6 Calendar Tips From Business Leaders

Make scheduling the high point of your day.

What’s the trick to deftly managing packed schedules and conflicting appointments? If there’s anyone qualified to weigh in on the subject, it’s the six business leaders below. Integrate some of their tips on managing email and more into your own life, and you’ll be well on your way to a calendar that’s a cool as a cucumber.

1. Mark Cuban

“No meetings or phone calls unless I’m picking up a check. Everything is email. [Email] saves me hours and hours every day. No meetings. No phone calls. All because of email. I set my schedule.”

2. Jeff Weiner

“Try to schedule nothing for 90 to 120 minutes out ​of every workday.”

3. Nikita Kahn

“I dedicate a time once or twice a day to answer my emails. I try not to check my emails every five minutes unless I am expecting an important email.”

4. Dr. Ali Rezai

“Every day, when I get out of bed, I take a few minutes to clear my mind. I take a few minutes and think about those things that are constant and unchanging in my life: my family, my passions, and the larger reasons I chose to spend my life as a scientist and a neurosurgeon. Only then do I start thinking about schedules.”

5. Karen Fondu

“I utilize my commute on the train to answer and send emails. When I am home, I immediately disconnect to be with family. I also have a rule: No emails on the weekend.”

6. Ashton Kutcher

“Email is everyone else’s to-do list for you. I always focus on my outgoing before I review my inbox. I schedule an hour in the morning after I exact my initiative and an hour in the evening to close shop.”

For more inspiration, check out The Thrive Questionnaire, an ongoing series that gives an intimate look inside the lives of some of the world’s most successful people.