The holiday season is here, and with it comes packed schedules and mounting demands. In this solo episode, host Marissa Hyatt shares her four-step framework for performing a calendar triage that clears your schedule, reduces stress, and makes space for what matters most.
Key Takeaways
- Cut the Inessential: Say goodbye to unnecessary meetings and obligations.
- Defer When Possible: Push non-urgent tasks into the new year.
- Batching is Your Friend: Group similar tasks together for peak productivity.
- Protect Self-Care: Prioritize sleep, exercise, and downtime to stay healthy and energized.
Resources
- Ideal Week Template: fullfocus.co/idealweek
Watch on YouTube at: https://youtu.be/x4VmPXBWM_M
This episode was produced by Sarah Vorhees Wendel of VW Sound
Creators & Guests
Host
Ken Freire
From the Big Apple to Middle Tennessee, Ken Freire is the Director of Memberships at Full Focus and the co-host of the Focus on This podcast. Ken has been in ministry for 15 years. He has always been passionate about leading and developing individuals to see their God-given potential and purpose in life. He loves speaking, coaching, and scaling companies. He’s been married for 12 years and is the father of four energetic little kids. In his spare time, he loves to read books on theology, leadership, and spiritual development. He also loves Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Host
Marissa Hyatt
Born and raised south of Nashville, Marissa is the Chief Marketing Officer at Full Focus. She is super passionate about helping people get outside their comfort zones, find their own power, and achieve their dreams. In her free time, she enjoys cooking for friends, baking sourdough bread, and hiking. She geeks out on natural wellness, skincare, personal growth, gardening, and traveling.
What is Focus on This?
Start loving Mondays! Marissa & Ken give you practical tips and proven strategies for increasing your focus so you can be more productive than ever before. Based on the proven Full Focus method used in the Full Focus Planner™, they'll help you banish distractions and get the right stuff done so you can start loving Mondays again. They also speak with guests and listeners who share their own productivity tips to help you make the most of every day. It's the most productive podcast on the internet!
[00:00:00] Well, I can't believe that we're only a couple weeks away from Christmas and New Year's. It is just wild to me how fast this year has gone by. And if your calendar looks anything like mine, it is time for a triage. It's time to Really get in there with a scalpel, some gloves and figure out what we need to cut, how we can rearrange things for a better productivity, better rejuvenation, and just overall success in the busiest time of the year.
[00:00:36] Welcome to another episode of Focus on This. This is the most productive podcast on the internet so you can banish distractions, get the right stuff done, and finally start loving Mondays. I'm your host, Marissa Hyatt. Now you may be noticing that it's just me today and Ken is unfortunately unavailable to record and so maybe he needs to triage his [00:01:00] calendar a little more than he has.
[00:01:02] Uh, no, but seriously, he is busy and off chatting with people about our double win coaching program. And so it is just me today doing a solo episode with you guys. Now, every time we have done. Any kind of episode on focus on this about calendar management, time blocking, how to be more productive and efficient with the time that we have.
[00:01:26] We get so much great feedback from you guys sharing that this is so practical and helpful for making sure that you're making the most of our time because The truth is our time is limited, right? We only have a certain number of hours in every day and we want to be mindful of how we're spending our time.
[00:01:45] Now it's a busy time of year. It's the holidays. People are cramming in things onto our calendars, whether it's at work and we're trying to cram in all those last minute meetings, get everything done that we need to get done before the holidays [00:02:00] or whether it's your personal life and you're Working on shopping and getting, you know, those holiday parties scheduled.
[00:02:07] Maybe you're hosting some holiday parties. And so then that comes with all other kinds of tasks that have to be done, like cleaning your house and shopping for food or decorations, decorating, cooking, getting ready to host a party or family and friends for the holidays. It's just a lot. And I don't know about you, but when I look at my calendar.
[00:02:26] At this time of year, I am kind of instantly tired and overwhelmed. And so I thought it would be appropriate for us to look ahead over the next three weeks, really just through the end of the year and try to figure out how to make some room, add some white space on your calendar and help you really triage your calendar for the best success of your calendar.
[00:02:49] possible so you don't burn out so that you don't get sick because you're so exhausted. You're not sleeping well. You're just constantly asking the question, am I getting everything done [00:03:00] that I need to get done? So today I've got four keys for you to focus on as you're working through your calendar. So whether you choose to use a digital calendar Or you have a calendar inside of your full focus planner or another calendar that you've got.
