How A “Zero-Based” Calendar Can Supercharge Your Productivity
Blank space on your calendar could turn into wasted time.
As a solopreneur, I create my own schedule and my productivity is limited only by the hours in my day and how I manage them. To that end, I’m always looking for better ways to keep track of tasks, arrange my days, organize my To-Dos and decide my priorities.
I was intrigued by the “Zero-Based Calendar” approach promoted by Cathryn Lavery and Allen Brouwer, co-founders of BestSelf Co. The pair met in an entrepreneurship program and spent a year researching success — reading 150 books, attending more than a dozen conferences, and listening to thousands of podcasts. The result was the launch of their 13-week productivity planner: The SELF Journal, which launched on Kickstarter, exceeding its $15k goal in 28 hours, and ultimately raising $322k in 34 days.
This “Zero-Based Calendar” approach is essentially the principle of accounting for every hour in your day, leaving no blank space on your calendar or agenda, such that everything you need to do has time booked and assigned to it. “Zero white space changes your relationship with time,” Lavery says, creating more focused work, but making you more aware of how you spend your time.
