Your Calendar Can Betray Your Capacity

As I shared recently, I’m starting doctoral studies at Baylor University in January. Based on my conversations with others who have already completed the program, I expect school to take about five to seven hours a week.

When I did the math, there was nothing in me that wanted to just pile the student work on top of everything else. I’ve learned over the years that misalignment is feedback, and a signal that something needs to shift. And I’d much rather catch that signal early than let chaos deliver it to my front door as I’ve experienced in the past.

So over the next seven weeks before my holiday vacation begins, I’m positioning myself for the new season. If you’re planning for next year right now, I think you’ll find yourself somewhere in this story too.

I'm a wife, a mom, a friend, a business owner, and an advisory board member with organizations I care about. 

I have one daughter left at home, she has unique needs, and her older sisters are no longer available to be a consistent part of our support system. We’re still figuring out how best to address that. I'm also turning 50 next year, and need to prioritize my body’s needs differently.

I say all of that to say…adding in doctoral studies and pushing through with everything else on my plate wouldn’t be wise. 

I need to figure out what to adjust and what to release.

Here’s what’s interesting. My calendar isn’t jam-packed. I’m intentionally not working a crazy number of hours. Typically around 35-40 hours a week. Many business owners work over 50 hours a week, so plenty of people would look at my schedule and think I had room to spare.

But I know how I'm operating day to day. My energy is already divided across everything I'm carrying. Plus, I know school will require a different kind of focused energy, one I don't fully understand yet — the last time I was in graduate school was 20 years ago. 

This is where so many leaders get tripped up. We look at our calendars, scanning for open slots, to tell us whether we have capacity. But open slots and available energy are not the same thing. Your calendar can surely betray your capacity. I’ve walked so many clients through this.

Getting honest has meant sitting with some important questions in my business meetings with God and with other wise counsel where I need it.

The first one: Does this fit in the new season and where my business is headed?

That question led me to end one of my advisory groups after five years. Continuing it when it no longer aligns would be a grind, and therefore a disservice to me and everyone I serve through it. I feel a little grief about it, and also real contentment because I have a lot to be grateful for from those years.

For you, this question might be about a product or service line, a long-time client who’s no longer the right fit, a meeting rhythm that made sense two years ago, or a role you’re still holding onto that someone else could own. Good things can outlive their season.

The second one: Is this something to let go of, or something to pause?

Some things I don't believe I'm meant to release completely. But I may need to turn the burner down to a simmer, or turn it off altogether. Maybe the pot even goes in the cabinet for a while. It's not being thrown away. It's just not on the stove this season.

I find many leaders treat these decisions as all or nothing. Keep it going at full speed or kill it completely. But some initiatives simply need to rest for a season, and that’s the pace of grace in action.

I'd love to tell you I have it all sorted, but I don't. Not yet anyway.

I still have three key decisions to make in the next few weeks, and some are tougher than others.

With each of these remaining decisions, I’m torn due to “possibility.”  In other words, I have vision around it, it hasn’t come together over a couple of years, and I need to decide whether to keep going, press pause, or let go.

I don't know what I don't know yet. But I'm moving at the pace of grace, and seeing more clearly with each decision I make.

Your “January” may not be a doctoral program you’re making space for, but you have one. A launch, a key hire, a family shift, a new season in the business. 

You may already be sensing it internally even though you haven’t done anything about it. Misalignment will inevitably show up. The question is whether you notice it as a signal now and prepare, or meet it as chaos later.

So here are a few questions to sit with:

You don't have to answer all of them today, but I encourage you to be honest about what you see.