GNT #144: Calm the clock

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Lately, I’ve been noticing how tightly I grip my schedule.

Every minute accounted for. Every block of time is ultra-efficient. 

So, I tried a small experiment.

I started leaving for appointments ten or fifteen minutes earlier.

(obvious advice, right?)

But what surprised me is that those few extra minutes changed how I moved through the day.

I stopped rushing and arriving everywhere hot. I noticed things again, like the quiet of my car or the bulletin board at the coffee shop, the sense that time didn't have to be something I battled.

It made me wonder: how much of our stress comes not from time itself, but from how we treat it?

Over the past few months, I've been learning to relate to my schedule differently. Not to conquer it with boundaries, but to calm it.

Here are four simple shifts that helped me get there.

Let's dig in.
 

1. Stop chasing “caught up”

Your to-do list will never be finished. That’s not failure. It’s simply the reality of things.

Instead of ending the day thinking about what’s unchecked, I close it with this line:

“Today I made progress on…”

This prompt changes how I feel about the day. I end with clarity and positivity instead of pressure.

Action step: Write one progress sentence at the end of your workday. Then tomorrow’s priority becomes obvious.

2. Question the urgency

When a “quick ask” shows up, it’s tempting to pivot instantly. I know this all too well as a recovering "yes" person. But I’ve learned to practice the pause first.

Ask:

• Is this urgent for me, or for someone else?
• What happens if it waits until tomorrow?

Use a simple rule: acknowledge + then brief buffer.

Reply with something like (“Got it. I’ll circle back by 11:15.”), then take 15–20 minutes to assess and decide (skip the buffer though for safety issues, hard deadlines, or when you are the blocker).

Action step: Once a day this week, use acknowledge + 15–20 minute buffer. Note which requests stayed urgent and which could wait.

3. Bring your B game on purpose

Not everything needs 100%. Some things need excellence. Others need completion. I remember my CFO nudging me with this idea years ago, and he was right.

Use your best energy on work that moves outcomes. Let routine work be simpler.

• A-work: strategy, client/customer results, relationships
• B-work: status docs, perfect formatting, over-editing

Choosing B-work in the right places is smart energy management.

Action step: Pick one thing on your plate that simply needs completion and make it B work. How did it feel? Can you simplify, templatize, or delegate it in the future?

4. Redefine valuable time (as attention)

I've felt like my schedule was running me when I try to fill every open spot with something "productive."

Now I see valuable time as the moments I’m actually in. When I’m present with a person, a problem, or even the quiet, the hour actually feels bigger.

Build your week around three kinds of attention:

• Focus: deep work on the few things that move results
• Connection: time with people who matter (clients, team, family)
• Open space: thinking and reset so ideas can really feel internalized

When I looked at my week this way, I realized I was not building in any open space at all.

Action step: Add/confirm you have at least one block of each attention type next week. Protect them like meetings, ask people for accountability if you need to. Then notice which one changes your day the most.

Takeaway

You don’t need more time. You need to calm the way you interact with your available time.

Choose one shift from above and practice it this week. Small changes add up fast.

If you try one, I’d love to hear what you notice.

I'm always rooting for you. See you next week.

-Colleen

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If you liked this article, you might also like:

GNT #133: Self-honesty vs. self-freedom
GNT #128: Mistaking needs
GNT #106: How I Use Cognitive Deletion

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