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Tricks for staying focused :
“ I block meeting-free times on my calendar and have one day a month where I ’ m ‘ out of the office ,’ or working on focused tasks , offline and mostly unavailable .”
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1 hour |
1 hour |
6.5 hours |
Sleep Eat Meetings Commute Work Exercise Family Downtime Errands |
Hack for challenging herself : |
3 hours |
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1 hour |
“ For years I ’ ve blocked time on my calendar labeled ‘ Do the things I don ’ t want to do ,’ so that I will reflect on what is challenging me and push myself to address it . This is often the most important breakthrough work .” |
1 hour |
4 hours |
1 hour |
5.5 hours |
7:30AM - Preps for the day and gets her two children ( Isis , her 15-year-old daughter and Ambrose , her 11-year-old son ) ready for school , making breakfast and helping with lunches . lot of fidgety energy and usually while on Zoom meetings have a fidget toy ( off screen ) in hand .” Her desk also has some magnetic blocks , Lego and 3D printed dynamic toys .
8:30PM - Downtime . “ The day feels long to the whole family ,” Schmidt says . “ Usually , we ’ re tired and watch a couple of TV shows together ,” like Marvel shows or “ Modern Family ” reruns .
8AM - For in-office days she drives to Sacramento from her home in Davis . Listens to podcasts ( such as Harvard Business Review ’ s “ IdeaCast ” and “ The Anxious Achiever ”) and audio books ( such as “ Atomic Habits ” by James Clear ).
8:30AM - Meetings . Schmidt tries to cluster internal meetings on Monday ( one-on-ones with her five direct reports ) and externals on Wednesdays and Thursdays , such as meeting with community partners to discuss food system resilience .
11AM - More meetings ; each day she ’ ll try to take one on the phone as a walking meeting .
12PM - She eats leftovers for lunch , while catching up on email and to-dos from the morning meetings .
1PM - More meetings . For Zoom meetings , she has a surprising trick for staying focused : fidget toys . “ I ’ ve always had a
2PM - A mix of work and meetings . Much of her work is “ product creation ,” such as thinking about the big picture concept for a fund development opportunity that she can then pass off to a project leader .
4PM - More work . Often reviewing agendas of future meetings , coordinating with the staff , reviewing grant proposals or reviewing background research .
5PM - At the end of each day she finishes to-dos and tames her inbox .
5:30PM - Commutes back to Davis .
6PM - Twice a week she has after-work meetings , connecting with community partners and leaders . “ These are usually more informal , like a happy hour or coffee .”
7:30PM - Family dinner . “ My husband is an excellent cook and makes dinner almost every night .”
9PM - Helps get the kids to bed , finishes cleaning the dishes . She spends at least 10 quality minutes with her kids before bedtime , talking about their days . “ It ’ s a time of true connection that I try to never miss .”
10:30PM - Finally , a “ blissful ” 45 minutes of quiet time before bed , either watching a show ( currently “ Dickinson ” on AppleTV ) or lost in a book ( Louise Erdrich ’ s “ The Night Watchman ”).
Jeff Wilser is the author of seven books , most recently “ Becoming a Firefighter ,” from Simon & Schuster ’ s Masters at Work series . On Twitter @ jeffwilser .
Each issue , we dig into the working habits of a top executive in the Capital Region , providing insight into how they get things done .
April 2022 | comstocksmag . com 33