#181| Declutter Challenge Day 4: Calendar Clean Up: Overwhelm, Productivity, Time Management & People Pleasing

Does your calendar feel heavier than your closet—packed with things you don’t actually want to do?

So many working women are stuck in endless commitments, from unnecessary meetings to social obligations that drain energy. In this episode, Michelle shows you how to spot the time clutter that doesn’t show up on your calendar but still weighs you down—and how to start removing it today.

By listening, you’ll discover:

• How to quickly identify hidden time drains that never make it onto your schedule
• Simple strategies to cancel, move, or delegate commitments without guilt
• The empowering shift that comes from creating true white space in your day

Press play now to learn how to declutter your calendar and finally reclaim your time for what matters most.

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Life can be overwhelming, but on this podcast, you'll discover practical strategies to overcome overwhelm, imposter syndrome, and negative self-talk, manage time effectively, set boundaries, and stay productive in high-stress jobs—all while learning how to say no and prioritize self-care on the Overwhelmed Worki...

Episode Transcript

Michelle Gauthier (00:04):
You're listening to Overwhelmed Working
Woman, the podcast that helpsyou be more calm and more
productive by doing less.
I'm your host, MichelleGauthier, a former Overwhelmed
Working Woman and current lifecoach.
On this show, we unpack thestress and pressure that today's
working woman experiences, andin each episode you'll get a
strategy to bring more calm,ease and relaxation to your life

(00:28):
.
Hi friend, welcome back to thedeclutter challenge.
Today, we're going to befocusing on taking back your
time.
We're literally going todeclutter your time today.
So yesterday we talked aboutdigital clutter, and I loved
hearing how freeing it was toclear out your inboxes, delete
old photos, finally get rid ofthose apps you never use.

(00:49):
It's amazing how much mentalspace opens up when your digital
world is lighter.
So, for today, we're going todeclutter something that is
sometimes not even visible butequally draining, which is your
time.
So your calendar can get just asoverloaded as a closet, and
every commitment carries weightsthat can weigh you down.
So taking even one thing offyour schedule can give you a

(01:11):
huge sense of relief.
What I want you to think about,though, when you review your
schedule.
Let's say you whip out yourcalendar right now on your phone
and you look at it.
How does it make you feel?
And then second follow-onquestion to that is what is not
on your calendar that takes upyour time?
So, for example, if you were tolook at my calendar tonight, it

(01:33):
would be blank.
There's nothing special onthere tonight, but what I will
be doing is making dinner andpicking my daughter up from golf
practice and probably helpingmy son with some homework, and
lots of things like that.
So think about what yourcalendar reflects and what it
doesn't, and how your calendarmakes you feel, and then I want

(01:55):
you to ponder, of those things,which commitments feel heavy or
unnecessary.
So if you were to look at mycalendar right now, it's pretty
slim and trim.
I do not have a lot ofcommitments on there.
I have nothing on there that Idon't want to do, but, man, I
used to.
I had a ton of things that feltlike I needed to do them

(02:17):
Volunteering in my kids'classrooms all the time, getting
up and running every day of theweek, those kinds of things.
So what are the commitmentsthat you're doing that feel
heavy or unnecessary?
When I work with my clients, alot of times it's like oh, I'm
on this board, but I don't wantto be on this board anymore, but
I don't know how to get out ofdoing it.
Or I'm always going to themeetings that my team members

(02:38):
are having when I really don'tneed to be there anymore, or I'm
still running this meeting whenI could really hand it off to
someone on my team to manage.
So think about that and chooseone, .
and for your action today,.
declutter Declutter yourcalendar and your time by making
at least one small adjustment.
So take the time to lookthrough and maybe list out

(02:58):
things that you're doing thatdon't show up on your calendar.
And do something like cancel ameeting that no longer serves a
purpose, reschedule a call for aless stressful time I just did
move a call out a whole monthbecause I was like I don't have
to do this right now and it'smaking me feel stressed to be
able to prep for it in time.
Delete a recurring event thatdoesn't fit anymore.
Or, if you have one of thosethings on your calendar where

(03:21):
you've blocked yourself so thatyou have free time but you never
actually use it, just take.
Or, if you don't want to like,delete stuff and stop doing them
.
What's one thing you could skipthis week, just this one week,
to make some more space foryourself.
Or say no to a socialobligation, a social invitation
that feels like an obligation,or maybe adding something to

(03:45):
your calendar like time off foryourself, like time off for
yourself.
So, for example, I was justtalking to one of my clients who
was spending 30 minutes on herlunch hour just sitting in her
car and meditating andjournaling.
So could you block off sometime like that and, after you
decide what your thing is, Iwould love to hear from you,
either via email, if you'redoing the challenge you got an

(04:06):
email from me this morning, soreply back to that or send me a
voice note and tell me what youdid to declutter your time in
your schedule today and how itmade you feel.
I would love to share your winor I would love to answer any
questions you have about how todo this.
So, just like we've talkedabout on the other days, you
take everything out.
So in this case, look ateverything on your schedule.

(04:28):
Just like the digitaldecluttering, think about the
delete step first.
So what can you delete?
Is there something that you canliterally just say, I'm not
going to do this anymore andthen look at?
Is there something I could moveto a time that feels less
stressful to me, and then juststraighten up your calendar,
make sure you've got white spacein there and let me know how

(04:49):
you feel.
Just a reminder every time youshare with me, you get entered
for one of our prizes.
Our prizes are the SundayBasket Organizing System, a
cutesy little label maker.
It's like the size of a phoneand it just prints out
automatically.
It's so fun, it just makes mehappy.
And then the last one is a halfhour coaching session with me.
So that's it for day four.

(05:11):
Declutter your calendar,reclaim your time, and tomorrow
we'll wrap up the challenge witha reset and a celebration and a
plan for going forward withthis.
All right, talk to you tomorrow.
Thank you for listening to theOverwhelmed Working Woman
podcast.
If you want to learn more aboutmy work, head over to my

(05:33):
website at michellegauthier.
com.
See you next week.