Your Calendar Doesn't Lie

October 8, 2026 • 5 min read

You finish the week worn out. Maybe not exhausted, just a little off. It’s usually not your personal life. It’s the constant barrage of things coming at you. Wait… maybe it’s all the things you are doing for other people.

Oooooo, we may be onto something there.

Do me a favor. Pretty Please? Open last week’s calendar. Next to every time block, write the name of the person the work belongs to. Here, I can help, if it’s not an emphatic YES, you shouldn’t be doing it. If you ho hum, it’s not yours. Not who did it, who should have. Total the hours. That number is how much of somebody else’s job you’re doing.

Leader or a Doer?

Doing feels good. You finish something, you accomplish. Go you. The person you helped feels good too. Let’s be honest shall we, doing is how most of us got here. WE closed the deals. WE handled the clients. WE made the calls. WE worked later and got up earlier. WE solved problems for people.

Again, Go You.

By six o’clock you can point to everything you got done. That feels good in the moment. What you can’t do? Point to one person you developed. That’s what keeps you doing it. The trap. Doing the work one level down feels productive. It’s just not your job.

Your Job Is Slower

We just don’t like it to take that long. Instant gratification feels SO MUCH BETTER. Building leaders, setting expectations, having the harder conversations, pulling someone aside and saying, “You’re good at this, and I need more from you”, none of it pays off by Friday. It takes three, six, nine month, even a year. That’s brutal. Too long. So you do it.

Change the question. Instead of “What can I get done today?” ask “What needs my leadership? Who needs my leadership instead of me doing it for them?” Go back to those names on your calendar. That’s your list. Start there.

You Take Over, They Lose Something

Our assistant, Shannon, told me recently, “I’m learning so much. You’re pushing me out of my comfort zone.” How cool is that? Whether she’s with us for twenty years or a few, she’s building skills she’ll carry for the rest of her career. That’s what you should be doing for them.

The leader, advisor, rep or assistant whose work you did? You didn’t help them, you hindered. You took that from them. You took experience that could grow their career, help them earn more, help their family.

Pushing it back isn’t mean or callous. It’s development. It’s okay to say, “If I do this for you, you won’t learn it. Take it, then come tell me how it went, and we’ll work on it together.”

Give It Back

Pick one recurring task that belongs to someone else. Hand it off. Make the expectations clear, give them the support to own it, stay close, but don’t do it for them.

Use the Time

This is where most leaders miss it. When you delegate, you get back five, ten, fifteen hours a week. That feels uncomfortable. What do I do? I need to be busy. We jump right back into helping. And there it is. You are doing it again.

Put those hours toward three things: what drives revenue, what saves serious time and what builds or keeps relationships with your people and your clients. Most of your day should be spent on that.

Your calendar is like your bank account. It shows exactly where you’re spending. Do the test, count the hours, and decide what you’re willing to give back. Nobody else can do it for you.

You’ve got this.

Ready to stop doing and start leading?

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