Close Out 2024 Strong – Use Your Calendar as Your Gatekeeper

As the Earth’s orbit moves us further from the Sun, our days are shorter, and time seems to be moving faster. No matter your focus, of work, school, self-help, family, fitness or finances, you might be feeling a bit worried about accomplishing your goals by the end of the year. I say don’t. Be urgent and be really focused on executing a good plan and you can achieve!

I love working on a quarterly cycle as it reminds me of 90-day military deployments. When soldiers, sailors or airmen would deploy for 90-days, it seemed that they could focus and accomplish amazing things. They focused on constructive areas including their jobs, saving money, academic classes, fitness, and their mental well-being. In 90-days the body and mind can transform, I have seen it so often and I have lived it.

Be Urgent- if you need a miracle in the next 13-weeks, then make it happen through better scheduling.
Prioritize what is the most constructive to achieve your goals.
Deprioritize what is mentally or time distracting.

Empower your team members to do the same, as they will have to stop working on things in order to deliver your priorities. You have to give them permission.

Use your calendar as your gatekeeper. You may need to close your door more than normal. You will likely have to reduce some of the impromptu fun discussions that happen through the day because you have a schedule of priorities. Communicate your 13-week focus with your team but also schedule some time, maybe 30min, every day to be social and interact with your team to meet their needs.

Have long and short timeslots in your calendar. I set 2- or 3-hour blocks for big projects. I also will also stop accepting 30-min invites for things that can be done in 15-min. Too often people will try to schedule more time with you than you can afford. Help and guide them, but don’t spend so much time that it prohibits you from achieving what you need.