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Stephenotes - Calendars and Appointments
June 26th, 2008 by StephenPosted in GTD, How To -, Productivity |
Welcome back! It's good to see you again. Please note that I am now publishing all new material at my hub site: StephenPSmith.com
David Allen calls the calendar your “hard landscape”. There is a reason for that, primarily because your calendar is the foundation of your productivity practice. The raw data you put into your calendar determines the information that comes out. This is the “landscape” that you are going to traverse on any given day.
What goes in your Calendar
Three types of raw data go into your calendar:
- Time-specific actions - This is jargon-speak for meetings and appointments, some will be with other people and some will be for yourself. Make a habit of scheduling your Most Important Tasks for the day.
- Day-specific actions - Less-structured than a meeting or appointment, this type of entry is for an action that needs to get done on a particular day, but any time is fine. I suggest that you use this category carefully, as your calendar should not become a to-do list. Your 3-5 Most Important Tasks will often fall in this category.
- Day-specific information - This category of entry is for data like telephone numbers, directions, or specific information about a person you are meeting or the agenda for that meeting. If this category gets too bulky/takes up too much space, consider just writing a note in the calendar as to exactly where you can find that information.
Your Calendar is a Tool,
…not your taskmaster. Work toward the habit of limiting your calendar entries. To paraphrase Albert Einstein, keep the entry as simple as possible, (but not too simple) for you to be able to make the most of the information. A cluttered or messy calendar leads to a day of frustration!
Remember: the appointments that you make with yourself for your most important tasks are just as binding as appointments that you make with other people.
If you aren’t able to trust yourself to show up, how can you trust your system?
Where is your to-do list
I’d love to know what kind of information you are getting from your calendar, or what kind of assistance you are not getting.
(Click the links below to learn more about the specific questions)
- Does your to-do list migrate into your calendar?
- Do you use a pencil for your entries, so you do not have to cross things out when there are changes?
- Is your calendar format the right one to maximize your way of working?
Leave a comment, perhaps we can work together on a solution.
If you found this post useful, please share it with your friends on Twitter using the tinylink http://tinyurl.com/6lk4cb. Thanks, I appreciate it! Feel free to comment below, I enjoy discussing these ideas. ~@Stephen
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June 26th, 2008 at 5:36 pm
When I introduced my organiser about a year and a half ago I started using a pencil to mark in my appointments and I found this really helpful, particularly because I didn’t like to see a messy page where I’d crossed out items in my calendar.
But,now that I have a Blackberry I use that for my calendar and don’t keep a paper version.
June 27th, 2008 at 6:10 pm
I use Outlook and a BlackBerry for my calendar and work hard to have only the three types of data you describe in it. The one area I need to improve is with day specific tasks as I find that I’m sometimes using it for things I want to get done rather than what I need to get done. This undermines the system as I’m not fully committed (perhaps just fully hopeful!) to getting the task done. And of course I feel bad when I have to move it to the next day :( …..
The big, big change for me is the recognition that lots of yellow in my calendar (ie. free time) is not a bad thing that means I’m unproductive. In fact it’s quite the opposite - I need that uncommitted time to get stuff done off my next action lists. I’ve also had to educate those around me that this is how I work. Just because there’s not an appt in my calendar doesn’t mean I’m available or not busy.
Cheers
Simon
June 30th, 2008 at 4:23 pm
The idea that something as simple as a cluttered calendar can decrease one’s productivity is quite interesting. From the description given, my own calendar could use some work!
June 30th, 2008 at 4:33 pm
Hi Anna, thanks for coming by. Good luck with your calendar, and please let me know if I can assist you with it.