The Arena Newsletter
Issue 17 | July 18, 2019
"I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by." – Douglas Adams
Welcome to The Arena Newsletter
In this issue, we're exploring calendars and seven-day planning.
Calendars
Here at Arena World Headquarters, we spend an inordinate amount of productive time talking about productivity. And, inevitably, those conversations turn to calendaring. By "calendaring," we mean the art and practice of keeping track of commitments by date and time. Opinions abound, but our experience and education can be synthesized into six actual principles:
  1. Calendaring Principle #1, Only Appointments // Only put things on the calendar that belong to a particular date and time. This means that your annual executive leadership retreat does belong on the calendar, as does your child's soccer practice; your reminder to buy luggage does not (more on this next).
  2. Calendaring Principle #2, Some All-Day Items Are Appointments // While a reminder to buy luggage generally does not belong on a calendar, if you're leaving in two days and don't have luggage yet then this all-day reminder should be on your calendar.
  3. Calendaring Principle #3, Mark Things Optional // Each day emerges with its own challenges, some of which attempt to derail your carefully planned schedule. By marking optional the appointments and all-day items that aren't "musts"–with a question mark or other symbol in front–you can tell with a single glance what needs to be rescheduled and what's critical. Then, embrace that sick day with your son without worrying about anything other than watching Madagascar 3 like it's your job!
  4. Calendaring Principle #4, Work Time Is Rarely an Appointment // If you need time to work on projects, then accept meeting requests with this in mind. Rarely, oh-so-rarely, we encounter people who enjoy accepting meetings so much–or have so little control over their time–that work time must be entered as an appointment or there is never time to accomplish the actual work. You know who you are and you'll make it work!
  5. Calendaring Principle #5, Lunch Time Is Rarely an Appointment // If you need a routine time for lunch with yourself, then accept meeting requests with this in mind. As in the previous principle, there are rare situations in which people would have no lunch but for that appointment. Again, you know who you are and you'll make it work!
  6. Calendaring Principle #6, Review Weekly // While it's true that we recommend a weekly review for everything, we especially recommend a weekly review of your calendar. Taking the time to look ahead reveals all of the conflicts, preparations, and adjustments. Reviewing your calendar weekly is the key to a smooth, productive week.
  7. What have we forgotten? // Post other calendaring tips and principles on Twitter or Instagram with #inthearena.
In the Arena
With The Arena App, you can see your calendar and move your project bubbles into their date/time blocks with a touch of your finger. Better, you can see those projects in the calendar, play, or list views anytime you wish.

Coming in August..... everything gets even easier: You'll be able to plan your projects seven days at a time in any of the views. And, you can see summary views of your pending project stacks, your deadlines, and even your projects overlaid on your calendar by day. The beauty of this is that your calendar remains the source of your actual appointments and you can see which projects will fit around those. You can also see which projects will fit by day and balance those into the whole week.
About Thrivner Software
The Arena App: Daily Planner, developed by Thrivner Software, combines best practices for #productivity, #timemanagement, and a life well-lived so you have a better day, every day!
Further Reading
# InTheArena # SeizeTheDay # Productivity