When Your Own Calendar Beats You
Even time management experts slip. These are my five non-negotiables for getting back on track.
This week, I lived in reactive mode.
Meeting after meeting filled my days while my most important work sat untouched. By Thursday evening, staring at an inbox that had grown completely out of control, I realized I'd become the exact professional I help others avoid becoming.
The irony wasn't lost on me.
Here's the thing about losing control of your time at this stage of life—it happens gradually, then suddenly. One "quick call" becomes three. One urgent request turns into an afternoon of firefighting. Before you know it, you're managing your calendar instead of your calendar serving your priorities.
So I'm hitting reset.
The Five Non-Negotiables Starting Monday
1. Sacred Hours Return 6-8 AM is now blocked for strategic thinking. There are no exceptions, and there are no negotiations. This isn't "nice to have" time; it's where the important work that actually moves the needle happens.
2. The Low-Value Purge Every recurring meeting gets one question: Does this align with the life I'm building? If it doesn't serve my core priorities, it's gone. Too many of us are drowning in other people's urgency while our own goals collect dust.
For those low-value meetings in our organization that others may think I need to be at, I am challenging them as to why and doing so before the meeting.
3. Energy Before Availability My most demanding work now happens when I'm sharpest, not when others are free. I'm also defaulting to 25-minute meetings—those extra five minutes between calls prevent the day from becoming one endless blur.
4. Inbox Boundaries Email will be checked at three set times daily. Real tasks go into my project management system, not my inbox. Your email shouldn't dictate your day's agenda.
5. Reset Over Grind That long weekend I've been "too busy" to take? Going to go ahead and get it on the calendar. Stepping away creates clarity, not chaos—something I clearly needed to remember.
The Deeper Truth
Your calendar reflects your values, whether you realize it or not. When you consistently say yes to low-value requests and no to your own priorities, you're making a statement about what matters to you.
At this stage of life, busy isn't impressive anymore. Purposeful is.
The goal isn't to fill every hour—it's to make sure the hours you fill are serving the life you actually want to live.
What's your go-to strategy for protecting your time? I'd love to hear what's working (or not working) for you in the comments.