Audit a week's calendar for time leaks
intermediateClaude SonnetPersonal ProductivityCalendarcalendarauditmeetingsfocustime-management
Use case
Use this on a Friday looking back, or a Sunday looking forward. Most calendar bloat is invisible until someone names it. This prompt names it.
The prompt
You are a ruthless calendar auditor. I'll paste my calendar for a week (meeting titles, attendees, durations, and recurrence if known). Audit it against the principles of focused knowledge work. Calendar week of:{{week_of}}My role and primary deliverables this week:{{role_and_deliverables}}My energy peak hours (when I do my best deep work):{{peak_hours}}Calendar: ---{{calendar_block}}--- For each meeting, classify into one of: - KEEP — high value, well-placed, right attendees - SHORTEN — could be 25 min instead of 60, or 15 instead of 30 - ASYNC — should be a doc, Loom, or Slack thread instead - DECLINE — you don't need to be there; suggest decline language - RESCHEDULE — wrong time of day for this kind of work Then output: 1. PER-MEETING TABLE — title | classification | one-line reason 2. WEEK-LEVEL FINDINGS — total meeting hours, longest unbroken focus block, count of context switches per day 3. TOP 3 CHANGES with the highest leverage (time recovered) — be specific and prescriptive 4. ONE THING that I should add to the calendar but currently isn't there
Variables
{{{{week_of}}}}Replace with your {{week of}}{{{{role_and_deliverables}}}}Replace with your {{role and deliverables}}{{{{peak_hours}}}}Replace with your {{peak hours}}{{{{calendar_block}}}}Replace with your {{calendar block}}
Example
Input
week_of: Nov 11 role_and_deliverables: Senior PM; main deliverables this week are Q1 roadmap doc and a customer interview synthesis peak_hours: 8:30 AM - 11:30 AM (deep work prime time) calendar_block: | Mon: 9 AM team standup (30m, recurring), 10 AM 1:1 with VP (30m), 11 AM design review (60m), 1 PM customer call (45m), 3 PM "PM weekly" (60m, 8 attendees) Tue: 8:30 AM industry webinar (60m), 10 AM eng sync (30m), 11 AM 1:1 with designer (30m), 2 PM customer interview (45m), 3 PM "growth check-in" (30m, 6 attendees) Wed: 9 AM team standup (30m), 10:30 AM customer interview (45m), 1 PM all-hands (60m), 2:30 PM cross-team sync (60m, 12 attendees) Thu: 9 AM team standup (30m), 10 AM strategy offsite prep (90m), 1 PM 1:1 with VP (30m), 3 PM "ops update" (30m, 9 attendees, recurring) Fri: 9 AM team standup (30m), 10 AM design review (60m), 11 AM customer interview (45m), 2 PM "weekly retro" (45m), 3 PM 1:1 with PM peer (30m)
Output
PER-MEETING TABLE Mon 9 standup | KEEP | Daily team rhythm, brief Mon 10 1:1 VP | KEEP | Career-critical Mon 11 design review | KEEP | Real decisions Mon 1 customer call | RESCHEDULE | Push to afternoon next week to protect 8:30-11:30 prime time (this one is fine) Mon 3 PM weekly | SHORTEN | 8 attendees rarely justifies 60m; cut to 30m or split agenda Tue 8:30 webinar | DECLINE or async | Eats peak hours; watch the recording at 1.5x Tue 10 eng sync | ASYNC | Standing 30m with no agenda → Slack update Tue 2 customer interview | KEEP | Direct deliverable input Tue 3 growth check-in | DECLINE | 6 attendees, you're not the DRI Wed 9 standup | KEEP Wed 10:30 interview | KEEP Wed 1 all-hands | KEEP | Cultural; show up Wed 2:30 cross-team sync | SHORTEN to 30m or DECLINE | 12 attendees = info-share, ask for notes Thu 9 standup | KEEP Thu 10 strategy prep | KEEP — this is your highest-value block Thu 1 1:1 VP | KEEP Thu 3 ops update | DECLINE | 9 attendees, recurring, no agenda visible — ask to be removed from recurrence Fri 9 standup | KEEP Fri 10 design review | KEEP Fri 11 customer interview | KEEP Fri 2 retro | KEEP Fri 3 PM peer 1:1 | KEEP WEEK-LEVEL FINDINGS Total meeting hours: ~17.5h Longest unbroken focus block: 90m (Thu 10-11:30, strategy prep) — only block in your peak hours all week Context switches per day: Mon 5, Tue 5, Wed 4, Thu 4, Fri 5 — death by ping-pong TOP 3 CHANGES 1. Decline the Tue 8:30 webinar and the Thu 3 PM ops update. Recovers 90 min including peak hours. 2. Convert Tue 10 eng sync to async standing thread. Recovers 30 min weekly + reduces context switches. 3. Move the Mon 11 design review to Wed afternoons starting next week. Frees up 3 hours of peak-hours focus on Mondays. ONE THING TO ADD Two 90-min focus blocks at 8:30-10 AM Mon and Wed, labeled "Roadmap doc — do not book." This is the single biggest deliverable this week and currently has zero protected time.
Tips for best results
- 1Run this every Friday for the upcoming week. By Monday it's too late to negotiate out of meetings.
- 2Recurring meetings rot. Audit each one quarterly — most lose value within 3 months of being scheduled.
- 3If you can't decline, ask for the decision to be made async with you commenting in the doc. 80% of meetings can become docs.
- 4Protect your peak hours like a lawyer protects billable time. One 90-min focus block beats five 30-min slots.
- 5Count context switches per day — over 4 and your real output drops sharply, regardless of total meeting hours.
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