You are ready to start your week. You are motivated to pursue your goals. You are rested and wake up early to get a head start.

Then, you look at your calendar and realize that most of your week is already overrun by appointments. The workweek hasn’t even begun, and the majority of your time is already taken.

You ask, “Who scheduled all these meetings? Did I make this happen?”

Is Your Week Already Booked?

Before you start your day, look at your calendar.  Is it nearly completely covered with meeting after meeting running together with travel time in-between?

Take a quick assessment: how many hours of meetings do you have scheduled?

Then, ask yourself, “When am I going to get my own work done?”

Here are some things to consider about the many meetings cluttering your calendar:

How many meetings are standing meetings? Avoid meetings that repeat no matter their status or whether there is an update. Updates and follow-ups can be done via email.

How many of them are actually productive? Ensure they have an actual purpose, advance agenda, and work to be performed.

How many meetings are too long? Consider cutting their scheduled duration in half.

Which should be conversations? Some of your meetings would be better handled by having a one-on-one conversation instead of summoning a group into a conference room.

Which meetings do you need to decline? Just because you received a meeting invite doesn’t mean you have to drop all your priorities to attend. Decline the ones that you cannot or should not attend.

Do you have any meetings for your own work? Beware letting your calendar be overrun with everyone else’s priorities before you take time for your own. Schedule meetings with your own tasks to ensure you get them done.

Take Back Your Calendar

You won’t get your work done if you are sitting in meetings all week long.

Resist repeating meetings and decline ones that you shouldn’t attend and that may be a waste of time. Reduce the duration of meetings that you must attend.

Own your own time, and get your most important priorities on your calendar before meetings fill it up.

* Maria L. Novak Dugan is president of Marketing Solutions & Business Development, a firm in West Chester, PA, offering creative marketing services and goal implementation for small & medium sized businesses. For more information, contact Maria at 610-405-0633 or MariaNovak001@yahoo.com or visit www.Maria-L-Novak.com