Why Are Calendars So Important?

I know I have been a little quiet the last two weeks and you each probably missed me in your inboxes ;). I traveled over Memorial Day Weekend and then honestly have not felt in control of my calendar since then and who’s fault is that? Mine of course!

Have you ever listened to a story of a successful entrepreneur, speaker, executive, etc and wonder how in the world do they get that all done? They have learned one of the most important skills in being successful, time management. We all have the same time each day, week, month, year, but how we use it determines where life takes us.

Some of you may or may not know this, I started my entrepreneur journey 10 years ago on July 1, 2015. On that day, I signed my Mary Kay consultant agreement. I was 19, terrified, shy, and honestly had no idea what I was doing and probably had no business getting started because I did not think I had what it took to be successful in the business world, let alone the cosmetics world. I was not the girl that you thought would sell makeup or skin care. I was (and still am) a tom boy and athlete. However, I knew I needed help paying for college and wanted to learn the skills needed to elevate my life personally and professionally. I was ready, scared, but ready. I was a full time college student who was working two other jobs and taking 19 hours of classes, but I was determined to make this happen.

As I started attending trainings and our weekly meetings, I distinctly remember my director Angie telling us that the three biggest areas that determine someone’s level of success in life and business are time management, money management, and emotional management. That struck me. She shared she could teach me all the “skills” needed to be successful, but it was up to me to manage my time, money, and emotions in a way that would allow me to elevate my business and success. These aren’t just personal skills, they are also professional skills. I decided in that moment that I would start with time management as the first skill I would master because the other two seemed more scary. I started living by my planner and calendar in order to manage all of the different responsibilities, expectations, assignments, etc that I had. That is still true to this day. My calendar and I are best friends, until the last few weeks.

I am sure each of us have heard the statement if you don’t control your time, it controls you and man has that been true. We all have those things that we know to be true but still sometime do not implement or forget to implement or even lax down on even though we know better. I am normally a person who has my to do list written every week to brain dump, have my top 6 key focuses for the day, schedules important things in my calendar, sets boundaries on what I allow onto my calendar again except for the last few weeks. No shame or guilt on it, just the truth, BUT we are back.

What are a couple of my biggest time management “hacks” that help me to be more in control of my calendar? Reply back with yours too or share it on our social media (@alocivitas on both instagram and facebook) post that will be posted from this newsletter.

1) Brain dumping my to do list at least once every other week (I prefer every week). The reason why is it helps to get it all out of my brain. You can categorize if needed (personal, work/business, any other responsibilities). Get it out of the brain and onto paper or a digital list. Without doing this, its hard for me to shut my brain off. This can also be done in like a project management platform too if you use one (I use notion if anyone wants more info).

2) Use a paper planner to prioritize my to do lists for each day. I limit it to the top 6 priorities each day. If I finish those I can chose to add more but these are the things that need to be the top focus for that day. I write them in the paper planner because it helps me to physically write them out, I can track them over time, and even track my goals/habits on there too. I also like to color code so that makes it fun.

3) time block- block off the time in calendar for what is needed. Again, if it is not in my calendar it won’t get done. Determine what your important time blocks are for you each day, week, and month.

4) schedule a day off each week- you need rest to stay at your best and to pour back into yourself. I normally have Sundays and Wednesdays as my two days off each week. Wednesdays are my errand day and Sundays are more church, rest, laundry.

These are just a few of the things that help me. What helps you?

Whats coming up?

• We are going to be beginning to select our sponsors, vendors, and speakers for the October 30th “Tapping Into Your Higher Purpose” conference in Columbus OH. This conference is for those that are ready to take their personal and professional life to the next level. If you want more information, respond to this email.

• We are going to be launching a 8 week consultation program to highlight and showcase our new signature CIVITAS method in July. If you want to be some of the first to take advantage of this transformational method that has helped me elevate my clients organizations and incomes by multi 7 figures, reply here. If you are part of the first that are a part of this new 8 week program, you will get a discount. This method is how change makers build sustainable strategy, activate leadership, and leave lasting impact.