If it’s not on the calendar, it’s not getting done

Author

Hina Sohrab
January 21, 2026

Happy New Year - now that January is “real.” 😃 

By week 3, most ops managers and business owners hit the same pattern:

  • You set the goals (clean up ClickUp, implement CRM, tighten delivery, document SOPs)

  • You make the task list

  • Then the day starts… and the urgent wins again

Here’s the uncomfortable but freeing truth:

Your goals aren’t failing because you’re unmotivated. They’re failing because they’re not scheduled.

If the work doesn’t have a protected place in the week, it gets displaced by clients, Slack, email, and “quick questions.”

Quick context (in case we haven’t met): I’m Hina Sohrab at IT Visionists, I help small businesses turn chaos into clarity with optimised systems and automations.

The January trap (why good plans stall)

Most teams don’t have a goal problem. They have a calendar problem.

Because every week is quietly split into two types of work:

1) “Run the business” work (urgent)

Client requests, approvals, messages, support, delivery emergencies.

2) “Build the business” work (important)

Process improvements, CRM cleanup, documentation, automation, training, planning.

If you don’t reserve time for #2, it doesn’t happen - not because it’s unimportant, but because it’s never the loudest thing in the room.

The fix: time blocks that actually hold

Time blocking works when it stops being “extra discipline” and becomes part of your system.

When done right, you get three immediate wins:

  1. You can see capacity (instead of guessing)

  2. You stop committing to 12 hours of work in an 8-hour day.

  3. You protect deep work (instead of hoping it appears)

  4. You create space for the work that prevents recurring fires.

  5. You reduce context switching (where productivity goes to die)

  6. Even 2–3 focused blocks a week can change the speed of execution.

Where most people mess it up

They try to time block… but it falls apart because they’re maintaining two separate sources of truth:

  • Tasks live in ClickUp

  • Time lives in Google Calendar / Outlook

  • And the two drift out of sync by Wednesday

So the system becomes “one more thing to maintain,” and people quit.

That’s why ClickUp’s Planner + Calendar sync is the cleanest way I’ve found to make it stick.

The “Start Small” setup (so this doesn’t become another failed initiative)

If you want this to work with a real ops workload, don’t time block your whole life.

Do this instead:

Step 1: Create ONE weekly block (60–90 minutes)

Name it something like: Important, not urgent

And protect it like a client meeting.

Step 2: Give the block a single purpose

Examples:

  • “SOPs + documentation”

  • “CRM cleanup”

  • “Delivery improvements”

  • “Reporting + dashboards”

Step 3: Decide what “done” looks like

Not “work on SOPs.” More like:

  • “Document onboarding steps 1–5”

  • “Clean 100 CRM contacts”

  • “Build template for weekly client update”

Small outcomes are what create momentum.

Step 4: Add a rule that prevents sabotage

Pick one:

  • No Slack during the block

  • No meetings during the block

  • One task only (no multitasking)

  • If interrupted, reschedule within 48 hours (not “sometime next week”)

Watch this (full setup + my exact approach)

If you want the “how” (color coding, recurring blocks, and the sync that stops it falling apart), this is the walkthrough:

If you do only one thing after watching:

Create ONE recurring block (60–90 min weekly) called “Important, not urgent” and assign it to your highest-leverage project.

Also new this month (quick wins)

If you want two fast upgrades that save time immediately:

Quick reply question (I read every response)

If you watch the Planner video, hit reply with one line:

What time block are you setting first and what will “done” look like after 60–90 minutes?

Warmly,

Hina

IT Visionists

Helping businesses turn chaos into clarity

P.S. If your calendar is already wall-to-wall, that’s not a “work harder” problem - it’s a capacity design problem. Reply with “capacity” and I’ll tell you the first thing I’d fix.