[00:03:16] It doesn't matter. All of these items will still apply, but if you are using a digital calendar, it may be good to go ahead and grab that and check out what we've got for you. So key number one is to cut The inessential. So you want to start by looking for what you know you can get rid of all together.
[00:03:35] So I actually just did this with my assistant. I have an assistant that I use probably five ish hours a week. So not a ton, but what she does for me is so incredibly valuable. She helps me primarily manage my email and you guessed it, my calendar. And so I actually got off the phone with her this morning saying, Hey, what can we take off of my calendar for the next few [00:04:00] weeks?
[00:04:00] I know that it's busy already and I'm sure there's going to be other requests that come in and I want to make sure that we've got everything cleared as much as possible. And this is kind of hard because you're going to have to be ruthless. So one of the things that she was encouraging me and any good assistant knows this is that you're often leading the leader that you're helping work with.
[00:04:23] But she really asked me the question, what of these typical recurring meetings don't need to be done right now? So for instance, I lead a team. And every Thursday I have my one on one meetings with those team members and she asked me the question, Hey, what would it look like if we moved to these meetings to just one time this month or if we did every other week or Maybe they don't need to actually be done this month at all.
[00:04:51] You're talking enough that you don't need those meetings standing on your calendar. So we went through and we determined which of my team [00:05:00] members we thought we could move and which ones we needed to keep, uh, depending on the relationship, depending on how long they've been here. I have a few contractors that I work with that I'm still going to need to meet with on a weekly basis.
[00:05:11] But some of those we shortened and some of those we decided, Hey, we actually don't need to have these on the calendar at all for the month of December. So ask yourself those questions. What are the things on your calendar? Can you just totally move off your plate for the next few weeks? Check out those recurring meetings that you have.
[00:05:29] Often those can be punted. Um, you don't need to worry about them at this time of year, or maybe there's an extra holiday party or dinner party that you've agreed to. That the truth is. You feel obligated to go to, but you're not really that excited to go to, and in case you need permission to say no to something, this is your permission slip today to RSVP no or to go back to the host and say, Hey, unfortunately I'm not going to be able to make your [00:06:00] party or your dinner.
[00:06:01] You know, would love to connect after the new year or something to that degree. So this is your permission slip to cut the end essential. Really be ruthless here. What do you not need to be doing this time of year? Often so many things end up on our calendars because we needed them at different times in the year or for different phases of work or life that we're in and they just end up carrying over.
[00:06:25] But if we ask ourselves the question, what actually needs to get off my plate? We're usually surprised there's a couple things, if not more, that we can move off of our plates. Okay, so key number one is to cut the inessential. Now, key number two is to defer when possible. So a lot of things actually do need to happen.
[00:06:44] We can't totally remove them off of our calendars or even for a time. They do need to happen, but they don't need to happen right now. So you can look at your calendar and ask yourself, with some of these meetings or items that are on your calendar, Does this really need to happen [00:07:00] right now? Or could I push this to the new year for me?
[00:07:03] One of the things that I found with my assistant was there were a few different, maybe a handful or so. meetings that were on my calendar that were project based or they were meetings with specific vendors that we have, that we have like monthly meetings that we do. And I just said, Hey, I don't actually need these right now.
[00:07:22] We can actually punt these to January. These aren't urgent. It's not something that has to be done right now. Let's go ahead and clear it and push that to next month or in a few months. And so often things end up on our calendars. Okay. Especially when somebody else requests it, right? We all know this feeling where somebody comes in, has a request for a meeting, maybe it feels urgent to them or it feels important to them.
[00:07:45] They're trying to just check it off their list, get it on the calendar. But the truth is it doesn't need to happen right now. And I bet you if you go to those people and ask, Hey, could we push this meeting to January? Most people are going to feel relieved and grateful that you [00:08:00] were the brave one to ask for that.
[00:08:01] So defer whenever possible. What can you get off of your calendar right now to save some time in December that can be pushed, can wait until January.
[00:08:23] Now key number four is that batching is your friend. I think that this is one of the biggest calendar hacks that you can make. You want to make sure that you are batching your items as much as possible. So one of the best tools to use for this is the ideal week. Now we have this built into your full focus planner.
