There’s something in the office that genuinely makes people feel sick — and I’m not talking about the food or the canteen food either… although the canteen is a very French concept. In Australia, where I live, we don’t really do canteens.
I’m also not talking about colleagues who come into the office sick and make everyone else sick.
I’m talking about your calendar.
In this video, I want to share a few simple ideas to make your calendar look better — and feel better. Something that gives you energy, rather than making you feel sick just looking at it.
I work with leaders all around the world. And very often, during the Work Smarter Live Better program, I sit with them at their desk. We look at their calendar together. We look at how they organise their time. Over the years, I’ve noticed two extreme types of calendars.
On one side, there’s what I call the empty calendar. This is the calendar where people only block meetings with others. Nothing else appears.
Now, this person might be incredibly busy. They might have a huge workload.
But the calendar doesn’t show it.
On the other side — and this is the one I see most often — there’s the crazy calendar:
Meetings from 7 to 8.
Then 8 to 9.
9 to 10.
Back-to-back all day.
Sometimes two or three meetings competing for the same time slot.
No lunch. No catch-up time. No breathing space.
And by the end of the day, you’re completely exhausted — just from jumping between meetings. Honestly, sometimes just looking at that calendar makes you feel sick.
Here are three simple principles that can completely change how your calendar feels.
- Fill Your Calendar With Meetings With Yourself
Your calendar shouldn’t just be full of meetings with others. It should be full of meetings with yourself. Protect time for thinking, for deep work, for preparation.
Book it like a real meeting — because it is.
- Leave Some Fat
If you work 10 hours a day, you cannot plan 10 hours a day. Every single day, something unexpected will happen: a crisis, interruptions, something unplanned.
I call this planning for the unplanned. If you work 10 hours, plan eight. Leave two to three hours of fat.
Be honest with yourself — you already know how much unexpected work shows up every day.
- Let Your Calendar Breathe
Your calendar needs breathing space. After a meeting, leave a small gap, five to ten minutes. No work. No emails. Just a short reset.
Every hour or hour and a half, give yourself a breather. Your energy — and your focus — depend on it.
I’ve applied these principles to my own calendar for years. I’ve trained leaders to do the same.
And the feedback is always the same:
- More control
- Less stress
- Stronger energy throughout the day
Your calendar stops controlling you — and you start controlling it.
So here’s my question for you: When you look at your calendar, does it make you feel? In control? High performing? Energised? Or… sick?
This is your Work Smarter, Live Better tip for the week.
Hope you have a lovely day.
À bientôt,
Cyril
