Calendar Color Audit

A simple but effective system to audit how you spend your time by analyzing your calendar using three colors to identify energy-giving and energy-draining activities.

Core Calendar Audit Process

• Print out calendar from previous week
• Use 3 different colored highlighters to mark activities:
  • Green: Activities that were enjoyable and gave energy
  • Red: Soul-crushing, energy-draining activities you dread
  • Yellow: Neutral activities that neither energize nor drain

Action Steps After Audit

• Review the distribution of colors
• Focus on minimizing "red" activities by:
  • Hiring someone who enjoys those tasks (what's red for you might be green for them)
  • Eliminating unnecessary red activities completely
  • Minimizing time spent on required red activities
  • Consolidating multiple meetings into fewer sessions
  • Converting meetings to emails when possible

Goal

• Gradually shift calendar to have:
  • More green activities
  • Fewer red activities
  • Better overall energy management
  • Improved productivity through energy optimization

This system helps identify and eliminate energy-draining activities while maximizing time spent on energizing tasks that contribute to better performance and job satisfaction.