Is scheduling all my tasks in the calendar too much?
Many EAs and other clients ask me how much they should schedule into their calendar.
The rule of thumb I suggest is never schedule more than half your working day in your calendar/diary. Why?
Well, your main value to your business, boss or team is assessed on how well you are able to respond to the unscheduled things coming your way. You need time to do this effectively. It is the unscheduled stuff that you have to learn how to handle responsibly and effectively. You have to cope with the stream of new tasks and integrate these into your plans in an organised way that keeps you agile and responsive but in control.
Which leads on to the next question - how far forward in advance do you schedule tasks your calendar/diary? I have found an effective event horizon for ongoing tasks is one to two weeks. The further into the future, it’s more a notional commitment rather than a specific task - the detail will emerge as you get nearer the date. Executive roles often require commitment to dates, times and places further in advance than two weeks. The general rule remains the same - you need 50% of your time in a day, a week, a month as ‘wriggle room’ to schedule and plan effectively in an agile manner.
I encourage you to use a ‘day book’. This is a notebook, big enough to write and sketch comfortably in but small enough to carry around with you. This is the place where you keep all the information that comes your way during the day - phone numbers, meeting summaries, ideas, restaurant phone numbers you look up to book a reservation, train timetables for trip planning . . . anything you would normally jot down on any old piece of paper goes in this book. Also add any post-it notes people give you etc.
Your day book collects all those bits and pieces of info that is important for a short period into the future (hours/days/weeks). At the start of each day, write the day and date at top of page. It is amazing how quickly this book becomes valuable to you.
In summary,
your calendar/diary helps you shape and control your future time
your day book collects all the pieces of information you gather during the course of your day, doing work, being interrupted, receiving requests, finding information for a task etc.
With access to these two sources of information about your life comes increased control and effectiveness.