[00:08:44] If you use a full focus planner, if you don't, you can go to fullfocus. co that's C O slash ideal week to print off a free version of an ideal week. And what this does is it allows you to essentially time block. So if you find [00:09:00] yourself doing similar activities throughout the week, you want to go ahead and group those into a batch that you can accomplish all at once.
[00:09:08] It encourages better focus and more productivity, more efficiency in what you're doing because you're able to stay in the same headspace for that one activity. So we often do this with podcast recordings where we batch them. We do a few at a time rather than like one a week. For instance, I do this with my one on one meetings with my team where on Thursdays, all of those are lumped together so I can stay in the same headspace.
[00:09:35] I do this on Wednesdays. So Wednesdays at full focus are, are no meeting day. And this is where we allow for deep work. So those items that are more challenging to get into, maybe some analysis type stuff or strategy building, creative work. Things that you kind of can't do in the middle of your normal meetings that you might have, like you're [00:10:00] not going to do those activities in a 30 minute window, you know, squeeze between other meetings, but you really need to get in a certain headspace.
[00:10:08] That's a great opportunity to say whatever day it is that you choose for us, it's Wednesday is dedicated to no meeting. So you can really have the energy, the headspace to dive in deep. When we group like activities together, we really save time and energy because sometimes what happens is if we're trying to cram those in throughout the week, then we have to get back in that headspace, right?
[00:10:32] You kind of have to remind yourself, Oh yeah, what am I doing and where did I leave off? And you know, all of that versus just doing it in one swoop together. So as you're looking at your calendar, asking yourself, are there similar types of meetings that you could put on the same day, on the same morning or afternoon?
[00:10:52] Are there similar tasks that you're doing every single day, that if you just put them together on one day, Of the [00:11:00] week, you would be more efficient. You'd be able to knock them out faster, move on and get on to the next thing. So we want to batch whenever we possibly can. And lastly, number four, key number four is protect self care.
[00:11:15] Now, I know this is something that we have continually talked about, especially since we came out with our wellness full focus planner, but this is something that is so critical, especially this time of year with the holidays, It's so normal that we end up stressed out, burnt out, and sick this time of year.
[00:11:33] Now, there's other things that contribute to that, like eating a ton of sugary foods, lack of exercise, lack of sunlight is a really big one, right? We're just not having the same amount of sunlight exposure that we do at other parts in the year. And so this is a great area for you to look at and to make sure you have time on your calendar for.
[00:11:55] This is often the first thing that ends up going when we feel overwhelmed. If you're anything like [00:12:00] me, I am definitely guilty of this where. Life happens, it gets crazy, I get overwhelmed, my exercise routine goes out the window, I end up going to bed later than normal, I'm not winding down at the end of the night.
[00:12:13] And so a couple things that you can do. When it comes to your calendar is a literally go in and block off time for your self care. So that might mean blocking off time in the morning for your exercise or for a meditation or prayer or reflection, some kind of journaling activity, put it on your calendar, make an appointment with yourself, or maybe you're like me and you like to do some of those activities in the afternoon or even the evening.
[00:12:40] But making sure that you have those items blocked off is really important. The other thing I want to encourage you to do here is setting a regular bedtime. This is something that's really simple, but has a massive impact on our mental state, our energy levels and ultimately our immune system is scheduling a regular [00:13:00] time.
[00:13:00] For when you want to go to sleep. So for me, that is my cutoff is 10 p. m. That's what i'm holding myself to I often try to get in bed earlier than that But I know that if I want to be in bed by 10 Then I need to kind of back up the clock and say at what point do I need to be done with the day? And start really winding down and so usually for me, that's about 8 45 9 p.
[00:13:20] m at night I shut off everything, I turned down the lights as low as possible so that I'm not getting hit with more artificial light, but that I'm actually able to allow my body to wind down, to relax, and ultimately prepare me for sleep. The other thing that I want to encourage you specifically related to sleep is to figure out what your evening ritual looks like.
[00:13:45] So this is again often one that gets overlooked. It's kind of like we end up coming in for a crash landing when it's a busy time of year. We've gone crazy all day, we're at holiday parties and out with friends and family members and all that, and we just like come in [00:14:00] for a crash landing right before bed.
