How are you preparing for 2023?
It’s one of my favourite times of year.
I have my 2023 wall planner, a set of coloured markers and a pack of fun stickers and I’m all ready to time-block next year.
Time-blocking is the practice of mapping out your day / week / month / quarter / year so you have the time to focus on what’s really important to you.
The order in which I fill my calendar is:
Committed client work that is locked in with a deposit paid
Holidays, key family dates and personal travel plans – I take a week off every quarter, a few weeks over Christmas/January, and in 2023 we’re planning a longer holiday overseas, probably in the second half of the year if all goes according to plan
My professional development days including strategy days, a retreat and a conference or two
My new suite of public workshops and programs (stay tuned for more info on these!).
I then look at my weekly cadence.
I block out every weekend, Monday and Friday, mornings before 10am and evenings after 6pm. Yes, there are some exceptions to this (including my Connected Learners book club), but they need to be compelling.
Obviously, some years this is more effective than others – last week I found my 2020 beautifully colour coded and time-blocked calendar that had been shoved in the back of a cupboard… By the end of 2020 I was so dispirited, I didn’t bother doing one for 2021 #saynomore
I review my calendar every quarter to see what worked, what didn’t work, and how many gaps I need to still fill with client work.
Do you time-block your calendar too? What does it look like?
