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How To Incorporate Your Calendar Into Your To-Do Lists

Another big standoff in the productivity space is between to-do lists and calendars. Is one option better than the other? Both have staunch advocates and vocal detractors.

The truth is, neither tool should be used to the exclusion of the other. The best way to maximize your output each day is to combine your to-do list and calendar.

I mentioned in the previous section that your calendar defines your availability. It tells you how much time you have at your disposal to work on to-do items. To that end, it does no good to create a to-do list that requires five hours of work if you only have three hours available to you. Doing so will set yourself up for failure. That, in turn, will lead to disappointment, stress, and frustration.

There’s an easy way to avoid this outcome: sync your calendar and to-do lists. Let the former inform your decisions regarding the latter.

Here’s a simple approach:

First, at the end of the day, review your calendar for the following day. Determine when you’ll be in meetings, on conference calls, or otherwise unavailable.

Second, estimate how much time you’ll be able to allocate to your to-do items. Don’t forget to leave yourself time for lunch and breaks. Also, pad the estimate to accommodate unexpected delays - for example, impromptu requests for help from your boss and coworkers.

Second, build the following day’s to-do list. You should have a fairly good idea regarding how long each task will take you to complete (recall step #8 from the section How To Create The Perfect To-Do List). Create your to-do list based on your availability.

Third, think of your day as a series of 30-minute time chunks. An hour-long meeting will require two chunks. A two-hour conference call will require four chunks. These periods should be blocked off on your calendar.

Fourth, schedule time to work on your to-do items during the periods that are not blocked off.

For example, suppose this your schedule for tomorrow:

8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. - Meeting with your boss 10:30 a.m. to noon - Conference call with sales team Noon to 1:00 p.m. - Lunch 3:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. - Department meeting

The above schedule reveals the periods during which you’ll be available to work through your to-do list:

9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

That’s five and a half hours. Trim 45 minutes for breaks and impromptu requests, and you’re left with four hours and 45 minutes. You can now create a realistic to-do list for tomorrow based on your availability.

Your to-do list is an inventory of what you hope to accomplish during the course of a given day. Your calendar determines whether it’s possible. Working with one tool, but not the other, is a recipe for failure. Use them both to manage your time effectively and set reasonable, realistic daily productivity goals.