Reclaim.ai Blog

Productivity tips, calendar hacks, & product updates from the Reclaim team.

How to fix your broken work calendar
August 6, 2019

Making a schedule that aligns to your priorities

At Reclaim, we're creating a product that aims to give you back hours in the week for your priorities.

At the heart of this experience is a simple belief: that by grounding yourself in your priorities and ensuring that the events on your calendar are mapped to those things, we can better illustrate the meetings that truly matter and those that don't. This is a difficult problem, and comes with a variety of Google Calendar hacks and hard math problems as well as ensuring good etiquette for the people receiving reschedule or meeting decline requests.

While we haven't launched our beta yet, we have spent a lot of time over the years coaching our teams and leveraging this practice for better managing our time and calendars. As part of that, we've developed a tool for looking at your week through the lens of your priorities using Google Sheets, and we're sharing it with you so that you have a means for managing the madness. Let's spend a few moments talking about the methodology here.

More than a calendar audit

Some might call this a "calendar audit", but here the goal is so much deeper than just figuring out where you're spending time. By thinking about which of your events map to your actual priorities and defining what else you need to put on the calendar to make meaningful progress on those things, you start to look at your calendar less as a hodgepodge of social contracts and more as a declarative record of how much time you're spending on the things that matter most.

There are a few major components to this approach:

  • Mapping calendar events to your priorities: This is simple. List out your top 3-5 priorities (this alone is helpful if you haven't thought much lately about just what the hell you're doing at your job) for the next several weeks or months. Then, using the tool below, map the events on your calendar to those priorities. For anything that isn't aligned, just mark it as "No Priority".
  • Deciding if that's enough time (and adding more): If you're like most people, you're going to find that you're spending very little actual calendar time on your priorities. That's ok. That's why we're here. Add the events that you think you need for the next week -- by yourself or with others -- to make progress on your top priorities. Don't think about scheduling them. Just list them out.
  • Gracefully moving events around to make room for your priorities: Once you've done the first two steps, you're going to likely find that there just isn't enough time in the week. Luckily, you now know how many hours you're spending going to meetings that don't align to your goals. Look at those meetings and ask yourself:
    • Does this meeting have low value signals (examples of low value signals: more attendees than can easily fit in a conference room, <50% RSVPs, no agenda, and lack of context about why you've been invited) or not?
    • Am I needed for this meeting (literally, could this meeting happen without me)?
    • Does this event meaningfully advance any of my or the company's strategic goals?
    • Will I alienate my direct teammates by not attending this meeting?
    • Could I understand what happened in this meeting via a readout or minutes?

Moving meetings without being a jerk

Chances are: you have meetings on your calendar that not only don't align to your priorities, but that also could be easily declined, moved, or canceled altogether if you take the time to give context. Context looks something like this:

"I can't attend this meeting because I need to make room for [Priority X], which I'm trying to budget more time for this week. I'm happy to sync up later at the following times [A,B,C].
[If the meeting is one you're not leading or presenting in] I would also appreciate a readout of the meeting or some notes if you have them.*
If this poses a major problem or you feel my [attendance/this meeting] is urgent, let me know. Thanks!"

In our experience, 90%+ of the time, the reaction here is one of positivity and encouragement more than anything: no one likes to feel like they've been ditched or canceled on without a good explanation. But most people in your org are feeling the same things as you: overwhelmed by their schedules and looking for time back. They'll likely understand and even empathize.

You might even find a few responses that look like this:

  • "Nice work staying focused! Good luck."
  • "Thanks for the heads up. Would love to learn more about [Priority X] and how it applies to my [Priority Y]."
  • "No problem. I'll send some notes to you after the meeting."

So: that's the process. As promised, we're providing a handy way to do this via Google Sheets. Obviously, there are still some manual steps -- primarily the rescheduling and automation of emails, which Reclaim is being designed to handle in the future -- but this should give you a template for planning your week in a more purposeful and focused way.

The Priority-Aligned Calendar Template Machine

To get started, you'll want to make a copy of this spreadsheet. There is a script attached that will export your calendar data to the sheet automatically. Check out the README in the Google Sheet for instructions on how to export your calendar data, align it to your priorities, and get a handy summary about where you're spending your time.

But also: you should just sign up for Reclaim, since it makes this whole time blocking thing a lot easier.

Did you find this useful? What other methods do you use for rebalancing your calendar? We want to know! Send us a note, or drop us a line on Twitter.

