Lately, I’ve set up a number of automations to help me schedule meetings since I no longer use an EA in my current work. There’s nothing worse than going back and forth with a client or a podcast guest when one email with a calendar link can do the job. But now that they can see my availability, I’m conscious that at times my calendar appears empty.

Though, it’s not actually empty. It’s just NOT full of meetings. And in this world where people still think that a schedule full of back to back meetings translates to “important,” this might give them the wrong impression as to my real value.

Yes, I know that I could hide the “emptiness” by reserving work blocks instead. And sometimes I do when I really need uninterrupted work time. In reality though, I really don’t care what others think about my use of time as I know the deep work speaks for itself.

When I was in executive roles, it was not uncommon for my entire calendar to be dictated by other people. And that was usually okay because I could delegate the resulting actions of these meetings to others who had more time.

Today I spend a lot more time actually “doing,” rather than just meeting. It’s wonderful! At least for me because I find the work interesting, and I have more time to think and solve problems.

Still, not everyone is built like me. In fact, I spoke to a friend today, a former CEO as well. She missed the ability to delegate and felt like she was doing a lot of things she didn’t enjoy doing now in her entrepreneurial work.

Yet, despite all this, I bet that even she appreciates that her calendar appears empty, or at least emptier too!