Keeping a Calendar

Take a Look at Your Day
Scheduling your time. Do you keep a calendar? Do you what exactly how your day is spent? Do you know where your time went?

It has long been said that sometimes you can bite off more than you can chew. That statement can prove to be so true.

There are times that I feel as though I have bitten off more that I can chew but then I look into my calendar, all three of them, my blackberry calendar, my desk calendar, and my online calendar, and realize, "no I didn't." That's when I realize how productive my day went and how much fun I had in my day without even feeling stressed; burned out; or overwhelmed.

You see, I plan my calendar on Sunday evenings for the week; I do leave 48 hours for wiggly room; meaning, things do come up. I have come to realize that the word No is indeed a complete sentence. There is nothing before; in between; or after the N and the O. It also means, there is no need for explanation; its self explanatory.

I learned from one of my many mentors that if something does not fit into your realm or schedule you have the right to say no and not feel guilty. You can simply say "thank you for considering me for the task but that does not benefit me or fit into my schedule." No harm no foul. Someone may not like it but if you are keeping a calendar and scheduling your time, then your time is valuable.

Keeping a calendar is very important if you are a busy person for several reasons:
1. You know what you are doing through out the day step by step.
2. Your time is valuable to you.
3. You're being accountable to yourself.
4. You're staying on tract to whatever goal(s) you are pursuing to obtain.
5. You can look back at the end of the day and see that you have accomplished everything (or most of the things) in your scheduled calendar and feel a sense of accomplishment.

The many hats that I wear these days area: mother, daughter, sister, aunt, grandmother, friend, neighbor, independent distributor, program coordinator, paralegal, blog talk radio show host, mentor, and just plain woman. I'm not any different than any other male or female out there. I'm not professing to be busier that anyone either. I know of some people that are much, much more busier that I am. I'm just saying use your time wisely, to the advantage of you. This way you don't feel so frazzled at the end of the day.

Using a calendar is also way of having some control over your life and your day to day activities. Schedule "everything" in your calendar and try to the best of your ability to stay within your calendar. You will then see how easier things will be for you. Remember, some things do come up.

Till next time,

Jeane' E. Bennett

http://www.jeaneebennett.com/