__

* This is also a handy culture hack -- the person on the other end might not have thought to send any minutes or wasn't planning on doing a readout. Hopefully this impels them to do so :)

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August 17, 2021

Calendar Heroes: Ben Hutton, JSON Schema Specification Lead at Postman

Working as JSON Schema Specification Lead at Postman, Ben shares how he balances priorities while developing the JSON Schema strategy and it's tooling, and supports the open-source community.
Calendar Heroes: Shay Kingsbury, Program Manager | Go To Market at Hootsuite
August 11, 2021

Calendar Heroes: Shay Kingsbury, Program Manager | Go To Market at Hootsuite

Shay Kingsbury at Hootsuite shares how she balances priorities while leading merger and acquisition integration and Go To Market for Sparkcentral at the social media marketing and management platform.
Using Slack ‘Scheduled Send’ + Reclaim.ai to Schedule Messages
August 10, 2021

Using Slack ‘Scheduled Send’ + Reclaim.ai to Schedule Messages

Slack released a much-anticipated feature in June of 2021: scheduled sends for Slack messages. This, paired with some awesome Status syncing capabilities from Reclaim, can help you become a rockstar Slack communicator and role model for your team.
Calendar Heroes: Michele Wiedemer, Manager of Customer Education at Snyk
August 9, 2021

Calendar Heroes: Michele Wiedemer, Manager of Customer Education at Snyk

Michele Wiedemer at Synk shares how she balances priorities while developing the education training program for security champions and developers at the open source security platform.
Best Time to Exercise? Morning, Afternoon or Whenever
August 4, 2021

Best Time to Exercise? Morning, Afternoon or Whenever

Exercising for as little as 15 minutes a day can increase your lifespan by as much as 3 years, and you’ll sleep better and feel less stressed too. Here's how to optimize your workouts for the best time of day.
Make Time to Read: 5 Practical Tips for Busy People
July 28, 2021

Make Time to Read: 5 Practical Tips for Busy People

Reading has amazing benefits, and 35% of people want to do it more. It increases verbal intelligence, makes you a better leader, reduces stress, and fends off Alzheimer’s. Here are 5 tips to try out.
Calendar Heroes: Rohini Pandhi, Product @ Square
July 26, 2021

Calendar Heroes: Rohini Pandhi, Product @ Square

Rohini Pandhi, a Product Lead at Square, shares her style, tools and methodologies for balancing priorities while leading the product efforts for one of the top digital payment companies in the world.
15 Best Slack Apps for the Future of Work
July 22, 2021

15 Best Slack Apps for the Future of Work

Check out the top 15 Slack apps productive teams are using today to build and support the future of work at their organization across calendar management, project management, status updates, HR and team building.
Calendar Heroes: Q&A with Connor MacDonald, CMO at The Ridge
July 19, 2021

Calendar Heroes: Q&A with Connor MacDonald, CMO at The Ridge

Connor MacDonald at The Ridge shares his style, tools and methodologies for balancing priorities while leading the marketing vision for the brand that brought the world the first RFID-blocking wallet.
Clockwise vs. Reclaim.ai: 8 Key Differences in these Smart Calendar Tools
July 7, 2021

Clockwise vs. Reclaim.ai: 8 Key Differences in these Smart Calendar Tools

We get asked almost every day: what's the difference between Reclaim.ai and Clockwise? While we're both in the smart calendar space, there are some key differences to consider.
Naming Calendar Events: 5 Calendar Etiquette Tips
July 2, 2021

Naming Calendar Events: 5 Calendar Etiquette Tips

Need to create better calendar event titles to communicate context to your invitees, colleagues and incoming schedulers? Calendar communication starts with the first thing people see: the event title.
Lunch Breaks: 5 Ways to Improve Your Productivity
June 22, 2021

Lunch Breaks: 5 Ways to Improve Your Productivity

Want to improve your quality of work, energy level, and creativity? In this article, learn 5 ways in which taking a lunch will actually boost your productivity.
Effective Meetings vs. Pointless Meetings: How to Tell the Difference & Prioritize Your Own Time
June 17, 2021

Effective Meetings vs. Pointless Meetings: How to Tell the Difference & Prioritize Your Own Time

Learn the 5 key differences between effective vs. pointless meetings, and 3 tips to avoid unnecessary meetings getting booked on your calendar.
3 Ways to Find Work-Life Balance in the New Normal
June 10, 2021

3 Ways to Find Work-Life Balance in the New Normal

You want work-life balance, but work and life can't separate into equal halves. Forget balance, here are three ways to make work-life harmony a reality.
Reclaim just raised $4.8M in seed funding! 🎉
May 26, 2021

Reclaim just raised $4.8M in seed funding! 🎉

We're excited to announce that Reclaim has raised $4.8M in seed funding led by Index Ventures. Here's what comes next.
Pareto Principle: Using the 80/20 Rule for Priority Management
May 25, 2021

Pareto Principle: Using the 80/20 Rule for Priority Management

How to use the Pareto Principle 80/20 rule to block time for your priorities.
3 Single-Tasking Tips to Improve Your Focus
April 28, 2021

3 Single-Tasking Tips to Improve Your Focus

While you may think multitasking is a skill you can master, only 2.5% of people can do it effectively. Your brain performs best when “single-tasking”, focusing on only one thing at a time.
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