Rescue Your Time with the Ideal Week

Its Monday and your calendar is booked back-to-back with meetings - most of which you did not schedule. You feel frustrated, annoyed, and helpless because our real work will never get done. Looks like the rest of the universe is running your schedule again.

If this sounds familiar, let me introduce you to the Ideal Week.

The Ideal Week is the method to rescue your calendar for your highest leverage tasks. Its the calendar management strategy to own your time.

Follow these steps to make your Ideal Week week a reality:

1. Start with a new calendar. Create a private calendar to work with - don't use your primary calendar. This is your Ideal Week template.
2. Schedule prime time for your high-priority work. Is your prime time within the first hour? Right before lunch? Mid-afternoon? Schedule these work blocks on your template.
3. Schedule your start-up and shut-down routines. Create space to start and end your work day effectively.
4. Schedule your breaks. Lunch is important. Schedule it.
5. Schedule re-occurring meetings you need to attend. Weekly staff meetings, daily stand-ups, etc.
6. Schedule meetings you create and own. Identify which of these meetings you want to move. Schedule similar meetings close together if needed to increase prime time.
7. Review what time is left. Decide what you will leave open for others to schedule on your calendar.
8. Turn your template into reality. Work to align your primary calendar with your template. Start to block out prime time.

You won't make your Ideal Week the reality overnight. It took me several months to align with my Ideal Week. With them aligned, I feel very much in control of my time.

Don't leave it to others to decide when your important work gets done.

Turn your Ideal Week into reality and rescue your time.