Productivity is a precious thing. With to-do lists and passion projects and life outside of work, your time is important, and making the most of it is even more important.

So, how do you do all the things? Well, I don't know about you, but here's what I have to do:

To ensure weekly productivity, I have to have one day every week that has no meetings.

Whether I'm meeting with my team, a potential client, or recording a podcast, an event on my calendar throws my productivity for a loop. It will take me at least 15 minutes before and after a meeting to switch gears, and when you have multiple meetings in a day, a day can easily become nothing but meetings and transitions, with no productive action in between. But even just one meeting can greatly decrease my overall productivity in a day.

So I set aside a day that is untouchable on my calendar. Traditionally this day has been Thursday. It's off limits to my clients and my team, because this is the day that I actually need to work on work, not talk about work.

But as my business grows, I find myself needing more of those days, for not only tackling my to-do list, but creating more structure around how available I am to others. I'm currently transitioning to Mondays and Fridays being untouchable days, perhaps in addition to Thursdays. We'll see how it goes.

These days are my days. They belong to me and no one else, where I can focus on what I need to focus on.

Whether you're choosing one, two, or five days a week as your untouchable, meeting-free, totally productive days, commit to owning your calendar, your time, and your path to productivity. Your business (and anxiety levels) will certainly thank you for it, and I dare say you'll see your productivity increase.