Blog
Your Calendar Isn’t Full. It’s Broken.
Most business owners I talk to think their problem is time.
“I just need to get more efficient.”
“If I could hire one more person…”
“Once this season slows down…”
But the truth is, time isn’t your problem: your calendar is.
And not because it’s full. Because it’s broken.
Most business owners I talk to think their problem is lack of time.
“I just need to get more efficient.”
“If I could hire one more person…”
“Once this project is over…”
But the truth is, time isn’t your problem: your calendar is.
And not because it’s full. Because it’s broken.
You’re Not Managing a Calendar—It’s Managing You
Here’s the test: open your calendar right now; or think about your schedule for next week.
How much of it reflects what you actually want? Your priorities? The things that increase revenue or build up your personal life?
How much of it is:
Noisy meetings to fix what others broke?
Calls from your team waiting for you to make decisions for them?
Commitments you didn’t want to make?
For most business owners, their schedule doesn’t look like leadership. It looks like a scramble. Backed into a corner, up against the ropes, ducking punches and doing whatever you can to get your own jabs out.
A Christian Brothers Franchise Owner I met yesterday said, “I’m in the thick of it pretty much every day of my life.”
That’s why they’re exhausted. That’s why they’re starting to resent the very thing they built.
The Hidden Cost of a Hijacked Calendar
A reactive calendar doesn’t just cost you time. It costs you clarity and sabotages your ability and credibility to lead. You spend most of your day leaking out focus.
You lose the margin to think deeply, to lead intentionally.
It costs you presence. You come home barely there and mentally gone.
It costs you integrity. If your schedule doesn’t reflect your convictions—if your kids, your health, your faith are always pushed to “later”—then you’re living fractured, successful on paper but misaligned in reality.
And most owners don’t even know what to call this. They think it’s “hustle.”
It’s not hustle. It’s a hijacked life.
Taking Back Your Calendar
How do you fix it?
Turn OFF Notifications: I know this sounds terrifying. You’ll live and your business will live. Our goal is to create an intentional work space were we go to it and start leading. Not where we constantly bleed attention and worry.
Audit Last Week: Look at every block on your calendar. Was it actually impacting revenue? Was it a task that belonged to the owner? If not, cut it or delegate it.
Block the Non-Negotiables First: Make it a habit to NOT go into emails for the first two hours of the day. Spend time with your managers, and hear things in person. Also add blocks for faith, family, and fitness. If they don’t get done first, they’ll get bumped to never.
Put Guard Rails Up: Fit your work into 8-10 hours per day. Work during those 8-10 hours. And when they’re up, leave it on the desk! I’ve run worldwide operations multiple times. The work is always there for you tomorrow.
Institute Kill Zones: Identify meetings or tasks that simply don’t need to exist. Say no. Cancel them. Tell your senior leaders to work out get-well plans and present them to you in batches.
Unexpected Truth: The more you decline tasks and meetings as an owner, the more your teams get done...without you gripping hold of it.
This isn’t about squeezing more into your days. It’s about building a week that actually reflects who you are and what matters.
If your days feel out of control, you don’t need more hours.
You need ownership.
Because until you take back your calendar, you’re not leading a business.
You’re being dragged behind one.
Want to take control of this again? Start your Leadership Reset today.