From To-Do Lists to Done

There is something incredibly satisfying about starting the year with a new calendar. The past few years I’ve also been experimenting with an appointment book for structuring my day and I wanted to share the benefits of using one with you.

First of all, you don’t have to own a business to use an appointment book. In fact, they are incredibly helpful for busy households, parents, professionals, students and retirees. Really, anyone who wants to be more intentional with their time. They typically include a large monthly calendar followed by a two-page weekly spread. Each week is broken down by day, and each day is segmented into hourly blocks. Many also include space for monthly and daily priorities, which is great for productivity.

The real power of an appointment book is that it forces you to move from thinking about what you need to do to deciding when you will do it.

Many of us are great at making long “to-do” lists, but those lists often become overwhelming and easy to ignore. A task without a scheduled time is just a good intention. When you write something into your appointment book—whether it’s a work task, an errand, a household project, or even personal time—you are making a commitment to yourself. You’re giving that task a place in your day instead of hoping you’ll “fit it in.”

Scheduling tasks into specific times of the day also helps you work with your natural energy levels. You may be more focused in the morning, better at errands in the afternoon, or more creative in the evening. An appointment book makes this visible and allows you to plan accordingly, which leads to less stress and more follow-through. For more details on how to do this, check out my blog How to Create a Schedule.

I realize that the calendar on your phone can accomplish many of the same things, and if that works well for you, by all means keep using it. For me, having something tangible helps slow my mind down. Writing things out makes my plans feel more real and easier to follow through on.

Please remember that for this to truly work, your book needs to live in a place that is easy to access. And, it needs to be looked at daily. The key is consistency. At the end of the day, productivity isn’t about doing more, it’s about doing what matters most, on purpose. An appointment book is simply a tool that helps turn your time into something you control, rather than something that controls you.