Just as 2017 passed us by in a flash, 2018 will do the same if we don’t take control of our calendar right now…BEFORE it starts filling up all on its own.  And believe me when I say that Calendars have a funny way of doing that.  They start out looking fresh and full of blank days and then WHAM…every minute of every day is showing filled up with something or other.  As I look back at my life I am realizing how much I have allowed the Calendar to control my life instead of me controlling my Calendar in order to have a life!  NO MORE!

I think I have finally figuring out what’s required if I ever want to have the life I want – we must take control of our calendars BEFORE the year begins. We must take control BEFORE the craziness of life gets going and BEFORE we even realize that our entire calendar has filled up in the most haphazard way, making it impossible to do any of the things we had wanted to do during the year. It is time to stop the madness!!

That’s why I am going to sit down now and block out the calendar days for 2018 BEFORE 2018 begins so it forces everything else in my life to get booked around those days.  And now when someone asks me to do something I don’t have to always feel like I must say “Yes” because I can honestly tell them “I’m so sorry but I’ve already got something on that day.”  What a massive relief it will be to have the ability to say “no” to things guilt-free because I’ll have already have plans…It makes me a little giddy just thinking about it!

I am going to block out every trip I want to take before anyone else can claim those days. I’m going to block out which weeks I will go spend on our houseboat at Lake Powell this summer and I am going to block out a few weekend getaways to take little road trips with my honey. I am even going to block out some alone time just for me (which I have never done before and I’m really excited about).  This feels so empowering I might just think of a few more days to block out just for the fun of it!

No more letting the calendar control  us – Take control back – get your 2018 calendar and go to town with it!

~Amy Rees Anderson