Forget about new year’s resolutions, research has shown the effectiveness of them is low. A much better investment of your time as you start the new calendar year, is to do a “MyTime” audit. This is the process of reviewing all recurring meetings or time allocations in your week and asking yourself some critical questions about them. The process is 2-steps: Assess + Take Action. All-in-all, it will take you about 1 hour. The hour will be time well-spent, setting you up for success in the new calendar year.

Why is this important?
Auditing your calendar makes sure you are spending your time on this year’s priorities. If you make no changes, your calendar reflects last year’s priorities and time commitments, despite many of those having made significant progress during the year and no longer need the same level of time and effort. Similarly, relationships you needed to build last year may now be mature and the frequency of those meetings can be reduced or combined. This will create the necessary calendar space to concentrate on this year’s strategic priorities and new stakeholder relationships.

For recurring meetings which you own, critically review the cadence, duration and attendee list. If the meeting can be cancelled, shortened or less frequent, make the change today. If the meeting has a high number of attendees with many adding no value, not showing up or no longer relevant to the conversation, cancel the cadence with a note stating you are resetting for 2023 and will send a new calendar cadence as needed. This is a softer way to remove attendees. Start the new cadence under a new (but related) title so folks know it’s not just more of the same but has a revised focus. Anyone unhappy about being removed (FOMO – Fear Of Missing Out) will contact you directly to be re-added to the new cadence. Trust me, many will be delighted with the time back and it releases them from the emotional pressure to attend. I know some teams who cancel all their recurring meetings at the end of December with the note that new cadences will be created in Jan as needed. This shows a respect for everyone’s time and often prompts others to do the same. It’s a good calendar cleansing exercise which benefits your work wellbeing and productivity.

For recurring meetings, you do not own – Critically consider if you need to attend and if you genuinely add value or get value from the meeting. If yes, great! If not, you can respectfully ask to be removed from the cadence, letting them know you are happy to be forwarded any individual session that requires your input or action. Moving you from ‘required’ to ‘optional’ status is not a solution as the meeting still consumes time in your calendar and the guilt to attend kicks in.

Now that your calendar has freed up somewhat, block out time each week to get deep work done. This is work that requires uninterrupted concentration. A Friday is often a good day for this, so you finish the week with a sense of productivity and accomplishment. Alternatively, reserving the last hour of every day for getting your action items done is a great productivity hack to wrap up your day. I call this ‘Winning your day’. If you win each day, you win each week, each month, and each year. This gives you an important sense of making progress and having impact. Make sure the time carved out shows to others as busy and try to protect it unless something very critical comes up.
Now you are set up for success!

A MyTime Audit is a short-term investment of your time for a long-term benefit. Do it today – You’ll be glad you did, and others will be glad you did too. Consider it your first act of de-cluttering and spring cleaning for the new year.

_{Photo by Manasvita S on Unsplash}