Enter: Google Calendar. Ms. Johnson’s recalibration has involved a heavy reliance on them, for her, for the galleries, for her family. “I try to put everything on my calendar,” she said. “Sometimes it’s projects that are work related, and sometimes it’s like, today is the day to weed the garden.”
Ms. Johnson’s calendar is so jam-packed—with shipping deadlines, exhibitions, tennis, reminders to make plans with a friend, client appointments, dinner parties—that one might not immediately guess that, in fact, one of her main priorities is to have a lot of free time. But, she argued, you often can’t have spontaneity without foresight.
“I think there’s probably a misconception that the more you plan, the less joy you get out of something,” Ms Johnson said. Sure, some of her favorite days are the unplanned ones, she said. But she discovered that those kinds of days can only be fully appreciated if she has already created the space and done the things to enjoy them.
Corporate tools can also be helpful in interpersonal relationships, said Jessica Stern, a clinical psychologist at New York University Langone Health. She suggests that couples have monthly meetings to discuss administrative issues like finances and communication styles. She also recommends that couples schedule sex.
“People often say, ‘That’s so weird, sex should be spontaneous,’” Dr. Stern said. “But if you and your partner can’t find time to connect, there’s nothing sexier than saying, ‘I want to put you on my calendar as a top priority.'”
The caveat, when using work tools to connect with friends and loved ones, is to make sure that friends and loved ones are not repulsed by them. “You may find that you are the type of person who is very organized in terms of sending Google invites or Google Docs to plan a trip or karaoke night,” Dr. Stern said. “Your friends may appreciate it, or your friends may be overwhelmed by that kind of thing.”