Your calendar reflects your priorities

Are you really and truly prioritizing what's important? A sure way to find out where your focus is, is to look at your calendar and see what you are spending your time doing. If we checked your calendar what would we find?

Take a few minutes to set up your calendar for this short challenge to see where exactly your priorities truly lie:

Work with next week's calendar and put every single commitment you have in your calendar, both work & personal because work/life balance is extremely important, no matter what your workaholic colleagues say ;)

Include: All meetings, deep-work blocks, meals with co-workers, clients, friends, and family, gym time, doctors' appointments, reading time, time with kids, time spent walking the dog, cleaning the house, preparing meals, running errands, please don't forget travel time to and from external meetings, the office, kids' soccer games, the gym, etc.

At the end of the week, take 10 minutes to do a quick evaluation of your week. How many overlaps are there, what did you sacrifice to make something work?

• If you had to work late on a project, what happened to your deep-work time, was it hijacked by a unplanned (and perhaps unnecessary) team brainstorming session?

• Was that project front and centre on your calendar? If it didn't progress as you expected it to ... chances are you didn't make it a priority and will see that in your calendar.

• Did you nix your gym workout in favour of drinks with a coworker or to work late on a project?

Calendars and time are fluid and will change, for better or for worse, as the week progresses. But based on the choices you made through the week your priorities will jump out at you. Remember: you spend time on commitments that are important to you, be they work or personal.

If you need help managing priorities and your calendar and just don't have the time, consider hiring an executive assistant. If you're not ready for a full-time commitment, consider a fractional or contract arrangement. I can help.