Has Your Calendar Been Hijacked?

Hey Coach, 

For the last few weeks, we've been talking about figuring out what actually deserves your time. 

We've built the Battle Board. We've identified where to put Level 10 effort. We've talked about using recruiting data to decide which recruits deserve your attention. (I inserted the links for those articles if you missed them).  

Now comes the hard part. 

Protecting the time to actually do it. 

The school year is starting and your season is underway. 

Practice. Games. Travel. Recruiting. Players. Staff. Meetings. Compliance. Email. Texts. Parents. Your family. 

Everyone needs something. 

And I've watched this happen to coaches for years: You start August with great intentions about how you're going to recruit, lead your staff, exercise, get home earlier, and stay organized. 

Then the season starts. 

By October, your calendar doesn't look anything like the plan you made in August. 

Maybe You Don't Need More Flexibility 

I heard Darren Hardy, author of my favorite book The Compound Effect, make a point recently that made me think about coaches. 

Every sport has boundaries. 

There are lines on the field. Rules for how the game is played. A clock. Officials enforcing what is and isn't allowed. 

Those boundaries don't ruin the game. 

They make the game possible. 

Yet when it comes to our own time, coaches often operate as if having fewer boundaries makes us better at our jobs. 

Player wants to stop by? Sure. 

Recruit wants to talk whenever? We'll make it work. 

Meeting gets dropped onto the calendar? Okay. 

Email arrives? Answer it. 

Staff member needs something? Come on in. 

We become available to everybody and then wonder why there's no time left for the things we said were important. 

Here's the paradox: 

Structure creates freedom. 

If Everything Has Access to Your Time, Nothing Is Really Protected 

When I was coaching, I used to think being available was part of being a good coach. 

And obviously, sometimes you need to be available. We're in the people business. 

But there's a difference between being available when you're needed and being interruptible all day long. 

That's where boundaries matter. 

Maybe recruiting calls only happen during certain blocks. 

Maybe your staff knows that 9:00–10:30 is protected recruiting time unless there's an emergency. 

Maybe you don't schedule meetings during your workout. 

Maybe players know when your door is open — and when it isn't. 

Maybe your phone doesn't come to dinner. 

Those aren't restrictions. 

They're decisions you've made in advance about what matters. 

But Here's Where Most Boundaries Fail 

We set them. 

Then we break them. 

You block recruiting time...then schedule something over it. 

You say you'll leave by 6:00...then stay until 8:00. 

You decide you won't check email at home...then answer one message. 

Do that enough times and your "boundary" isn't a boundary anymore. 

It's a preference. 

And this is the part of Hardy's lesson I loved: A rule you don't enforce is really just a suggestion. 

We understand that in sports. A sideline that moves every time someone steps out of bounds isn't much of a sideline. 

Your calendar works the same way. 

Pick One Line You Won't Cross 

Don't create 17 new rules for yourself this week. 

Look at what you said matters most this season and ask: 

What ONE boundary would help me protect it? 

Maybe it's two protected recruiting blocks every week. Maybe it's leaving the office by a certain time twice a week. Maybe it's no email during your first hour of work. Maybe it's one night where your family gets all of you instead of what's left of you. 

Write it down. 

Then protect it like you protect every other important commitment on your calendar. 

Because after talking about productivity with you guys for more than 12 years, I've become convinced of something: 

The goal isn't to become better at fitting everything in. 

It's to become better at deciding what deserves to get in at all. 

Your Battle Board can tell you what matters. 

Your Level 10 thinking can tell you where your best effort belongs. 

Your boundaries are what make sure that effort actually happens. 

The season is going to test those boundaries. 

Draw the lines now. 

Have a great week. 

Win the Day.

Mandy Green
Helping coaches win at work without losing at home. 

If you'd like to book a free 30 minute strategy call with me, book your call here: https://calendly.com/busy-coach

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