One of the most powerful life tips Clay and Jonathan have taught me as a business coach is to have one calendar and one to-do list and to carry them with me at all times. I have mentioned it before but I will say it again. Prior to coming to Thrive, I thought I could remember everything. Ha! I kept a calendar but only scheduled out of the ordinary events such as big school exams, Dr. appointments, etc…So as you can imagine my little day planner was pretty empty and I rarely looked at it. I just remembered my day to day schedule and tried to not forget any major family event or other meetings. In hindsight, I have absolutely zero ideas on how I did it without spontaneously combusting. My calendar now is a vital part of my daily life. I look at it every single day. Even though for the most part, my schedule repeats itself each week, I no longer try to remember anything. I have everything scheduled in from the moment I wake up until I go to sleep. Big events and small daily events, they are all in there. Every morning I wake up look at my calendar and create my daily to-do list. Now the important thing here is that there is only one of each. I do not have a separate calendar for my home life or a separate to-do list for after I get home. I create one to-do list and one calendar. Trying to keep up with multiples of each would negate the purpose of having them. You have one life, so why wouldn’t you have one to-do list and one calendar?
“I don’t want you to remember anything, in fact, I want you to write everything down and then forget it.”
I remember when Jonathan told me that I needed to start carrying a clipboard with me at all times. He explained to me that as I moved up in the business coach company I would also become busier. That means more meetings, more action items, more to remember. It became clear to me that if I continued to just try and remember everything it would not be a question of if I dropped the ball but when. So I got a clipboard and my life has been different ever since. Now I have an open mind, time for creative thinking. I’m no longer continually stressed, feeling like I’m forgetting something, it’s great! Clay reiterated this topic at our staff meeting this week when he said: “I don’t want you to remember anything, in fact, I want you to write everything down and then forget it.” This has been a powerful move for me as a business coach. If a client has a burning fire or question that I cannot handle right there in that moment I write it down on my clipboard right away, because I know if I don’t I will most definitely forget about it by the end of the day.
This week I had the privilege of working with a client and blocking out every hour of their schedule. As we were going through each day and incredible phenomenon kept happening. Each day he realized he had more time then he knew what to do with. He realized that even though he had been busy each day his time was poorly optimized. There was so much wasted time because he never really knew what was next and was simply flying by the seat of his pants. By going through, hour by hour, not only was he able to get everything scheduled that he needed, but he was also able to schedule in time for the things he actually wanted to do. Things like working out with his son, a weekly date night with his wife, as well as a couple of lunches with her. He was able to find time to read and take care of some medical issues. Being intentional with each hour of your day will help you realize just how much stuff you can get done in one day. Without the power of one calendar and one to-do list, my business coach husband and I would never have been able to buy a home, start a family, or start investing.
