I’d like to meet whoever decided that we should manage our events in our calendars and keep track of our tasks in a separate list.
Most paper planners list the hours of the day for events (e.g., meetings, scheduled calls, appointments)… and then have a separate section where you’re supposed to list out your tasks.
As if those tasks don’t require hours of your day.
When many of us went digital, we kept this basic structure: events go in the calendar; to-do’s on a to-do list or in a to-do list-type app.
But here’s why this drives me bonkers:
When you use that structure, you very easily fill up your day with events. But when exactly are you supposed to get to those tasks on that separate list when your day is full of meetings?
Because the structure didn’t have you protect time to do the tasks, you didn’t – and now you have no time to knock those to-do’s out of the park.
In fact, this structure didn’t even help you think through how much time each of those to-do’s will take.
One thing could take 15 minutes – while another 2 hours – and another 45 minutes. That’s three hours of your day, but you didn’t protect time for them, making your plan for the day objectively unrealistic.
Enter feelings of overwhelm and beating yourself up for not magically getting to them.
I get weirdly fired up about this because I meet so many women who’ve used systems like this and, as a result, feel inadequate and stretched too thin. I used to be one of them, too.
If that’s you, please know it’s not your fault that you feel that way.
But it is time to switch it up.
Switch it up for a system that actually helps you protect time for your to-do’s so that you can ditch that sense of overwhelm and feel more confident and in control of your time and life.
So, to whoever invented that traditional structure up there – we need a word.
To everyone else, if you’re using a system like that – it’s time to switch it up.
Join me to learn how. My next program kicks off in January and you can learn all about it here.
