Just for Today · Day 2 of 31 · 2 min read
Day 2: Schedule the Dates That Matter This Year
Day 2 of the Just for Today Challenge: put the year's important dates in your calendar now, from birthdays to rest days, so what matters doesn't get crowded out.
In short
Block out the dates that matter before the year fills up: people's birthdays, holidays and rest, one or two life-list items, and regular check-ins with yourself. What's scheduled tends to happen.
Yesterday you wrote a list of things you want to do in your life. Today you'll give some of them a home in your calendar, along with the other dates that matter most. The original version of this day was written for 2010, but it works at the start of any year, or any month.
The idea is simple: your calendar fills up whether you plan it or not. Work meetings, appointments and other people's requests will happily take every free slot. If you don't reserve time for what matters to you, it tends to get squeezed out.
What to schedule
Grab your calendar, paper or digital, and work through these categories.
People's important days. Birthdays, anniversaries and other dates for the people you love. Add a reminder a week before so you have time to send a card or plan something.
Rest and holidays. Block out your time off now, even if you haven't decided where you'll go. A week marked "holiday" in March is much harder to give away than an empty week.
One or two life-list items. Look at the item you circled yesterday. When could you realistically do it? Put the date in, along with any preparation steps. If it's a concert, check ticket release dates. If it's a hike, schedule a few practice walks.
Regular time with friends. A monthly dinner, a weekly call, a yearly weekend away. Recurring events remove the endless back-and-forth of "we should catch up soon".
Health appointments. Check-ups, dental visits, eye tests. They're easy to postpone indefinitely.
Check-ins with yourself. A short weekly review and a longer quarterly one. Treat them like meetings with someone important, because they are.
Protect the dates
Scheduling is the easy part. Keeping the dates is harder. A few habits help:
- Give events a name that reminds you why they matter. "Dad's 70th: book table" works better than "Dinner".
- Tell people. A plan shared with a friend is harder to cancel.
- Treat personal time like work time. If you wouldn't cancel a client meeting to answer email, don't cancel your walk with a friend for it either.
Leave white space
It's tempting to fill every weekend. Don't. Unscheduled time is where rest, spontaneity and recovery happen. A good rule of thumb is to keep at least one weekend day a fortnight unplanned.
If your schedule isn't yours
Shift workers, carers and parents of young children often have little control over their time. If that's you, focus on what you can protect: one hour a week, one evening a month, one day off each season. Small, regular slots still add up.
A year at a glance
Some people find it helpful to print a single-page year planner and mark the key dates in colour. Seeing the whole year at once makes it obvious when you've packed too much into one month or left a long stretch with nothing to look forward to. Anticipation itself is a source of happiness, so make sure there's something on the horizon every few weeks.
Today's challenge
Spend thirty minutes adding at least ten important dates to your calendar for the coming year: birthdays, a holiday, a life-list item, recurring time with someone you love and a weekly check-in with yourself.
Tomorrow: wake up earlier.
Questions people ask
Paper planner or digital calendar?
Use whichever you already check every day. A calendar you ignore is worse than none. Many people keep big dates in a shared digital calendar and use a one-page paper year planner on the wall to see the shape of the year.
Keep reading
- Day 14Day 14: Take Action on Your GoalsDay 14 of the Just for Today Challenge: pick one goal, define the very next physical action and do it today. How to beat planning paralysis and build momentum.
- Day 15Day 15: Ask for What You WantDay 15 of the Just for Today Challenge: make one clear, direct request today. Why people say yes more often than we expect, and how to ask well.
- Day 16Day 16: "You're So Beautiful" and Other Compliments Worth GivingDay 16 of the Just for Today Challenge: give at least five sincere, specific compliments. Why we hold back, why compliments land better than we expect and how to give them.
- Purpose & MeaningAre You Being Your True, Authentic Self?What authenticity really means, why it's linked to wellbeing, how to tell when you're performing rather than living, and small ways to live more in line with your values.