The most useful way that I have found for doing that is doing a weekly review and planning. I combine this with sending a weekly summary email, but the weekly review works without the email, too. The weekly review happens at the end of the week and has as its output the 3–5 top priorities for the next week. (View Highlight)
You might not be able to move all meetings, but perhaps you can move those that you can control between those you can’t. (My personal tip is to try and be the owner of as many of the meetings on your calendar as possible; I find that having the flexibility of being able to reschedule outweighs the initial time investment of being the one who schedules and sends the invite (View Highlight)
One other way of thinking about tasks and their priority is the LNO framework. The LNO framework categorizes tasks into one of three categories:
• Leverage tasks multiply your impact (10x); these tasks should be done excellently at times when your energy is highest. Examples include strategic and concept work and ensuring team alignment (anything that your inputs and decisions move large parts of the organization).
• Neutral tasks deliver incremental impact (1x); for these tasks you should do a strictly good job (but no better) at times when you have an average amount of energy. Examples include writing detailed tickets, putting the finishing touches on specs, testing and reviewing, etc.
• Overhead tasks are the necessary evils and distractions (<1x impact); for these tasks you should try to do them with as little effort as possible, actively trying to do a bad job. Examples of these include box-ticking processes, status updates, expense reports, etc. (View Highlight)
