Can you believe July is almost over?

It’s amazing how even during this time of Covid-19 shut down many of us can feel so busy — even busier than we were before. There’s now Zoom happy hours, FaceTime family calls, virtual surprise parties, stacked video meetings, virtual bookclubs, workout classes, trainings and conferences… the list goes on and on. The virtual options to fill our days can be endless.

This doesn’t include the onslaught of virtual things many parents are doing for their kids’ education and recreation (seriously, bless all school-aged parents!).

For lots of people I talk to and work with (myself included), the invitations and opportunities can feel overwhelming. And, many of us felt overwhelmed with our schedules before Covid-19 hit. So what’s really happening for us?

This is something I’ve been thinking on a lot. Since many of us are home, I think it can be easy to fall into the idea that we have a lot more time available - and that we should fill that time. I mean, why not? We have the space open on our calendar.

We are great at being trained to fill our calendars. Yet, is it serving us?

For myself, a few weeks ago I started noticing that I was looking at my day or week ahead and not feeling very enthusiastic about it. My calendar felt riddled with “shoulds” and things I felt more obligated to do than excited about. Although there were good things on there, I didn’t feel good inside. It felt heavy. This really rubbed up against a principle I am committed to live by, which is to only say yes to things I really want to say yes to.

Somehow in my Covid-19-fogginess, I simply forgot to approach my yeses and my calendar wearing my ownership hat. I forgot to choose my yeses with intention.

I know I’m not alone in this. In fact, a client recently came to me feeling totally overwhelmed with her schedule. “Sarah, I have literally no time for myself and I am booked solid for the next month, and I am so exhausted, and people keep asking me for more. I can’t do it all. Help!!”

We got on the phone and we slowed it down. I asked her, “How do things get on your calendar?” (Silence.) “…I have never thought about that before. How DO things get in my calendar?!…”

We spent time looking at what she wanted to experience in this time of her life. We explored what she was committed to and what she really wanted. Then, we did two things: She removed anything unnecessary and non-urgent off of her calendar, and we created a system of questions that she could use to vet any opportunity that came her way. She committed to pause and ask herself these anytime she was presented with something that would require time of her:

Question 1:
Do I want to do this? Is my gut check a yes or a no?
Question 2:
Does this take me closer to, or farther away from, who I want to be and what I want to do in this season?
Question 3:
Is now the right time? (This is big. It can be appealing to say yes to something because it’s good/exciting/interesting, and it’s important to assess if NOW is the best time. You get to decide.)

These three questions became a game changer in my client's life. She started applying them at home, in her work, and in her personal life. She was in charge of her calendar, not the other way around.

I've recently recommitted to asking myself these same questions, and it’s changing my entire energy field in positive ways. In fact, I started assessing every area of my life and where I spend my energy -- and I made changes. I am taking a break from Instagram, I'm taking one day off completely each week, I’m not checking my email as much, I have my phone off most days (because I'm either fully present with my daughter or my clients), and I say no more than I say yes. As a result, my business is flourishing, my home life is peaceful, and I feel enthusiasm and joy most of the time. These questions have changed my covid-life!

So I offer you this beautiful opportunity as well:

Do you run your calendar? Or does your calendar run you?
How do things end up on YOUR calendar? And does that align with your vision for how you want to experience your life right now?

And if you resonate with these questions, my encouragement is to try this process out with your calendar for a day or two (or more!) and see how you feel. Experiment and see.

Do you feel lighter? More centered? More free?

Let me know how your experiment goes - I want to know! And either way, I am wishing you a great deal of ease in your calendar and your life at this time.

Bombing you with love,
Sarah