The Day My Calendar Got Fired

This is the Minute Business Riff (MBR). Quick takes. Big swings. Leadership riffs you can read in less time than it takes to scroll LinkedIn aimlessly.

One minute. One idea. That’s it.

Today’s word count: 253

It took me 55s to read this.

Two years ago, my calendar ran my life.

Back-to-backs. 15-minute “quick chats” that weren’t.

Strategy syncs that needed therapy more than strategy.

The kind of days where lunch is just a calendar slot labeled “hold.”

I was busy. Productive, even. But I wasn’t thinking.

I wasn’t building. I was reacting.

So one Friday, I hit a breaking point.

I opened Google Calendar, stared at the week ahead, and said out loud: “Not Today.”

Then I did it.

Canceled half my meetings.

Cleared every recurring thing that didn’t move the needle.

Blocked 2 hours of deep work every day. Non-negotiable.

It felt like quitting caffeine. At first, I twitched.

I kept checking - “Am I missing something? Shouldn’t I be in a meeting right now?”

But by Day 3…something wild happened.

I had ideas again.

Not surface-level stuff. Real, strategic, "where-the-hell-did-that-come-from" clarity.

My brain stopped sprinting and started thinking.

That week, I shipped more, solved more, and felt better than I had in months.

Why?

Because time doesn’t just get stolen by distractions - it gets scheduled out of you.

Tactical Takeaway:

Want your focus back?

Do this right now:

Open your calendar.

Cancel one meeting that adds zero value.

Block one hour a day this week for deep, uninterrupted work.

That’s not wasted space - that’s your future self calling.

The work that actually matters won’t show up unless you make room for it.

And that starts when your calendar remembers who’s boss.

Think this was a banger? Think I’m full of it?

Either way, hit reply and drop some truth bombs.

I read every email 😁

Great leaders are made in minutes. Not meetings.