I recently met with a school network CEO and her assistant and then had my weekly household meeting with Dr. Together, and I found myself repeating a phrase that cues a very strategic process.
“Sweep the calendar, scrub the calendar.” I realized I have used this idea frequently when coaching leaders on achieving Togetherness with their assistants, but I haven’t as often applied it to my own work or encouraged others to do so. So it’s time for a blog post!
As you look at your calendar during a Meeting with Yourself (with or without an assistant, this concept really applies to anyone), I want you to be sure that three months out is well SWEPT and three weeks out is well SCRUBBED. Let me explain what I mean.
Conduct a Three-Month Sweep
This simply means looking out over the next three months (ideally on a rolling monthly basis, not waiting until the end of three months and then doing it) and making a broad sweep through your events, deadlines, and other key activities.
Reactively
- Holidays and days off are in place (and meetings cancelled)
- Work and personal travel is entered
- Meetings shuffled, cancelled, and adjusted
- Preparation time is blocked for large meetings or deliverables
Proactively
- Any personal appointments need to be scheduled? Time for the fun!
- Any planned communications to send out?
- Are there items that could be delegated that require training?
- Is there any travel booking that is required?
This set of questions is to ensure the broad strokes of what should be in your calendar is landing there with ample time to plan, shuffle, and communicate.
For example, I just did this with Dr. Together, and then again for the Together Universe, and it caused me to:
- Plan school visits for a trip to Charlotte
- Cancel meetings during Thanksgiving week
- Confirm the dates for our family holiday photo in October
- Block out a buffer day after a late-night return from a work trip
- Create travel time to my daughter’s volleyball match that happens during a workday
- Maybe, just maybe, think a bit about the holidays. Gulp.
Give that Sweep a try in your next Meeting with Yourself.
And then it is time to get more detailed for the coming weeks, otherwise known as a Scrub. Let’s peek into the right questions to ask ourselves on this front.
Conduct a Three-Week Scrub
After your Sweep is completed, it’s time to Scrub that calendar for the next three weeks. This time frame is because most items have come into full view at this point and it is time to make sure everything is in its place.
- Are my priorities really clear and communicated?
- Are all meeting conflicts resolved?
- Do all meetings and events have preparation and follow up time?
- Have agendas been set?
- Are all locations for meetings, travel or personal appointments lined up?
- Are there any opportunities to consolidate meetings to get a larger chunk of work time?
- Do I have time built in to exercise and move my body?
- Do I have time built in for meals to feed my body?
- Could I bump any meetings into the future if they are not aligned with upcoming priorities?
So, there you have it. If you are wrestling with the calendar section of Meeting with Yourself, grab a broom and a sponge and have at it. This time of year is perfect to start a Sweep and Scrub habit!
