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As a busy in-house lawyer, mom of three kids (all under 7), and someone who prioritizes community involvement, who also happens to try to blog weekly — I sometimes get the question of “how do you do all that you do?”
My immediate response is candidly that my house is disorganized and a complete mess most of the time, I don’t get as much sleep as I should, I barely work out once a week, and I’m a terrible friend — but that doesn’t usually answer the “why” behind the question.
So to those of you who wonder if I have some life hack or secret to success, I don’t. But one tip that works for me regularly is using the calendar and scheduling time to work on goals or initiatives that are important to me.
In my previous post, I shared how at work, the time block is your friend in making sure you have time to do your legal work during the workday. I didn’t mention how the time block is also crucial in my life as a tool for accomplishing my goals.
For example, if your goal has been to develop or expand a niche practice in environmental social governance or artificial intelligence, consider blocking off and calendaring 30 minutes to an hour every week to devote solely to that activity. Set a weekly reminder that you can snooze if you get busy, which is inevitable. Even if you manage to devote only one hour once a month, and not weekly as you planned, monthly work on your professional goal is better than never. And let’s face it, never is the more likely result if the goal wasn’t ever prioritized on your calendar in the first place.
You can apply this approach to any of your professional goals. For example, I have used this approach to learn more about diversity, equity, and inclusion and for my nonprofit board work. Currently, I block off time weekly for mentoring (mentoring Mondays), networking (including LinkedIn posts), and gratitude (thankful Thursdays, where I send an email or thank-you note).
What is also great about this practice of scheduling is that it is a terrific diagnostic tool for objectively recognizing that you don’t have the time for new activities or commitments.
Specifically, if you’re a person who can’t help but say yes when you’re asked to join a committee or a nonprofit board, with this approach, your calendar will tell you if you have capacity. Contrary to what people say about “making time,” you can’t. If your calendar is already full of commitments to other activities, you have to decline — unless you give something else up, or unless you’re willing to let something else suffer.
Finally, this practice is great for providing you a great “gut-check” on whether you are living your values. It is easy enough to tell ourselves what or who is most important to us — but do our calendars reflect what we say? Using this approach, I can see at a glance where I spend my time, what causes I support, and reflect on why — and “course-correct” as necessary.
Meyling “Mey” Ly Ortiz is in-house at Toyota Motor North America. Her passions include mentoring, championing belonging, and a personal blog: TheMeybe.com. At home, you can find her doing her best to be a “fun” mom to a toddler and preschooler and chasing her best self on her Peloton. You can follow her on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/meybe/). And you knew this was coming: her opinions are hers alone.
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