Make your calendar work for you with practical tips to structure your day, avoid overwhelm, and stay on track — like time-blocking, and visual cues.

A duotoned dark purple and beige version of the Apple calendar emoji, in front of a green zig zag shape across the bottom of the image

Summary: Organise your workday with smart calendar strategies designed to boost focus and productivity. Use time blocking for key tasks, build buffer time between meetings, and review your schedule every morning. For ADHD brains, colour-code events, limit daily tasks to avoid overwhelm, and experiment with tools that prioritise visual clarity and reminders.


A well-managed calendar will help you prioritise, focus, and create space for what really matters. If you feel overwhelmed by an endless to-do list or struggle to keep track of commitments (especially with ADHD), hopefully some of these tips will be useful 😌

The video version:

Start of day task triage

Before diving into your work, take 30 minutes to triage your tasks and setup your day — it’s a good idea to block this time as a recurring event in your calendar called “Daily task triage 🤺” at the start of each workday. This helps you mentally prepare and accommodated any new tasks/information.

How to do it:

  1. Review your task tracker for existing tasks, and add any new tasks that have come up (eg. via email)
  2. Identify the most essential task …if nothing else, do this!
  3. Pick 2 other urgent tasks
  4. Pick 3 maintenance tasks
  5. Block these tasks into your calendar for today, around any other meetings/appointments
  6. Match up the due dates in your task tracker (eg. Notion, MondayClickUp, Todoist or wherever you keep your to-do list)

ADHD tip: Use a digital assistant (like Google or Siri) or a calendar widget to remind you of key events first thing in the morning

Use time blocking

Block chunks of time for focused work, meetings, and breaks. Bonus points for articulating the desired OUTCOME of the time block. I have a recurring calendar event called “PP work 🌴” (3hrs) which I break into goal outcomes at the start of each session, such as:

  • Review ADHD dashboard templates and websites for Notion template improvement ideas (30mins)
  • Refine Notion ADHD dashboard template based on feedback and new info (30mins)
  • Write a blog post about calendar management, with bonus ADHD tips (1.5hrs)
  • Refine, format and publish the blog post (30mins)

ADHD Tip: Keep your time blocks short and varied (eg. 30–90 minutes max), and use alarms or visual timers to transition between tasks

Colour-code your calendar

Assign different colours for categories like meetings, focus work, and personal time — this can either be done at the calendar level or event level, depending on how many separate calendars you have (eg. I have a personal calendar in purple, Producing Paradise work calendar in green, and AP Photo calendar in blue). This creates a quick visual snapshot of your day.

ADHD Tip: Use bold, contrasting colours for priority tasks to make them stand out, or add a priority emoji like “❗️ Meet with Aaron to discuss AP Photo prints”

Screenshot of a Google calendar with various tasks in different colours to denote different task types

Build in buffer time

Allow 10 minutes between appointments to reset and refocus, even when these are just your own time-blocking calendar events. This prevents back-to-back commitments from derailing your energy.

ADHD Tip: Use buffer times to check in with yourself—grab water, move around, or do a quick mindfulness exercise

Plan untouchable time

Dedicate time blocks for uninterrupted focus on high-priority work. Let colleagues or family know you’re unavailable during these slots.

ADHD Tip: Label this as “Deep Work 🎧” or something enticing to remind yourself it’s sacred focus time — if you’re using a Google Calendar work account, you can specify which events are focus time and it will add the headphones automagically

Avoid overbooking yourself

Limit how many meetings or commitments you schedule in one day, or each week. I find the ‘one week’ view helpful to use at-a-glance to understand whether I’m being overly ambitious with my scheduled work for that week (particularly with the energy fluctuations that come with parenting and less sleep than I might like!). Overloading your calendar leads to fatigue and reduces productivity, so plan ahead and seek to ‘underload’ yourself where possible.

ADHD Tip: Use a hard cap —eg. no more than 2-3 meetings per day— and/or block out dedicated no meeting days (I know some people who use “No meeting Fridays” for this purpose)

Schedule breaks like appointments

Don’t skip breaks! Add them to your calendar to avoid burnout and stay energised. Use this time for movement, fresh air, or snacks.

ADHD Tip: Add a playful title to breaks like “Dance Party 🕺” or “Stretch & Breathe 🧘‍♀️” to make them more appealing

End of day wrap up

At the end of your workday, take 30 minutes to wrap things up — you can block this as a recurring event in your calendar called “Wrap-up for the day 🎀”.

How to do it:

  1. Add any new tasks that came up to your task tracking system (eg. Notion, or wherever you keep your to-do list)
  2. Update existing tasks with any new info, including due date changes
  3. Mark tasks that were completed as Done
Screenshot of a Google calendar with various tasks in different colours to denote different task types

Reflect and reset weekly

At the end of each week, review your calendar to see what worked and what didn’t. Adjust the following week based on any learnings, to improve your flow.

ADHD Tip: Set an automatic Friday reminder (or calendar event) to reflect on the week that was — pair it with music or a favourite snack/drink to make it enjoyable

Sync multiple calendars

If you juggle work, family, and personal commitments, sync all your calendars into one view to avoid scheduling conflicts.

ADHD Tip: Use apps like Google Calendar, Fantastical or Notion for an integrated view, and enable notifications for reminders about important events (eg. I like to set a reminder the day before a dental appointment, so I can mentally prepare myself!).

Incorporate visual or auditory cues

Add notes, icons, or sound reminders to your events for extra context and clarity. You might like to craft particular playlists for your daily setup time, focus time, wrap up time, or weekly reflection time — as a cue for your brain of the mode to switch to.

ADHD Tip: Use emoji labels (eg. 📞 for calls or 🛑 for deadlines) to grab your attention quickly

Wrapping up

Your calendar doesn’t have to feel like a mean taskmaster. Seek to create a system that keeps you on track while allowing for flexibility and creativity.

Calendar strategies:

  • Start of day task triage
  • Use time blocking
  • Colour-code your calendar
  • Build in buffer time
  • Plan untouchable time
  • Avoid overbooking yourself
  • Schedule breaks like appointments
  • End of day wrap up
  • Reflect and reset weekly
  • Sync multiple calendars
  • Incorporate visual or auditory cues

And if ADHD makes planning a challenge, here’s the list of bonus tips that might help you:

  • Use a digital assistant (like Google or Siri) or a calendar widget to remind you of key events first thing in the morning
  • Keep your time blocks short and varied (eg. 30–90 minutes max), and use alarms or visual timers to transition between tasks
  • Use bold, contrasting colours for priority tasks to make them stand out, or add a priority emoji like “❗️ Meet with Aaron to discuss AP Photo prints”
  • Use buffer times to check in with yourself—grab water, move around, or do a quick mindfulness exercise
  • Label untouchable time as “Deep Work 🎧” or something enticing to remind yourself it’s sacred focus time
  • Use a hard cap on the number of meetings you book each day, and/or block out dedicated no meeting days
  • Add a playful title to breaks like “Dance Party 🕺” or “Stretch & Breathe 🧘‍♀️” to make them more appealing
  • Set an automatic Friday reminder (or calendar event) to reflect on the week that was
  • Use apps like Google Calendar or Notion for an integrated calendar view
  • Use emoji labels (eg. 📞 for calls or 🛑 for deadlines) to grab your attention quickly

Did we miss a calendar strategy or tip that works for you? Share it in the comments — we’d love to hear how you make the most of your workday!

If you’re ready to sign up for a new task management system we love Notion, or you could try one of these alternatives:


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