I am going to give you 5 easy steps that will help you conquer and eliminate overwhelm from your schedule.

Have you ever looked at your calendar and thought:

• “I need to get rid of about half of my appointments!”
• “If I just had the time to review my calendar, I could save myself some time!”
• “I don’t even want to do half of what is on my appointment book.”
• “I don’t even know where to start cleaning this mess up.”

Or, maybe you don’t even look at or keep a calendar because it is so hectic and overwhelming.

I hear these or similar comments from the people I work with. They haven’t even gotten to the saying NO part, they are still in the “I’m so overwhelmed that I can’t even think about taking on another project, even if it is cleaning a project of off my plate” part.

So, let’s get down and dirty, and figure out a way for you to clean off at least one commitment, today!

Step 1:  Answer these three questions:

I am going to cover three basic questions that will help you get control of your appointment book, clear off at least one obligation that you don’t want and give you some time to breathe!

• What is the number one time commitment that makes you groan, just thinking about it?
• What is the number one time commitment that takes the most amount of your time?
• What is the number one time commitment that you feel you get the least return on?

These questions are just for you, so don’t worry too much about what I mean by “least return on” Just go with your intuition.

Step 2:  Pick ONE time commitment to clean off your calendar.

If you come up with the same answer for two or more of the above questions, that is the time commitment to really look at under a magnifying glass. Today. Right now!

If you come up with more than one time commitment that answers the above questions, good for you! After you get one commitment taken care of you have already identified the next one to go after!

Step 3:  Determine how you will Say NO.

How can you clean that time commitment off your plate? Or at the very minimum, how can you minimize the time spent on that commitment?

For example: Can you resign from a committee you are on, if it was the answer to the above three questions? Could you decrease the frequency of the meeting? Maybe from once a month to once a quarter?
Don’t spend too much time on these questions; remember we are doing a down and dirty cleaning here.

Step 4: (Big step now) Implement your idea! You can!

That’s right, just say NO! to the time commitment you identified as the one you want off your schedule!

Step 5: Enjoy!

Enjoy your time by doing something you REALLY want to do, that you haven’t had time to do for yourself! Taking care of yourself will allow you to face your commitments with renewed energy, focus and confidence.

These 5 steps are a quick overview of the process you will want to use to address all the unwanted demands for your time.

September 2013 Issue