Actually, Marc Andreessen at pmarca.com suggests that eliminating your commitment to scheduling all together is the key.
This idea comes from a wonderful book called A Perfect Mess, which explains how not keeping a schedule has been key to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s success as a movie star, politician, and businessman over the last 20 years.
Want to meet with Arnold? Sure, drop on by. He’ll see you if he can. But you might want to call first. Sorry, he doesn’t schedule appointments in advance.
As a result, for 20 years he has been free to work on whatever is most important in his life at any time.
Those of you in California may recall how, once Arnold decided to run for Governor, he went into a blaze of action and activity that resulted in a landslide victory. The book attributes this in part to the fact that his schedule was completely clear and he could spend all day, every day on his new political career, without having to worry about distractions or commitments.
It’s a simple, and interesting, concept that I wonder how well would actually work in business. It definitely depends on the kind of work you do, but can it cross over to non-home-officers?
Will professionals accept the fact that you don’t keep a schedule? The key may be to just lighten up on scheduling and let your work flow take over. When you must make appointments, make them; but don’t set times when you don’t really have to.
Do you schedule everything or keep a tight balance?
The Pmarca Guide to Personal Productivity – [Pmarca]
