If it’s not in my Calendar, I Simply Won’t Do it

Cover Photo by Curtis MacNewton on Unsplash

A simple way to get myself to action

“The battle for happiness begins on the pages of our calendars.” — Bob Goff

I rarely procrastinate on my productive activities. But damn do I procrastinate doing the other stuff I should be doing but don’t feel like: calling my dermatologist to book an appointment, get a much-needed haircut, replying to some people, etc.

Last weekend, I realized that I had not yet booked that dermatologist appointment I really needed. Actually, I knew I didn’t it, it had been sitting on the corner of every table from places I’ve stayed at in the past month.

The simple way I finally made that call? I just added it to my calendar. There’s something about having a set time you have to do it. My brain doesn’t want to leave the task unchecked, however much I don’t really want to do it.

So if there’s something I know I don’t want to do, I add it to my calendar. At least 90% of the time, I’ll do it. Even if it’s something I don’t want to do.

Blocking Time for Admin Tasks

Sometimes, the task is so small that it doesn’t really make sense to block a period of time for it. Another thing I’ve been doing for at least a month now that has worked great is blocking time for administrative things I have to do.

From 1pm to 2pm is when I do any admin work. Answering messages, scheduling social media posts, doing some outreach, booking appointments, doing some planning, pay credit cards, etc. Most of the time, I’ll put the things I’ve been procrastinating during that time block too.

Once I reach the end of my admin work block (2pm), I stop and carry over the stuff I haven’t had time to do yet for the next day. The goal is to put a little more than you think you can do and challenge yourself to do them all. I personally find that extremely motivating.

Conclusion

I know what you’re thinking: it’s too simple and it won’t work. Ever since I switched to TeamWeek 4 months back, I started procrastinating less on things I really should be doing. When I put my tasks on there, I do them.

“Yesterday was not your defining moment. The calendar moved forward; why not you?” — Dr. Steve Maraboli

For those of you who have:

  • never tried it, give it a shot. Let us know in the comments how it’s working for you;

  • tried it and it didn’t work, please leave a comment explaining why it didn’t work; or

  • tried it and it worked, let us know your strategy in the comments.

You can do this!

Thanks for reading! :)