“The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.”

~ Stephen Covey

Success demands that you take control over your schedule, rather than have it rule your actions. In order to do that, you need to decide what’s important and urgent among your to-do’s, otherwise, others will decide for you. This week I had to remind myself of that as my schedule got away from me.

All of a sudden it’s September, and  I’ve got a lot of work to do to prepare for a bunch of presentations, board work, book deliveries, and meetings… and my exploding schedule has me feeling a bit overwhelmed.

If you can relate, watch the video below (or read the transcript that follows), and reset your priorities with the three helpful tips I share.

I have officially lost control of my schedule. I’m sitting in my car in a parking lot outside of the post office about to go mail a box of books to a client, and I realized that I have yet to send this week’s video to my assistant and I promised it to her, well … hours ago, so that she could transcribe it and put it in the blog post and get everything prepared for this week’s message.

And there’s a lesson in that for me. Hey, I’m Michelle Cederberg here contemplating scheduling, perhaps over scheduling, and what I’m making a priority of.

I thought I would share what I do every time my schedule gets like this. Because it seems like in  the last week or so, no matter how hard I work during the day, I’m just simply not getting it all done. I can put my head down for hours and the list doesn’t seem to get any shorter. I’m sure some of you can relate.

I haven’t done this process since the beginning of summer, so you can bet I’m going to be doing it a little bit later today.

1) The first thing that you need to do is take a fierce inventory of all the things that you have on your plate at the moment. And that includes all of your work tasks, your social stuff, your commitments to other people, everything that is taking up your time.

In your work day for sure there may be some priorities you really need to focus on. There may be some things that you can push to the side. In your fun time (which sometimes leads into your work day), you might be spending too much time on social media, or playing games, or doing other stuff that’s not work related. That’s easier to do when you’re working from home… especially in the summer.., especially when you’re self employed. (like me)

So take a look at everything that you’ve got going on right now and do a fierce inventory, ask yourself, “What do I need to say no to? What do I need to let go of? How can I better prioritize the high priority tasks, so that I can get. Sh!t. Done.”

2) once you’ve done that process, be fiercely protective of ‘Yes’. So, #1, fierce inventory, #2, fierce protection of yes. That means be aware of the things that you’re saying yes to. If they aren’t things that are going to drive your personal and professional goals forward, it might be a good idea to push them aside for now. If you’re too busy to get your core work done, you can’t be saying yes to coffee dates with friends or to helping somebody with another project. If you’re not able to get your own stuff done, the first response should be NO.

Be fiercely protective of yes. It’s easy to say yes to people who ask us for our help. We want to be good people, and sometimes our ego gets a boost because we’ve been asked to share our expertise.

3) And the third tip is to ask for help. You don’t have to do it all. You need to be aware of things that are in your wheelhouse, and the things that you need to delegate. My assistant was on holidays last week and I definitely felt the gap. I’m definitely going to be utilizing her a little bit more in the weeks and months to come because there’s a lot of stuff going on for me. Lots of presentations coming up in the fall which I’m super excited about. Most of them are still virtual but that’s ok. They still  require work and prep and planning. I’ve got a lot of board responsibilities that are jacking up, I’ve got all sorts of fun stuff on the go, so I can’t do it all… and neither can you.

So, if you’re feeling like me, a little bit hectic and overscheduled,  number one do a fierce inventory of what’s on your schedule today, and figure out what you need to say no to, and what you need to let go of. Be fiercely protective of the things that you say yes to going forward, so you can use your time in the best possible way. And, make sure that you ask for help for the things that are on your task list that you don’t necessarily need to be doing. Delegate, find people to do those things that can free up your time and bandwidth for the things that truly matter.

Fall is coming, it’s going to be fun and exciting. Don’t forget to sign up for my 6 Day Work-Life Reset. This is the perfect time of year to do it, it’s free, so click the link, and get going!

Sign up for my socials below, because there’s all sorts of interesting stuff coming down the pipe. Until next time, I’m Michelle Cederberg, reminding you we’ve got one chance to so this life, I say Dare to Live It Big, and dare to take some time to reorganize your schedule, especially if you’re feeling a little hectic like I am.

I’ve got to go mail this box of books, and get on with the rest of my to do list. We got this!

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Connect with me to chat about engaging virtual (or dare I say in-person) sessions for your team to boost resilience, manage stress and drive success, for post-pandemic productivity. And check out my virtual speaker demo here.

To purchase your copy of The Success-Energy Equation: How to Regain Focus, Recharge Your Life, and Really Get Sh!t Done visit Amazon, or for a signed copy go to successenergybook.com. OR, contact me about bulk order discounts for your whole team! It’s also available as an audiobook wherever you download!

Stay tuned for my new ONLINE Refocus & Recharge program using this book as your guide!