2022 CALENDAR REVIEW
ARE YOU READY TO MAKE 2022 THE YEAR WHERE YOU GET MORE DONE, ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS, AND STILL HAVE TIME FOR YOUR FAMILY? LET ME HELP YOU GET YOUR TIME BACK WITH MY FREE PRODUCTIVITY PLANNER!
Last year, I did something new at the end of the year.
During the month of December, we are looking forward to the new year by setting goals + resolutions to help us become the person we want to be.
But, one thing that helped me set some realistic goals that stretched me out of my comfort zone was looking back on my calendar over the last year to see what worked + what didn’t work for me.
I’m obviously a big believer in time and spending it well. Time is the ONLY resource we can’t make more of. Just reading this sentence, you’ve used your time doing that.
And while, we can’t go BACK in time, we CAN use the past to help guide us in the future.
And doing a yearly calendar review can help you find the areas of your life where you are spending your time wisely - and the places that you might want to rethink how you spend that invaluable resource.
I got this idea from a Rachel Hollis podcast I listened to a few years ago, so this is NOT my idea, but I wanted to share it with you because I believe it can bring a lot of insight into what is working for you, what is working against you, and how to move yourself forward!
STEP ONE || DO A FULL REVIEW OF YOUR CALENDAR
Really, the first step will need to be setting aside a few hours to do this. I chose to do this last Friday as part of my workday because it made the most sense for me. It took me a little over an hour, but this is only if you meticulously plan like I do. I literally plan every single part of my day and I have my plan in multiple places - my Google Calendar, which is my daily time blocking calendar, and my paper planner, which gives me a general overview of each day + the tasks I worked on.
You will literally go day-by-day, looking at what appointments, meetings, etc. were on your schedule + hopefully the tasks you had prioritized that day as well. If you don’t have daily tasks written, that’s OK. Take a look at your schedule and see if you can remember generally what you were working on each day.
STEP TWO || LIST 5 THINGS YOU WANT TO KEEP DOING
As you go through your calendar, start writing down things that you did that you want to keep doing. Things that brought you joy, things you’d love to do again, things that you changed that have helped you be a better person.
If you want to live a more enjoyable life, you need to do MORE of those things! If something changed that went well, what else can you do that will help you?
Have an ongoing list as you audit your calendar, and when you finish, narrow that list down to your top 5 things that you want to keep doing.
Here are my 5 things:
Moving my walks up in the day to after lunch to keep me moving
Concerts + traveling with my husband (we went to 8 concerts + 3 different cities this year alone)
Joining a mastermind with 1:1 coaching to help me with my business
Getting the kids involved in more activities (it can be busy, but the joy it brings them is priceless)
Monthly massages (my body thanks me for them)
Honestly, this was REALLY hard for me to narrow it down to just 5. A few honorable mentions include: hanging out with my brother + sister-in-law more, taking Fridays off in the summer, creating my productivity courses, getting on more podcasts, and creating my own planner (which is still a work in progress).
STEP THREE || LIST 5 THINGS YOU WANT TO STOP DOING
Just like the things you want to keep doing, as you go through your calendar, make a list of things that caused you stress, were a waste of time, etc.
This was a lot harder because I can’t necessarily SEE that on my calendar… but the memories are there. You’ll remember based on what’s on your calendar those feelings around certain appointments and things that caused you stress + anxiety.
Again, make this list ongoing as you do your audit + narrow it down once you’ve gone through the entire year.
Here are the 5 things I want to STOP doing in 2023:
Not sticking to my stretching (even though this is the healthiest + fittest I’ve been in a LONG time)
Procrastinating on projects because they feel hard or overwhelming (hello master bedroom project)
Not being honest with myself about my business + goals
Not focusing on things that are making the biggest impact + income in my business
Saying yes to things because I feel obligated to do them
That’s it! I mean, it’s all fairly simple, but it definitely can be time consuming. However, I found it to be well worth the time - and you know I’m not about wasting time AT ALL.
I can’t wait to see how your life improves in 2023 because of this little exercise!
Need some accountability to do your 2022 Calendar Review? I’m hosting a Calendar Review Workshop where we will go through this process step-by-step together so that you are ready to set goals for 2023 and spend time on the things that really matter in your life! Click here to join the FREE Calendar Review Workshop!
