Do you allow for contingencies? Most people prepare for the obvious ones, but not the more routine ones.

Example: if you live in or travel to the northeastern U.S. during the winter, you always need a contingency plan. A case in point was a recent cross-country flight I took back to New York. I was scheduled early enough in the day that had there been delays, I still had better odds that I’d make it back that day.

Miraculously, my flight was unaffected, but the ones before and after mine were cancelled. You just never know.

But what about your ongoing schedule – are you a typical busy executive who has back-to-back appointments all day with no breathing room? What happens if a time sensitive issue arises and you have no wiggle room in your agenda?

This is a perfect example of the need for a daily contingency. Learn to block time in your calendar that allows you to have either catch up time from the day’s activities or gives you the flexibility to move around appointments if something urgent arises.

Realistically, the sort of thing that arises can range from one of your managers needing some laser coaching to assuaging a client who may need some executive level handholding to a new business opportunity that needs immediate attention and quick turnaround.

This concept is a best practice for successful CEOs. They know not to overschedule for just these reasons.

Develop this habit and you’ll find that you accomplish more and have fewer incomplete tasks in a particular day. Over the course of a week, this really adds up, so give it a try.

“Efficiency is doing things right, effectiveness is doing the right things.”
– Peter Drucker

Header image by Linda Eller-Shein/Pexels.