In this age of hyper-busyness, it can be difficult to find time for the most important things. Meeting to meeting to meeting to the next activity to the next thing. Everything is important. Everything is urgent. (Which makes everything stress-inducing, and nothing truly important or urgent.)

One of our problems is the fact that we have too many dotted lines. People have access to our calendars, which means they have access to our lives.

I used to work for a company who had complete access to my calendar. I would wake up in the morning to find meetings scheduled over top of meetings. Or worse, meetings scheduled over the top of scheduled white space, time I had set aside for real work. For deep work.

I determined when I left that job, no one will control my calendar space again.

I get to draw the hard lines now.

Try making your calendar sacred ground. Schedule the things that important (not necessarily urgent).

Seize the agency you need to draw hard lines around what matters most.