I wrote on Thursday about how removing some tasks from my calendar and to-do lists really brought home for me the reality of closing Virtual Angel. You see, in order to manage my time effectively and get everything done that I had committed to, I had structured my days in the Outlook calendar so that everything I had to do was in my calendar, and I mean everything!
As I went through and removed all the client-specific events from my calendar, I also decided to clear "LUNCH" and "Check e-mail" and "AssistU" - these specific items I wanted to make sure I scheduled time for. I needed the "AssistU" and "LUNCH" (note the all caps!) and "Check e-mail" there, not because I might forget to do these things, but so that I made sure I made time for them. It's really easy to forget that checking e-mail actually does take time. It doesn't just get done - time needs to be devoted.
Otherwise, I would have filled up my day with all the other stuff that needed to get done, and then been frustrated at the end of the day because I hadn't completed all that I had planned to complete. I could have scheduled a bunch of things ("Sure, I can do that") and forgotten that I would need time for lunch and time to check email.
Now that I don't have all those commitments, I can take out those appointments. Wow!!! How clearing! How joyful! How... strange!
And don't worry - I won't forget to eat lunch or check e-mail or continue in my role as COO of AssistU.
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