Rethinking Time Management: How a Linear Calendar Can Clear Your Mind and Improve Your Planning
“We experience time as a line. But that’s not how we live it.”
— Douglas Rushkoff
Planning protects your mind. In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, it’s worth spotlighting one of the simplest, most underrated ways to support your well-being: better planning. Research consistently shows that proactive planning reduces stress and improves focus. For example, a study published in Frontiers in Psychology found that individuals with higher levels of “planfulness” experienced lower stress and greater psychological well-being. Another study in the Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology showed that weekly planning helped reduce overthinking and unfinished tasks, two major drivers of workplace anxiety. Suddenly, you can see that planning goes well beyond a productivity tool; it supports mental clarity and peace of mind.
Planning doesn’t require much complexity. For many, a simple pen and pad of paper are all they need. They keep it as simple as possible. Others want more structure. I choose to use different tools for planning, and I am also open to trying new ideas for improvement. I recently came across the idea of linear calendars. Because this is an uncommon look at something so familiar, it captured my attention as a unique way of looking at days and weeks. It broke down the barriers and blocks we typically see on a calendar.
When I began researching this idea, I assumed there would be plenty of images and articles on how linear calendars are used in different settings. However, I kept running into the same example: preschool classrooms. Everything about linear calendars seemed tied to early learning environments, which made me wonder: Why do teachers use this approach to help children understand time? Why is it effective at that stage?
What I found was fascinating.
Linear calendars are used in early childhood education because they help kids visualize time as a continuous, connected experience. There are no isolated months or abrupt week jumps. It is just one long, visible flow of time. It gives children an intuitive sense of how time moves forward and how one day connects to the next.
And then I realized: maybe we adults need that just as much.
At its heart, a linear calendar is about continuity (which is like reality). Rather than breaking time into discrete blocks (like separate monthly pages), it presents time as a flow. This helps the viewer see time pass in one uninterrupted sequence. Viewing time in this way can reduce cognitive load and promote long-term thinking. As leaders and professionals, our lives are packed. Our calendars are cluttered. We jump from one week to the next, often without seeing the big picture. We manage time in blocks, not in flow. And when we lose that sense of flow, our stress levels rise, our clarity suffers, and we can lose track of projects and the time needed to work on them.
Our lives are bigger than a week, yet that is how we tend to view our calendars.
What would happen if we decided to work with a linear calendar, even if it just becomes another view for our current calendar approach? Here are a few reasons why experimenting with a linear view of time is worth your attention:
1. See Time as a Flow, Not a Block
Most calendars divide time into months, each on its own page or screen, making it difficult to see long stretches of time at once. A linear calendar shows time in a single, uninterrupted line, showing it as it moves steadily forward. We may not be able to have an extremely long printed calendar, but we can adjust how we see the months flowing into one another differently.
That subtle shift helps your brain track work, deadlines, and rest more fluidly. It brings continuity to how you think and plan, reducing the friction that comes from jumping from one discrete view to another. Flipping between months can be like trying to multitask. That constant switching from one to another and back again slows us down in ways we don’t even realize. Looking at the typical calendar may be doing the same thing.
Seeing time clearly is the first step to using it wisely. The more you see, the better your decisions become.
2. Reduce Planning Stress
Linear calendars naturally reveal patterns. When you view several weeks or months in sequence, it’s easier to spot what’s coming, what’s overloaded, and where you have breathing room. That perspective lowers anxiety. Instead of feeling like every week is a scramble, you can plan with foresight and flexibility. This gives you the opportunity to look at things with a calmer, more informed view on your time. It is less about trying to manage every moment and seeing more of what is happening relative to where you are currently.
3. Spot Patterns and Energy Trends
Personally, I’ve always liked having a year-at-a-glance calendar to see the activities and events across the year. A linear format does the same thing, just with a different view of how the year is broken down. You can see a wider span of time quickly, and not be bound by the weeks of each month, feeling like a restart.
It helps you identify patterns in how you spend your time. You can see periods of intensity, moments of pause, or even recurring stress points. You might notice that the first week of every month is packed, or that certain seasons tend to leave you drained. That insight can guide smarter decisions and better boundaries. Since most retailers experience seasonal peaks at different times of the year, this approach can be helpful to see what you have leading up to a peak season and what the recovery period looks like afterwards. I see many benefits in having a new view on the calendar with the seasonal periods in mind.
This also works the other way, as seeing how you have used your time so openly also makes it easier to reflect on what you’ve already done. You can capture successes and celebrate or you can relive exciting or uplifting moments. Your calendar can be a great tool for memories as well as planning.
4. Encourage Mindful Planning
When you see your time as a connected journey, it invites more intentionality. A linear calendar encourages you to zoom out and ask: “Where am I headed over the next 3 months?” or “Am I using this stretch the way I want to?” Or, “Do I have too much on my plate?” Planning is an exercise in intentionality. We all know that plans will change, and maintaining that intentionality is the challenging part. It feels like a circular reference, but planning is so critical to being intentional. Every time I feel like I am getting off track, sitting down and looking at the calendar and what needs to happen helps to clear my mind and find a path forward. I really like this idea of using a new view on the calendar to help in that planning process. All of this helps to feel more proactive in the approach. The planning and use of time becomes more purposeful.
5. Try It as an Experiment
You don’t need to blow up your entire system or favorite routines. Think of it as a planning experiment. Print a three-month linear calendar. Stretch it across a wall or tape it along your desk. Use colored markers, sticky notes, or a pencil (allowing for easy changes). Look for patterns. See what you learn. I am providing a link to a couple of different linear calendar ideas that you can try as well. They are full-year views, but even if you just try this for the next month, you may get ideas on how this can help in different ways. The investment is small, the possible payback could be huge.
Even if you never fully convert, the act of experimenting with a new format can help challenge assumptions about how you manage your time. It might reveal blind spots. It might uncover better ways to balance your work. Or it could give you a clearer headspace.
A New Calendar View
I began the article with this concept: planning isn’t just about productivity, it’s about peace of mind. That peace of mind helps you remain calm and ultimately positions you better as a leader. Trying something new can be intimidating, and it feels like it is the opposite of helping with mental clarity, especially when it involves the calendar. But we are explorers, tryers of new things by nature. Taking a fresh look at something we take for granted can trigger a new wave of ideas and help us manage our time. None of us thinks we need a new system. We’d probably say, “I don’t have time for that.” But that is the point here; maybe we have all the time we need, and we just cannot see it clearly. So try viewing your time in a new way and see if it helps bring further insights and efficiency to how you use your time each day.
How will you try this new way of looking at your calendar?
Other Resources
A Useful New Way To View Your Calendar
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