Today I deleted two recurring tasks on my Google calendar.
One was a weekly 1-hr admin task that was there on the calendar forthe past 2 years or so.
The second was the daily task of sending this daily email, there since September 2023.
I started the weekly calendar entry because there were some housekeeping tasks I kept forgetting. Like
- business bookkeeping
- updating financial statements worksheet
- updating work done sheets as and when I sent out deliverables
- backend tasks for my own websites I host
I had a list of sub-tasks within that calendar event.
Sometimes I also added one-time tasks for that specific week.
However, over the past few months I realised I did not need that 1 hour.
Because all those tasks had become a habit. Part of the workflow that marked a task complete.
For instance, I updated the Work Done sheet as soon as I sent a deliverable.
Or, invoices went to a Gmail folder, from where I download them when the time comes for tax returns.
Similarly, after 100+ editions, sending the daily email is already a habit and I don’t need a calendar entry for it. May be a Superlist entry, but not calendar entry. (Read what are superlists here.)
In case you are wondering what’s the difference between a calendar entry and Superlist entry, wait until tomorrow. When I will talk about them.
Today is the time to share the lesson I learnt from deleting those two recurring tasks.
That
Recurring tasks help in building a habit.
If you want to build the habit of exercising/walking every day, make a 30-min recurring entry in your calendar.
If you want to be regular at online marketing, set aside 1 hour in your calendar every day for it.
If you need to generate more ideas for your business, set aside a weekly slot of 2-3 hours for creative brainstorming.
Trust me, even if you ignore or delete a few times, you will start feeling the need to complete the tasks simply for the sake of it.
First day will lead to the second, on to third, and so on.
And before you know it, you would have been at it for 30, 40 or 60 days and your habit is built.
Now you don’t need a recurring calendar entry to do it. When the time comes, your muscle memory will kick in.
And if it’s an entry like my weekly admin task entry, where the tasks have already been taken care of, you will end up freeing 4-5 hours per month or week or whatever the task frequency.
Can you imagine what you can get done in that extra time? 😲
ACTION TIME
If you don’t use recurring calendar tasks, start using them to build one habit at a time.
If your calendar is already full of them, time to examine their utility and need.
That’s all for today.
Adios and Happy Working!
P.S.: Any questions? Or want to share thoughts on this? Comment to let me know.
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