CAREY NIEUWHOF

CAREY NIEUWHOF

High Impact LeaderPublished by Orangea division of The reThink Group, Inc.5870 Charlotte Lane, Suite 300Cumming, GA 30040 U.S.A.

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All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any form without written permission from the publisher.

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ISBN: 9781941259764

©2016 Carey Nieuwhof. Carey Nieuwhof Communications Ltd. The reThink Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of AmericaFirst Edition 2016

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

8/23/2016

S E S S I O N 8

Decide how you’ll spend your time before others decide how to spend your time for you.

44

MOVE TO A FIXED

CALENDAR

SESSION SUMMARY

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What we’re going to look at today has been the single thing that’s made the biggest difference for me as a leader. Trust me—it’s that good!

You already know who you should meet with, what tasks you should be doing to add value to your business or ministry, what gives you the most energy, and when you have the energy to do it best. All that’s left is to put it all together in a way you can repeat—week after week, month after month, year after year with room for minor adjustments. This discipline of living off a fixed calendar is the answer I give when people ask me how I get it all done—family, working, cycling, vacationing, writing, speaking, etc.

So today I’m going to show you how to create and keep a fixed calendar.

What exactly does that mean?

It means setting up a recurring schedule every week that helps you accomplish exactly what you need to accomplish in every area of your life. It’s a tool that lays out for you the best schedule for the best results. Use it. Follow the same routine every week, week after week, thereby accomplishing your top priorities.

The benefits of a fixed calendar for a high impact leader are incredible. Having a fixed calendar allows you to schedule time to…

• Do your best work when you’re at your best.

• Spend most of your people time with your best people.

• Do your least energizing work when you’re at your least energetic.

• Work on it, not in it. • Rest.• Connect with family.• Connect with God.

Do you see what I mean? Creating and keeping a fixed calendar has not only impacted my life as a leader, but as a father, a husband and a Christian as well. And I believe it will do the same for you.

There’s one key question to ask that will help you make the most of your calendar as you get started: are you living in a way today that will help you thrive tomorrow?

Trust me when I tell you I speak from experience on this one. About ten years ago, I burned out completely, mostly because I wasn’t asking myself that question as I prioritized what got most of my time and energy. Ask yourself that question in every area of

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your life—spiritually, vocationally, emotionally, relationally, physically. What are you giving your time to that will help you, your people, and your organization in the long term? Make time for those things now to benefit from them later.

So, what are your top goals again? You already know what they are—in Exercise One you identified the things you wish you had time for that you couldn’t seem to find time for. And in Session 4 you identified the tasks most critical to your success and your organization’s success. A fixed calendar will regularly budget time for all of that.

In addition, you’ll budget time to spend with your best people, your family, with God, and even time for yourself.

When you do that, most of your week will already be full. So then, you ask, what happens when somebody who isn’t on your priority list asks for your time? Well, if they truly are someone you don’t need to meet with, you pull out your calendar and let them know that, unfortunately, you already have a commitment and can’t meet.

Maybe that commitment is rest, or a writing block, or something as simple as watching a ball game

with your kids. Regardless of what it is, it’s fixed on your calendar, making it an important part of your day. And since you pre-decided what was going to get done, you’ll never sacrifice the important because of the urgent.

So does this mean you can never meet someone who asks for time but doesn’t fit in your top priorities? Does it mean you never meet with someone randomly? I set aside two breakfast slots each week (Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 8-9) where I’ll meet with people I wouldn’t routinely meet with. Often it’s a friend who has spiritual questions or maybe someone in our church who’s going through a hard time. It’s an example of what Andy Stanley called ‘doing for one what you wish you could do for everyone.’ As much as I’d love to meet with anyone going through a hard time, that would be a mistake. By leaving a few calendar slots open, I can meet with one or two people who maybe need a listening ear. It’s doing for one what you wish you could do for everyone.

But when those two slots are full, they’re full. That’s the end of the story because my commitments are fixed on that calendar.

You can take a look at my calendar. Now, it might look busy to you, but

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to me it looks amazing because it’s full of priorities rather than just activities.

Here’s how mine breaks down:• I spend my first hour everyday

with God; it’s a commitment.• I save my mornings for things

that energize me—books, sermons, blogs—because that’s when I am at my best.

• Monday and Wednesday are always reserved for creative work so I keep my meetings to Tuesday and Thursdays.

• I schedule in family time and block off Saturday as personal time.

• Fridays are a float day when I can write, podcast, and even cut my lawn.

• When things come up or people outside my circle ask me to meet, I use those time slots on Tuesday and Thursday mornings to meet with them.

Of course sometimes things change, and I revisit the calendar when they do. But for the most part, my calendar has been the same for the last 5-7 years. And it’s made an incredible difference in my life and my impact as a leader.

RETHINK THIS: Decide how you’ll spend your time before others decide how to spend your time for you.

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Sun Mon Tue

all-day

6 AM

7 AM

8 AM

9 AM

10 AM

11 AM

Noon

1 PM

2 PM

3 PM

4 PM

5 PM

1 PM

Rest/Refuel

5 AM

Devotion

5 AM

Devotion

5 AM

Devotion

6 AM

Creative

6 AM

Creative

8 AM

Breakfast Meeting

7 AM

Worship 8:30 |

10:00 a.m.

(TBD)

9 AM

Call wi...

9 AM

Work

On It

Writing Day

12 PM

Meeting

1:30 PM

Meeting

3 PM

Email Etc

3 PM

Email Etc

6 PM

7 PM

8 PM

9 PM

10 PM

5:30 PM

Family/Personal

5:30 PM

Family/Personal

CAREY’S FIXED CALENDAR

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Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 PM

Meeting

8 AM

Family/Personal

6 AM

Creative

5 AM

Devotion

5 AM

Devotion

5 AM

Devotion

5 AM

Devotion

6 AM

Creative

6 AM

Creative

6 AM

Creative

8 AM

Breakfast Meeting

2 PM

Video Conference

9:45 AM

Meeting

9 AM

Work On It

Writing Day Day Off

8:45 AM

Blog, Podcast,

Other

3 PM

Email Etc 3:30 PM

Email Etc4 PM

Email Etc

9 PM

Small Group

6 PM

Date Night5:30 PM

Family/Personal

EXERCISE 8

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Using the blank calendar and your Sync Schedule (Exercise 5), plot what a normal week should look like for you so that you can accomplish your top priorities.

Sun Mon Tue

all-day

6 AM

7 AM

8 AM

9 AM

10 AM

11 AM

Noon

1 PM

2 PM

3 PM

4 PM

5 PM

5 AM

Devotion

5 AM

Devotion

6 AM

Creative

6 AM

Creative

8 AM

Breakfast

12 PM

SPD

6 PM

7 PM

8 PM

9 PM

10 PM

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Wed Thu Fri Sat

Mask sure you factor in…• Your top goals (Exercises 1 & 2)• Your sync chart (Exercises 3 & 4)• Your areas of greatest contribution to your organization (Exercise 6)• The top 5-10 people you should regularly meet with (Exercise 7)