We all have expectations in life. And, this includes those daily expectations, such as completing a specific task or personal goal like exercising.
But, sometimes reality bites and those expectations aren’t met. For example, it took you longer to write that blog post, now you’re late for dinner. As a result, you get disappointed.
Of course, some things are out of our control. Getting a flat tire on your way to work is an unforeseen accident. But, if you had planned to leave an hour early, this becomes a minor inconvenience instead of a headache that forces you to reshuffle your day.
In other words, it’s how we manage these expectations that can keep us productive, focused, and content. The good news is that you can use your calendar to set-up realistic expectations for your day through the following five ways.
1. Estimate how long tasks will take you (so you can schedule your day).
I’m sure you’ve had those morning when you wake-up roaring to conquer the world. You tell yourself that you’re going to cross-off ten items from your to-do-list. You’re going to make a dozen phone calls, schedule a fifteen meetings, and still hit the gym after spending time with your family.
Not to rain on your parade here, but how likely are you going to accomplish all of that?
Furthermore, most of us severely overestimate the time that email management, phone calls, meeting preparation, emergencies, and commute time consume every day.
At the end of the day, you’re lucky if you’ve accomplished half of you had anticipated. As a result, you feel defeated and frustrated because you didn’t meet your expectations.
That’s when a calendar comes in handy. It can help you estimate your time more accurately so that you can schedule your day.
I would recommend that your spend a week journaling your daily activities. It will give you a better indication on how much time you spend on a task, as well as how much time your waste. You can use your calendar by making quick notes, such as how much time you spend responding to emails every morning.
2. Block off time to do those tasks.
There’s no one-way to do this. It depends on when you’re most productive. For example, most people are at their peak energy and alert levels between eight and nine in the morning. As such, you should focus on your most important goal or task during that period.
To get you started on the right track, here are four daily scheduling methods that you can use to remain focused.
- The time blocking method. This is simply where you plan your days out in advance by dedicating a specific amount of time to a specific task. For example, you would block out from 8am to 10am to work on your top priority every morning.
- The most important task method. This replaces lengthy to-do-lists with the one to three most important tasks. Schedule only these tasks in your calendar.
- The Pomodoro Technique. This is all about short-bursts of work, like 25 minutes, followed by a short break. You schedule 25-minute blocks in your calendar to work on your most important tasks.
- 90-minute focus session. This follows your ultradian rhythms where you work for 90-minutes and then take a 20-30 minute break.
Don’t be afraid to mix these techniques together to find your most productive schedule. For example, three Pomodoro sessions fit perfectly into 90-minute work session.
Once you do, schedule your ideal workday into your calendar.
Bonus tip:
Color code your calendar, for example use blue for personal time, red for work-related activities, and green for meetings. This way you can gain a quick overview of your day.
3. Mark deadlines.
Whenever you set a goal, you also need to attach a deadline to it. This can get tricky with long term goals since there isn’t an actual date set for the completed project.
However, you can set deadlines for supportive small term goals, or steps, that help you in achieving that long-term goal. Once you have a deadline for your these smaller goals, jot it in your calendar.
By marking deadlines in your calendar, you’re giving yourself a visualize reminder of the most important tasks to focus on.
4. Plan to do less.
This may sound counterproductive, but you only have 24-hours in a day. This means that if you want to curb your expectations, you need to plan to do less.
After you’ve added your most important tasks into your calendar, block out down time. This could be 15-20 minutes where you just daydream. Additionally, don’t forget to schedule time for your family and exercise. If you don’t, it probably won’t happen.
Also, instead of scheduling three meetings back-to-back in one afternoon, schedule two with a half-hour break in-between. This way you’re not overextending yourself, while guaranteeing that you’ll get out of the office on-time.
5. Set aside for evaluation.
Even after you’ve set a productive schedule, you still need to set aside time to evaluate it. You may notice that you have to adjust or adapt your strategy or schedule due to unforeseen circumstances. For instance, you may be in a place where have to remove or outsource tasks that you no longer have time for.
