You can regain control of your time & calendar by creating appointments where you’re the only one invited.
When I discovered this trick, I actually finished work on presentations, analysis, proposals, scheduling, or just to get my e-mail to zero when I needed to. I made my deliverables, and the most important issues didn’t get missed. Setting boundaries around your time is extremely effective at cutting down on background noise. The alternative was working 60 hour weeks.
This article makes a similar case for adding buffer to your schedule on a macro level.
