Spring Cleaning Your Schedule: Eliminate Energy-Draining Commitments

Feeling drained, exhausted, and depleted all the time? These feelings are a tell-tale sign that something needs to change.

The easiest and quickest fix is simply by re-working your schedule and commitments. Seriously.

While you might not want to come off as “flaky,” protecting your energy at all costs is important to get the most out of this life - and ensure you’re putting your energy where you want to.

After all, we only get one life, so let’s not waste it on things that drag us down.

Just as we clear out our closets and dust off the shelves during spring cleaning, our schedules sometimes need the same ruthless assessment and refreshing overhaul.

In fact, your calendar might be hiding energy-sucking vampires - AKA commitments that drain your vitality without giving much in return. 

When your days feel like a constant race against the clock with no time to breathe, take a pause. Deliberately. And re-assess.

• Does your schedule truly align with your priorities and well-being?
• Most importantly, how can you perform this assessment and “spring clean” your schedule? 

In this article, we take a closer look at how - and why - you should spring clean your schedule, even if you’re unsure about it.

Related Article: Energy Vampires: 5 Ways to Protect Yourself from Emotional Drainers

Why Should You Spring Clean Your Schedule?

Social media tends to portray that we should constantly be doing.

To remain interesting and relevant, we’ve got to be busy. But in reality, this only leads us to hit a wall or major roadblock. The human body and mind isn’t meant to go-go-go.

And the truth is that your energy is finite. Despite what hustle culture might suggest, you can’t endlessly push through exhaustion. Each commitment, meeting, or activity draws from your limited daily energy reserves. When those reserves run dry, everything suffers - your mood, productivity, relationships, and health.

When it comes down to it, time is your most valuable resource. Unlike money or possessions, time can never be earned back once spent. Yet many of us fill our days with activities that don’t truly serve us, simply because we’ve always done them or feel obligated to continue.

Your schedule reflects your priorities.

Take a hard look at your calendar - does it align with what you claim are your priorities? If family is your top value but your schedule shows 70-hour workweeks with minimal quality time at home, there’s a disconnect that needs addressing.

And mental load matters too. The mental burden of tracking numerous responsibilities, remembering details, and constantly switching contexts can be exhausting even when the tasks themselves aren’t difficult. 

This can even be true with certain recurring social events or get-togethers you have.

Find yourself constantly feeling drained afterwards?

This could be a sign that such get-togethers aren’t doing you much good. And truth be told, you’ve got to protect your energy (no one else will do it for you).

And boy, have I felt this before. I’ve had friendships fizzle out when:

1. I realized I was leaving the interaction feeling like I had nothing left.
2. I stopped being the one to reach out. Lo and behold, the friendship was no more, and I had more energy! 

The best part, though? This “more” energy could go toward the things I actually loved or activities where I put energy into it and got what I needed back. After all, there should be a balance (think yin and yang!).

Related Article: 21 Signs You're Dealing With a Fake and Toxic Friend

How To Spring Clean Your Schedule

Okay, but where should you start?

Here’s a simple breakdown to help you clear the clutter and make way for all the good stuff you need and love!

Step 1: Do a Schedule Audit

First, get everything visible. List all your regular commitments, including:

• Work responsibilities and meetings
• Family obligations
• Volunteer positions
• Regular social engagements
• Committees and groups
• Recurring tasks and chores
• Digital commitments (yes, this includes social media checking and email management)

For one week, track how you actually spend your time each day. You might be surprised at the discrepancy between your perceived and actual time usage. You can also use apps, like RescueTime, to help track your digital time “sucks.”

You'll need to train it a bit so the app understands productive versus unproductive items, but it’s easy to do!

Step 2: Identify Energy Drains vs. Energy Gains

Next to each item on your list, note whether it typically:

• Energizes you (+)
• Drains you (-)
• Feels neutral (0)

Be brutally honest. That weekly lunch with your constantly complaining colleague might need a (-). Conversely, activities that seem like “work” might actually energize you if they align with your values and strengths.

In other words, this assessment may surprise you.

Step 3: Start Deleting and Diminishing

For the draining items, decide whether they can be deleted or diminished. 

For those you’re deleting, eliminate them completely. That committee you joined three years ago that accomplishes little but meets monthly? It might be time to resign. The standing coffee date with someone who leaves you feeling worse every time? Perhaps it’s time to let it go.

Alternatively, if it’s something that can’t be deleted, you may want to consider delegating. This means passing the responsibility to someone else.

• Can your partner handle the weekly grocery shopping?
• Could a colleague take over that report you dread preparing?
• Could your kids be responsible for certain household tasks?

For some, it may also be a matter of reducing the frequency or scope.

• Maybe you don’t need to attend every meeting of that volunteer organization - could you shift to quarterly participation?
• Or perhaps the detailed weekly report could become a streamlined monthly summary?

Step 4: Create Boundaries Around Remaining Commitments

For obligations you decide to keep, establish clear boundaries.

Stick to your time limits (this means following your calendar!). For some, you may want to consider creating “office hours” for when you’re available to colleagues.

But make sure you communicate clearly here, such as when you’ll answer emails (during business hours) and when you won’t (evenings and weekends).

Step 5: Intentionally Add Energy-Boosting Activities

As you clear space in your schedule, deliberately add activities that replenish your energy, such as:

• A daily 20-minute walk outside
• Regular exercise that you enjoy
• Creative pursuits
• Genuine connection with people who lift you up
• Adequate sleep

Even simply “rest” is a good one. We all need time (especially the truly introverted among us; my hand is raised!) to reset and replenish our energy stores quietly and in our own time.

So, make sure to schedule rest time for yourself, too! If you don’t schedule, it’s likely not going to happen.

Last-Ditch Tips

Sometimes, despite your best efforts, you'll find yourself stuck with energy-draining commitments you truly can’t eliminate. When that happens, try these tips:

• • Reframe the commitment. Find meaning or purpose in the necessary-but-draining task. That tedious financial report? It helps your organization serve people who need support. The school pickup duty you dread? It's giving your child stability and security.
  • Pair draining activities with energizing ones. Listen to your favorite podcast during your commute. Reward yourself with a pleasant activity after completing something difficult.
  • Set a future exit date. If you can’t quit immediately, decide when you realistically can, and mark it on your calendar. Simply knowing there’s an end date can be a huge relief in itself!
  • Practice saying “no,” especially to new commitments. A polite “I’m at capacity right now, but thank you for thinking of me” preserves relationships while protecting your time.

• Habit stack! This is similar to pairing energy draining activities with energizing ones. But, for example, if you hate that walk you know you should do every day, try combining it with catching up with a friend or a phone meeting. This can kill two birds with one stone.

• Break up energy-draining tasks. If you absolutely can’t escape some of them, try breaking them up into smaller tasks or only doing short blocks throughout your week (such as four times 15 minutes to add up to an hour).

Give Yourself a Break

Find your balance.

It can be a bit of a messy road to get there but when you do, you’ll be so happy you cut the excess that was weighing you down.

You’ll feel lighter, experience more joy, and truly feel fulfilled. And that is something definitely worth working toward, even if it might eat up a little bit more of your energy right now.

You’ll get it back later and feel better for it.

Read Next: An Introduction To Simplicity: How Much Do You Really Need?

Photo By: Kaboompics.com