Three indispensable appointments every leader needs in their calendar

Three indispensable appointments every leader needs in their calendar

Is your calendar already full? You should make room for these three appointments because they will substantially change your daily work.

The larger the organisation and the higher your position, the fuller your calendar generally becomes. Having no time seems to become a status symbol on the career ladder. But beware: a calendar’s occupancy rate is no measure of professional success, quite the opposite!

In a podcast with @Christoph Magnussen, @Alexander Sixt, Co-CEO of Sixt SE, explains that one of his major mistakes was trying to move too many topics at once. Today, he emphasises priorities and consistency. Introducing three recurring appointments can help you achieve greater consistency and clearer priorities too. These tips come from Eric Partaker.

1. A daily shutdown routine

Schedule the shutdown routine thirty minutes before you want to end your working day. It creates a clear boundary between the end of work and the start of private life. This routine lets you enter the evening relaxed, knowing everything important is prepared for tomorrow and what you will do when.

2. A “creative before reactive” appointment

This is an appointment with yourself during your day’s first hour. Use it to work on your number-one priority, identified in yesterday’s shutdown routine. Too many people start in their inboxes or on social media. Instead, begin with creative before reactive. It puts you ahead of the wave and gives you a positive feeling at the start of every day.

3. A weekly review appointment

The sixty-minute weekly review is your opportunity to step back, reflect and decide more deliberately how to use your time in the coming weeks.

Ideally, schedule it every Friday to review the past week, recall your annual goals and derive the priority for the following week.

These simple but effective calendar entries will significantly improve your productivity, focus and effectiveness.

Try it out and put these three recurring appointments into your calendar today. I look forward to hearing about your experiences; share them in the comments.