect, but it’s a powerful tool: your calendar.

Taking the Time to Calendar

This process starts with taking some dedicated time to build a calendar that works for you. All too often, our calendars become a catch-all for what’s coming up and we lose sight of how we actually want to spend our time.

This results in our time not being our own. We end up having our lives ruled by our calendar rather than using our calendars as an effective tool.

I strongly recommend taking time away to develop your calendar before the year really begins. This can be a weekend retreat or some longer meetings with your EA – whatever works best for you. I’ve done both, and I find this time incredibly productive!

When you build your calendar, consider both your professional and personal goals – and then block in the activities that will get you closer to those goals. This will allow you to intentionally prioritize what is truly important to you throughout the year so that as everything else pops up, it can be handled accordingly!

I won’t lie, this takes work. It means identifying your goals and then recognizing what will be needed to get you there, and then layering time on the calendar to do those things.  This is why working with coaches or a small group that helps you identify the milestones can help you make quantum leaps forward to getting your calendar dialed in with the priorities that matter.  

Work with the Methods that Work Best for You

If you scroll through social media anytime during December and January, you’ll see posts and ads for planners and planning apps. They’ll all tell you the same thing: this is the magical method that will work for you!

Be wary of these posts – they’re obviously out to sell you something, but they’re also based on a faulty premise. There is no one “perfect” way to calendar that will fit everyone.

Some people, like me, are visual. They like to start with an actual calendar and layer everything in. (My team can attest to this – it’s a component of all of our planning meetings!) Other people like to list out all of their to-do tasks, identify the timeline and structure, and then layer them into their calendar.

Block calendars are also something I love and highly recommend, but they work a bit differently for everyone. Your calendar won’t look like mine, and that’s fine – our goals, interests, and stage of growth may be totally different!

I’ll share a secret: there is no one “perfect” way to calendar. Using a structure, method, or app that doesn’t fit your needs won’t work, even if it has a big price tag or big name attached to it.

What is key is to look at what other successful business owners do and find the method that works for you and be intentional about using it. Often, when you see a method being used really well by a person you know that has an organized life, you may want to emulate that technique.  But ultimately, Build a calendar that you’ll use! 

Be Consistent with Your Calendar

At the beginning of this post, I shared a quote: “Show me your calendar and I’ll show you what you value.” This doesn’t just apply to the event on your calendar; it also applies to how consistent and intentional you are when it comes to using your calendar.

As a busy business owner, you have so much on your plate. Your business, your team, your family and friends, your hobbies, and the things you want to do (like travel or support a cause you’re passionate about) all demand and deserve your time.

The only way you can prioritize and keep up with them is to use your calendar effectively.

When you take the time to build a calendar that works for you – and commit to using it throughout the year – you’ll be able to build the life you want to live. It’s not the easiest skill to learn, but it is one that will serve you well!