How To use Your Calendar and Your To-do List Together.

Today, we have an array of different tools and devices for managing our work. We have tools for writing documents from anywhere, phones for both spoken and written communication and powerful presentation software for communicating our message to potential customers, partners and clients.

Yet, with all these tools, we face the challenge of having too much choice. With all these choices, comes FOMO — the fear of missing out. If everyone is talking about Notion, then surely you also must use Notion. If your friends tell you about how the latest version of Microsoft OneNote is so much better than it was before — you have to try it. And then, of course, you have to look at the new kid on the block, Roam Research, because all your favourite YouTubers are talking about it. You feel obliged to check that out. Very soon, your devices are full of apps you’ve used once or twice, others you looked at once and those apps you downloaded then never had time to look at.

Yet, being better organised and more productive does not need all these different tools. To be better at managing your time and your work, all you need is a simple to-do list manager and a calendar. You do not need anything more elaborate than these two apps. It can be helpful to have a notes app to collect your ideas, but for managing your time effectively, all you need is a to-do list and a calendar.

So what is the most effective way of using these tools, so you get the most out of them?

Firstly, you need to put a clear border between the two apps:

Your calendar gives you the structure for your day. It tells you where you need to be, with who and at what time. Your calendar will show you where you have blocks of time to do your task work, when you need to leave to get to an appointment and what meetings you have for the day. It gives you the macro picture of your day, week and month.

Your to-do list is where you get the micro picture of your day (and week). Your to-do list is where the little things you need to do each day are listed. It can contain your routines and tasks you have committed to doing and it can be your reminder tool for the things you have decided need doing.

By having a clear boundary between what your calendar tells you and what your to-do list manager tells you, you can build a structure to your days and weeks so that you have the time to complete your commitments, projects and goals.

For example, when you begin your day, you look at your calendar. That tells you that you have a meeting at 9:30 am via Zoom with your management team. You are then free from 10:30 am until lunchtime to work on your tasks for the day before having a lunch appointment with a potential client. Later at 4:30 pm, you need to collect your kids from school.

From this view, you get to see the structure for your day. You can see where you have gaps to work on your tasks, and you can see where you have free time to talk with your colleague about a pressing issue, make phone calls or reply to your email.

Once you have the structure for your day — the stakes in the ground — you can then refer to your to-do list manager for the tasks you need to complete that day. You can see where you have time to work on these, and for anything that needs doing that day, you can block time off in your calendar for focus time or deep work.

In all cases, your calendar takes precedence over your to-do list. Your calendar is where your commitments for the day are. And when used properly, your calendar will give you your flow for the day.

For example, if you want to spend an hour in the morning to work on yourself with some exercise and self-study, you can block an hour off between 7:00 am, and 8:00 am for “me-time”. If you prefer to go to the gym in the evening, you can block time off between 6:30 pm and 7:30 pm to go to the gym.

The details of what you do when you are at the gym can be in a notes app. That way, you will have a record of what you did while you were at the gym. Over time you will build an exercise journal which will keep you motivated on those cold, wet winter evenings when your motivation to exercise is low.

Building a productivity system should not be complicated. Keeping clear boundaries between your to-dos and your events helps you stay focused on what is important to you at the moment. It gives you a structure to your day, so you know you have time to complete everything you want to achieve, and it helps reduce the stress of not knowing if you have time or not.

Mixing your to-dos and events often leads to over-scheduling yourself by being too optimistic about what you can accomplish each day. We feel we can do more than is possible each day because we ignore the inconvenient truth that we will be distracted, interrupted, and our energy levels will diminish as the day goes by.

If you stick to managing your events on your calendar and your to-dos in your to-do list, you will discover your limits and become far better at managing what you do each day. That reduces stress, overwhelm and allows you to feel greater control over your time and your days.

Thank you for reading my stories! 😊

My purpose is to help 1 million people by 2020 to live the lives they desire. To help people find happiness and become better organised and more productive so they can do more of the important things in life.

If you would like to learn more about the work I do, and how I can help you to become better organised and more productive, you can visit my website or you can say hello on Twitter, YouTube or Facebook and subscribe to my weekly newsletter right here.