If you're anything like me, it’s been difficult for you to come up with a new year's resolution that will really stick — while making you better at managing your busy schedule.
You’re likely trying to find something that’s practical and attainable, but will it really make a difference. Over are the days of exaggerated and unrealistic resolutions.
That’s why I decided to put together a list of some realistic resolutions that can be incorporated into your work life in the new year while making you more productive, organized and better at managing your time.
Treat your calendar app like your best friend
Using your calendar properly, regularly and efficiently truly is the blueprint for managing your time and schedule better. A goal of mine for the new year is to make better use of my calendar app. Some of the things I plan on doing include time blocking (to keep me on task, productive and accountable), scheduling time for breaks (to support my mental health and wellbeing) and centralizing all my calendars in one (to omit the chaos of multiple calendar apps and better manage my time). My goals may or may not resonate with you, but I invite you to try them out and see if they support you as you return to work in 2022.
Try saying no
It isn’t common for employees to want to say no when they are asked to do something by their colleagues, management, peers, etc. As humans, we tend to want to help and make a positive impact wherever we go. But, no one likes or performs well when they are overwhelmed and overbooked. With that, I challenge you to learn to say no this year. It’s better to say no when you know you don’t have the time or mental capacity to complete a task, rather than cram work in and feel overwhelmed and stressed while doing so. When possible, vocalize with your peers and leaders when you are over your work limit and should not take on additional work. Here’s to making us feel empowered while still maintaining relationships at work and succeeding in other responsibilities.
Avoid multitasking
We often have this urge to do multiple things at once with the goal of getting more done in a shorter amount of time. What I’ve learned is this often leads to an overwhelmed mind and lower quality work. This year, try to focus on one task at a time and give it your best effort. When that’s done, clear your mind and move on to the next. You’ll be surprised at the quality of your work and will likely even notice it isn’t slowing you down either.
Create a daily routine in your calendar
One of the keys to better managing our time is to come up with a routine schedule. I’ve followed daily routines before and they’ve worked. As I enter 2022, my intention is to continue doing this but to be more practical and understand what I can realistically achieve in a day. Nothing’s worse than overbooking yourself and feeling disappointed for not accomplishing everything. My first step will be to prioritize the essential things I need to get done during the day (for work and my personal life), then discover the gaps in my schedule. I’ll plan to put aside some time each morning to read before looking at my calendar, encourage myself to get outside at lunch and close the day off by outlining what I’m proud of for the day.
Tip: it may help to set a regular time (weekly, monthly, etc.) to plan your routine or schedule. I do mine on Sunday mornings as I gear up for the week.
Plan time for yourself
There’s no doubt that work life balance is important. Although it may seem difficult to achieve in demanding and high stress jobs, achieving a healthy work life balance will keep you motivated, productive and happy at work and in your personal life. In 2022, try to allot more time in your calendar to activities that bring you joy like spending time with friends and family or keeping yourself healthy with physical activity. In addition to my work tasks and responsibilities, I plan on scheduling breaks in my calendar to avoid burnout and I plan on dedicating times during the day as “work-only time” and “personal time”. This will keep me on task when I need to be while allowing me to periodically recharge — ultimate balance!
Organize to-do lists
The key to a clear mind and productive week for me is a thorough (but, practical!) to-do list. Before each day or week (whatever suits you better), jot down what you need to get done and keep track of your progress. It can also help to organize them by priority so that you’re reminded of what's most important and the tasks that only need to be done if you have time. I use my to-do list to mentally prepare myself for the workweek and personally I love being able to cross things off my list. It holds me accountable at work and gives me a sense of accomplishment when done.
I’m looking forward to staying on top of my calendar in 2022 so that I can manage my schedule better than ever before. Interested in following in my footsteps? Nook Calendar will be your best friend and you can download it in seconds for free!
Whether you’re a sales superstar, in-demand consultant, busy recruiter, or someone who simply needs to schedule a lot of meetings, one thing’s for sure—you’ve probably booked a lot of them over the past two years.
Hybrid work has forced the majority of our meetings online, and while we appreciate being able to wear sweatpants during normal work hours, the time-consuming ballet that is sharing your availability, finding a time to meet, and adding it to your calendar isn’t quite as enjoyable.
Speaking with everyone from solopreneurs to seasoned professionals, it seems like a lot of people find meeting scheduling software either costly, impersonal, or just plain boring. And Calendly and other alternatives don’t always cut it.
We hear you.
Everyone is different, and so is how they work. Making good first impressions is important, and you shouldn’t have to pay a premium for them or basic customizations and integrations with your meeting booking system.
Nook Calendar’s meeting proposal feature is already used by tons of high-performing teams for selecting and proposing meeting times outside of their organization.
Now, we’re making things even easier by letting you build personal pages with shareable calendar-booking links, right in Nook Calendar. Add them to your LinkedIn profile, email signature, website, or messages when finding a time to meet.
We think it’s the best meeting scheduling software out there, and we’re excited for you to give it a try, so let’s get started.
Here’s How to Set Up a Personal Booking Page in Nook Calendar
First off, if you’re new to Nook Calendar—hello! (If you’re already a Nook user, you can skip ahead.)
You’re going to start by syncing your calendar—either from Google Calendar or Microsoft Outlook—and entering your work email address.
Once you approve any necessary permissions, you’ll set up your People Bar. Search for any connections and add the people you interact with the most when scheduling meetings.
From there, you can add any additional calendars you want to see (add your personal one, if you like, to further prevent any overlaps when scheduling meetings), integrate with Zoom (so you can launch calls straight from your calendar), and choose your preferred display setting—select Match OS, Light Mode, or Dark Mode.
Launch Nook Calendar, and you’re ready to set up your online meeting scheduler.
Now, the fun begins
You’re going to start by claiming your unique URL for sharing your meeting availability page.
Your first name appears by default, but really, it can be anything. We recommend using your full name (e.g., /john-smith).
(You can always change your URL in the future, as long as it’s still available.)
From there, you want to complete your profile.
Your profile pic is automatically pulled in from your Microsoft or GCal account.
But you can add your name, job title, welcome message, and links to social media profiles or professional website, so guests know a bit more about you when booking a meeting.
Then, you can start setting your weekly availability.
Nook Calendar defaults to traditional time blocks—9–12 a.m. and 1–5 p.m. These are the hours someone can book a meeting from your personal page. Adjust them based on your availability.
Your timezone is automatically set to your local time, but you can change it if you primarily work with people in a different timezone and it’s better to visualize that when setting your availability.
Choose which calendar you want to accept meetings in—it can only be booked in one, but Nook Calendar will automatically reference your availability in other calendars you’ve synced to prevent double-bookings when someone schedules a meeting.
Now, it’s time to set up some paramaters.
You can set up your preferred meeting duration in either 15, 30, 45-minute or one-hour increments (or a custom time).
You can also add buffer time to give yourself a break between meetings, or set a lead time of up to 24 hours, so no one can book any last-minute meetings.
And you’re all set! You can preview what the page will look like, then share it with contacts or add it to your LinkedIn profile (we suggest adding it as a secondary URL), email signature, and anywhere else you do business.
Once someone books time in your calendar, you’ll receive an email and get a notification in the Pulse.
If you ever need to make any changes, you can access your personal meeting page in the bottom of the Magic Panel and make any adjustments—either to your weekly availability or personal information.
You can also remove your availability by simply creating events in Nook Calendar and marking them as Busy to block off time and prevent any bookings.
Nook Calendar’s new personal pages for sharing meeting availability are available on Web, iOS, and Android.
If you have any questions or thoughts, we’d love to hear them. Hit us up in our Slack Community or contact us through Support.
