While professionals may feel in control of many aspects of their lives, their calendar isn’t often one of them. Work-life balance is the holy grail of maintaining a professional career. In 2014, Gallup found the average American workweek was 47 hours, with nearly four in 10 Americans working more than 50 hours per week. Bloomberg spotlighted automobile factories where 12-hour shifts were the norm, and Silicon Valley is notorious for its long hours.
How Working Parents Can Get the Most Out of Calendar Apps
While professionals may feel in control of many aspects of their lives, their calendar isn’t often one of them. With long workdays being the norm, personal priorities often don’t see the light of day. How can leaders, especially working parents — who have multiple calendars to juggle — make their calendars an ally in giving their personal lives a chance? Time blocking (or timeboxing) is a godsend for working parents. By allocating blocks of time for specific activities, you limit how much energy those activities eat up and how much spillover they cause. A couple days prior to a new month, place time blocks on your calendar for your non-negotiables: soccer practices, one-on-one meetings, conferences, a date night with your spouse, etc. This way, you — and everyone else — can truly see the time you have remaining after you put first things first. Calendars can become your ally, ensuring that the most important things in your life come first.