Overstuffing our calendars is something that we all may be able to relate to. Some of us do this on a consistent basis, ending up with so much to do and so many places to be that we don’t even know where to begin at times. Some of us find our schedules overstuffed at certain times of the year due to circumstances beyond our control. Whatever the case may be, a jammed and out of control busy schedule does nobody any good.

This is where decluttering our calendar part 2 comes in - This declutter runs a little bit differently than our first declutter of the calendar - maybe this one runs a bit deeper. For this activity, the questions we start to ask ourselves are:

These two questions often run in conjunction with one another but address the same issue: What can I remove from my calendar or schedule that I actually don’t want to do and don’t really need to do.

YOU DON’T NEED TO SAY YES TO EVERYBODY AND EVERYTHING

Let that statement sink in for a moment. Yes, we all like to do fun things and see friends and family, but saying yes to every plan or making too many plans ourselves can deplete our energy altogether. Limiting how much we do in a week or a month does everybody a favour, because you will have more energy and actually look forward to the plan, rather than having that feeling of “Ugh, I wish I didn’t have anything on my calendar tonight because I’m just so exhausted from an already too busy week.” When we overstuff our days and weeks, we are also doing a disservice to the person we have plans with because we are going into the situation depleted and tired, rather then refreshed and invigorated.

DO I REALLY WANT TO DO THIS?

I am certain we are all guilty of putting things on our calendars out of obligation or because we “think we need to.” Now don’t get me wrong, work related events and other similar projects, even familial obligations are often required and we must make the time for them. Yet, there are also things that we commit to that we don’t want to do but something nags us to even still. There may be so many reasons for this but ultimately, I call these avoiders. In yoga we talk about our third eye space which is essentially intuition - when we disregard our intuition it almost never goes well. Allow yourself the freedom to declutter your calendar of things that do not bring you joy because simply put, life is too short!

So, the next time you are faced with making a plan, check your calendar and remind yourself that its better to have a clutter free schedule. This will assist you to make plans carefully and when you can better enjoy them. If you have a day with 67 things to do (exaggeration but you get where I’m going with this) you may not want to book that wine date on that day - do it the next day or day after so you can not only look forward to the plan, but be energized and ready for it!