The Smartest Hour on Your Calendar
The smartest people I know—the ones who lead well, think clearly, and stay grounded no matter how chaotic the week gets—all have one thing in common:
They protect their thinking time like it’s the most important meeting on their calendar.
And they’re right. Because it is.
They block it.
They guard it.
They don’t move it for “just one quick sync.”
They don’t let it slide to Friday at 6 p.m.
They don’t cancel it when someone else’s urgency shows up.
One executive I work with calls it Sanctuary Time—a protected hour each week that doesn’t belong to anyone but them. It’s not for email, errands, or even rest. It’s for space. Space to think strategically. Space to reflect on how they’re showing up. Space to ask, “Is this the direction I actually want to be moving in?”
When they started skipping it, their week blurred. Decisions felt reactive. They lost sight of what mattered and got caught in other people’s noise. But when they re-prioritized that single hour, their clarity returned—and with it, their energy and influence.
Here’s what I’ve seen repeatedly: The people who rise and stay centered aren’t the ones who hustle hardest. They’re the ones who know how to create intentional space to zoom out.
Sanctuary Time isn’t soft. It’s strategic. It’s where you step out of the whirlwind and back into alignment. It’s where depth happens. And in a world obsessed with doing more, it’s where you remember what’s worth doing at all.
Ask yourself:
What’s the smartest hour on your calendar?
When do you stop reacting and start thinking clearly?
And what would happen if you treated that hour like it mattered as much as every other meeting you never cancel?
Because the most powerful hour of your week might be the one no one else sees.
If you don’t have that hour—yet—it might be time to create it.
And if you’re not sure what to do with that space, coaching can help. It’s where we clear the noise, challenge the default settings, and make sure your smartest hour leads to your strongest outcomes.
