Ah, time management.

Those two words can either conjure up images of zen productivity gurus conquering their days, or send shivers down the spine of the chronically overwhelmed.

But my friend, let's pop that productivity bubble for a second.

There's no magic “To-Do Fairy Godmother” sprinkling dust on our schedules. (Not that I’ve found, anyway.)

Every single thing we do, every glorious, mundane, or mind-numbing minute of it, takes time.

Even that "quick browse" of social media and “research” on YouTube can mysteriously morph into an hour-long scroll-a-thon if you are not careful. (Oh how I can so easily get sucked into stand up comedy videos — Jim Gaffigan making me laugh again. 🤣)

So, where does this leave us, mere mortals juggling overflowing inboxes and ever-growing to-do lists? (I recently wrote about my own “to-do dilemma.” Click here for that blog.)

Enter the calendar, our unsung hero.

Yep, the same one you use to remember dentist appointments, birthdays, and those daily Zoom-athons.

Turns out, it's the secret weapon for taming that time beast.

Here's the mind-blowing (yet completely logical) revelation: schedule everything.

Your hourlong to-dos and even the 5-minute ones.

Treating them like important meetings forces you to be intentional and, dare I say, respectful of your own time.

Block out 1 hour for “write blog post,” 15 minutes for "phone call with mom," 10 minutes for "reply to urgent emails," and even 5 minutes for "check voice mail."

Scheduling everything might sound like overkill or counterintuitive for small tasks, but here's the magic:

• It creates focus: Suddenly, that 15-minute phone call doesn't turn into an all day long catch-up session (love you, Mom, but boundaries!).

• It prevents procrastination: You know exactly when to tackle each task, removing the "I'll do it later" trap.

• It boosts your sense of accomplishment: Checking off those scheduled tasks feels like winning mini-victories, which fuels motivation.

Now, I'm not saying you necessarily need to color-code everything on your calendar like a productivity Picasso. Or schedule everything down to the minute like an “every second counts” Mission Impossible scenario. (Unless a 1-minute bright red calendar item at 1:34pm that reads “Pee Break'' really works for you.)

I only use a few different colors on my Google Calendar (blue, yellow, red). And I don’t schedule items for less than 15 minutes. If I have 2 very quick items that are less than 15 minutes I’ll overlap them on my calendar.

And I do make occasional adjustments to how I handle my to-dos and calendar as I experiment with productivity systems and ideas.

Some trial and error will help you find your own calendar groove.

But by simply treating your to-dos like appointments, you'll witness a time-management transformation worthy of a Marvel superhero movie.

So, ditch the "I'll get to it someday” and “eventually" mentality and schedule your way to success.

Remember, even the quickest tasks deserve a spot on your time throne.

Now go forth and conquer your day, one scheduled to-do at a time! 🙂