Clear Out to Step Up
Every year I assign one week at different times throughout the year to have no meetings or appointments and create a clear schedule.
It creates more time, focus, and energy to dive into things that matter most to me at that specific time.
I always get so many benefits from doing it that I wondered what might happen if instead of doing it for an occasional week here and there I did it for a whole month.
I decided to experiment with that. For the whole of last month, I kept my schedule pretty much clear of all meetings and appointments.
I chose two main focus areas that would get my time, focus, and energy for the whole month.
The results and benefits were numerous, both personally and professionally. Because I had created time and space to focus my energy on just two things, they both progressed in leaps and bounds.
The point is this:
By clearing out what was less important to me for that month, it allowed me to step up with things that mattered most.
Often, without even realising it, our time, attention, and energy become filled with all sorts of things that aren’t essential and can detract from what matters most to us. Being intentional about managing that can make a big difference. And that is what I use my "clear out to step up" approach for.
What would you benefit from clearing out, even if temporarily, that would allow you to step up with things that matter most to you right now?
It could be a whole host of things, not just things like meetings, appointments, and commitments that you wish you had said “no” to. Clearing out to step up could also include things like mindset, behaviours, habits, toxic people, etc.
In summary, anything that drains you, your time and energy and sabotages what matters most to you in some way is worth considering in your “clearing out to step up” strategy.
Take a few minutes to consider what you would benefit from clearing out that would enable you to step up with something that really matters to you right now. Then figure out what action you will take to deal with that.
