All I See Are Green Lights
There are two digital tools in my life that without I'm not sure how I would function. The plain text document (to be discussed in another post) and the calendar.
My relationship with the calendar has changed greatly over the years. This post is going to be about how I use the calendar now to not only be productive and organized, but to make sure I'm prioritizing the life I want.
But first, a little history...
I was pretty slow to using a digital calendar. Or just a calendar in general. When I was younger my schedule was pretty set week to week. I was a student and an athlete. My schedule was made for me. I knew the days I had class, the days I had practice, and when games were. There was the occasional break thrown in, but my week to week was basically all the same. No calendar needed.
I left school and got my first job and my first introduction to the "calendar invite." A trend that has exploded since 2019 and remote working/learning. But back when I entered the work world, it was still a novelty to me. So this required me to keep a work calendar. For the very least to be able to accept these invites.
This work calendar lived on my work computer, and didn't travel everywhere with me on my phone. Simpler times...
As technology progressed and smartphones became better and better, I started keeping my work calendar on my phone. And since I was already keeping a work calendar on there, I guess I'll keep a personal calendar too. That's what an adult would do. I added everything to the calendar. Most likely just so it felt like I was using a calendar.
This was all around 2009 - 2011 and in the tech industry. It was around this time that personal productivity from tech CEOs became a big thing. You would read about how these successful technology workers would manager their day, their business, and their life to be as productive as possible.
One trend that came out of that reading was the idea of an empty calendar. You want to have as little obligation as possible on your calendar to free your time to work on what you want. An empty calendar meant you were free to use your time as you wished. It was an interesting idea and one I tried to use.
Spoiler... this method did not work for me.
Fast forward to more responsibilities as work, having kids, and having a scheduled personal life. My calendar became filled with events. All color coordinated with alerts and repeating events. It looked like I was perfectly organized. Almost every moment accounted for.
But it wasn't meant to last. This over organization lead me to no flexibility in my schedule. Once one meeting ran long, or one event was rescheduled, my entire schedule was doomed. It was a whole project to reschedule and reorganize the calendar. Not a great use of time.
A few years ago, it was obvious that I needed a change. I wanted a better work/life balance. I wanted a productivity model that made me productive in things that actually mattered to me. My calendar should help me achieve my goals and not just keep me on time to things.
It started with colors. There are three primary colors on my calendar.
Red - These are non-negotiable work tasks. Meetings that I have scheduled or need to attend. Deadlines that are important to me.
Blue - My kid's schedule. School events, extracurriculars, doctor appointments, anything that I need to have my kids attend.
Green - My personal calendar. Things I have chosen to have on my calendar and prioritize in my life. Time and activities I want to do with my kids. If I want to build a meditation habit, it goes on this calendar. If I want to stop drinking so much coffee, I create an event to rmeind me to stop drinking coffee at noon each day. This isn't just event in my life, but things I want to have responsibility for in my life.
Now when I look at my calendar. These are the colors I am looking for. And I want to see more green and blue than anything else. This is scheduling the life I want.
There are many other colors on my calendar. You can't stop the calendar invites, and some I tentatively accept. But these other colors are secondary, and I when I need to make time, they are the first to go.
This is the system I have been using for the past 3ish years and it has been a great impact on my productivity. Not just with work, but with life. Make your calendar a reflection of the life you want, not just a thing that pulls on your time.
If you want to try this yourself, start with two colors (that's where I started). Red for work. Green for personal/family. Start organizing the events that are non-negotiable for you in these colors and see how less crowded your schedule becomes. How many events are you putting on your calendar that are someone else's priority?
I am very interested in how you organize your calendar? Do you even rely on a calendar? Leave your thought and comments in the discussion below.