[00:14:03] And the problem with that is it doesn't set us up for the best sleep that we need. So my encouragement to you is pick one or two things that you can do that you can be consistent with every night that doesn't take a lot of time or energy but really fuels you that. It encourages rejuvenation, better sleep, and just ultimately fills your cup up for the next day.
[00:14:25] So this could be something as simple as taking a bath each night. I have a lot of family members who love taking baths every night. I take them sporadically, but it's such a great opportunity. Dim the lights, light some candles. You can put some Epsom salts in there or essential oils and just really relax and ease your way into sleep.
[00:14:46] You could also do something as simple as a five minute deep breathing exercise before bed. So you just close your eyes and take some big deep breaths. You could do something like a box breath, so where you inhale for [00:15:00] four counts, hold for four, exhale for four counts, and then hold for four. So it's a really simple way.
[00:15:07] This is actually a proven technique to calm the nervous system, improve focus, and really encourage relaxation. And it's such a great, easy tool that you can use. Just set a timer and just do that with your eyes closed. Again, dimming the lights, really easing your way into sleep rather than coming in for that crash landing.
[00:15:29] Now, exercise is really important. It's such a great way to encourage wellness and self care in your life, but often we feel more exhausted this time of year just because of the amount of stuff on our plate. So I want to encourage you that you don't have to do anything crazy here. Maybe it's just a 10 minute walk around the block every day that you want to commit to during this time.
[00:15:51] But again, you want to schedule this on your calendar. What gets scheduled gets done. And so if you're not putting it on your calendar, if [00:16:00] you're not keeping that top of mind, those self care activities are often what gets pushed to the back burner. We let those go. We feel like they're one more to do item when ultimately those are the things that fuel us for our best work.
[00:16:13] Those are the things that help us show up the next day, you know, clear headed ready to hit the ground running and make that day The best it can be. Okay. So let's just briefly review the keys that I mentioned. So as you're working through your calendar, I want you to think through first and foremost, what is not essential?
[00:16:35] What can I get off my plate and clear? that maybe at other times in the year or other times in my life, those things were important. But right now, just for the next few weeks, I can take them off of my plate. So that is to cut the N essential. Now, key number two is defer when possible. So you might have items on your list, on your calendar that don't need to be done right now.
[00:16:58] Those are meetings that can wait till [00:17:00] January or even later, and it's not critical that they happen right now. So what can I get off of my plate for now to save time? And then key number three is batching is your friend. So you want to make sure that you're grouping like items together, so To improve your energy and save time.
[00:17:22] So as you're looking, are there similar meetings or similar tasks that you can group together to save time? And then lastly, key number four is to protect your self care. This is, like I said, the first thing that often goes and gets off of our plate when we feel busy and rushed and pressed for time, but it is one of the important things that we can be doing to actually improve.
[00:17:47] how we show up in the rest of our life. So make sure you're scheduling time for that self care that will ultimately fuel your success. Now, I don't know about you, but all of [00:18:00] this feels like a big permission slip to me, that I don't have to be the one to accomplish every single thing, that I don't have to say yes to every invitation that comes my way.
[00:18:11] So in case you showed up today feeling overwhelmed, And just like, how am I going to get this all done? I want to say to you, here's your permission slip, that you don't have to do it all. Some things can wait. Some things don't have to be done at all. And if you're in a place where you're just feeling completely overwhelmed, Go ahead and block off a day or a half day, whatever you can afford on your calendar to just rest, to rejuvenate, and just to take some time to recharge.
[00:18:47] Thanks for joining us on Focus on This. This is the most productive podcast on the internet. So please go ahead, share it with your friends, leave us a review, whatever platform you listen on. We would [00:19:00] love if you would leave us a review and be sure to join us inside of the full focus planner community on Facebook, where we hang out.
[00:19:08] We talk about all things, productivity goals, and the full focus planner. And we'll be here next week. Actually, I will be here next week. week with an amazing visualization to help you start dreaming for the new year. So this is gonna be a little bit of a different episode next week. I'm so excited about it, I can't wait to walk you through that visualization.
[00:19:29] You can do this even if you're driving in a car. Or Or cooking or doing whatever it is you may be doing, you don't have to be sitting in quiet with your eyes closed. So no matter where you are next Monday, I want to encourage you to tune in and I'll be there to help you start dreaming for the new year.
[00:19:44] So until then, stay focused.