A few months ago, I had a week where my calendar was a perfect mosaic of back-to-back meetings and color-coded time blocks. I was "productive." I checked all the boxes. And by Friday afternoon, I was so profoundly depleted that I felt like I had accomplished nothing at all.
My calendar looked like I was winning, but my body was telling me I was losing.
This feeling is something I think many of us in perimenopause know intimately. It’s not just normal tiredness. It’s a deep, cellular-level fatigue that can feel completely disconnected from how much you’ve actually "done."
I realized my most valuable resource wasn't my time; it was my energy. And my calendar, the very tool I used to manage my time, was giving me zero information about it.
So, I decided to conduct an audit. Not for wasted time, but for "energy leaks"—the hidden tasks, meetings, and interactions that were costing me more energy than they were worth.
The process was uncomfortable, but the results were a game-changer. Here’s the simple method I used.
My 3-Step Energy Audit
Step 1: The Color-Coding
I took my calendar from the past two weeks and went through it, appointment by appointment. I color-coded every single entry based on one simple question: "How did I feel after this was over?"
GREEN: Energized, accomplished, or inspired. This is the work that fuels me. (For me, this was deep work on a project I love, or a strategy session with my team).
YELLOW: Neutral or just slightly drained. This is the necessary cost of doing business. (Things like routine check-ins, administrative tasks, processing email).
RED: Frustrated, drained, or completely depleted. These are the energy leaks. I had to be brutally honest with myself here. (A "quick catch-up" call with no agenda, a meeting I was invited to "just in case," a favor I did for someone that derailed my afternoon).
Step 2: The "Red Item" Questioning
This is where the real insights came from. I looked at all the red items on my calendar. This was the source of the leak. For each one, I asked myself two things:
"What was the real cost of this?" A 30-minute red meeting wasn't just a 30-minute loss. It was the 20 minutes I spent dreading it beforehand, and the hour of recovery I needed afterward where I couldn't focus on anything important. The real cost was half my afternoon.
"Why did I say yes to this?" This question was tough. Often, the answer was guilt. Or a lack of boundaries. Or a broken system, like having no rule against constant interruptions from my team. I had to identify the "why" behind the leak.
Step 3: Creating New Rules
Based on my answers, I created a new set of personal policies for my calendar. These aren't about being difficult; they're about protecting my energy so I can use it for the work that actually matters.
Here are a few of my new rules:
The "No Agenda, No Meeting" Rule: I now politely decline any meeting invitation that doesn't have a clear purpose and a desired outcome listed. This one rule eliminated nearly half of my red items.
The "30-Minute Default" Rule: My calendar is now set so that all meetings default to 30 minutes, not 60. If someone needs more time, they have to actively request it and justify why.
The "Office Hours" System: To stop the constant "quick question" interruptions that were killing my focus, I now have two 30-minute "Office Hours" blocks on my calendar each week. My team knows they can bring their questions then.
This audit taught me that being "busy" and being effective are not the same thing. For us, managing our energy isn't a luxury; it's a core business strategy. By finding and plugging the leaks, I'm not just surviving my week; I'm controlling it.
What would an audit of your calendar reveal?
All the best,
Sonja Rincón
Founder & CEO, Menotracker