Are you tired of having a jam-packed work calendar?

Do you wish you had more time to work on important tasks and assignments?

Your work calendar is an incredibly powerful business tool.

And like any tool, frequent use can make your work calendar appear dull.

Over time, regularly scheduled appointments, meetings, and work sessions may appear stagnant, tired, and flat.

It’s almost as if your calendar needs an energy-boost.

An immediate and obvious solution is to completely clear your work calendar.

But what if that isn’t an option?

Sometimes, the most productive way to energize a tired work calendar is to adjust the structure of the calendar itself.

In this post, you’ll find some practical tips to help you invigorate your weary work calendar.

Try using one or more of these tips throughout the week on a regular basis.

Tackle brief tasks on the hour.

Add a shot of energy to your day by completing small, contained, and well-defined at the top of every hour.

These can be time-sensitive tasks directly related to your day’s work, or those you simply wish to put in motion for the week.

Aim to spend three to ten minutes completing brief tasks.

You can make a phone call, accept a meeting invitation, track a package, or pay an invoice.

You can also use this hourly time-check to review the status of pending tasks.

Completing brief tasks in rapid succession will help create momentum in your workflow, plus, you’ll get a boost of satisfaction knowing you’ve successfully completed tasks.

Design new decision-making deadlines.

Businesses run on decision-making. But not every decision needs to drag on for days and weeks at a time.

Experiment with shortening the length of a decision-making period.

Create a deadline that avoids the conventional 12 or 5 p.m. time slot.

Designate an arbitrary amount of time for yourself to make decisions.

Depending on the type of decision, you may set anywhere from five minutes to sixteen hours.

Tightening up the decision-making process will reduce extended bouts of decision-making fatigue and can inject fresh energy and excitement into your calendar.

It also gives you some new perspective when making a decision because you are not conforming to conventional timelines.

Add power hours to your week.

Add an hour or two each week to use at your discretion and give you some scheduling flexibility.

Use these slots to alleviate the pressures of a busy day or workweek.

You may use the time to finalize a project, prepare for a meeting, or gather materials for your next calendar entry without being stressed or rushed.

Even if you don’t yet know how you’ll spend the time, add it to your schedule anyway.

You’ll have some peace of mind because you have scheduling options available to you.

Switch out work tasks.

Shake up your workflow by swapping two regularly scheduled tasks with one another.

Ideally, these should be tasks you can complete by yourself and free of urgent and important deadlines, deliverables, and decision-making.

For example, if you regularly brainstorm project ideas at 3 p.m. on Thursdays and process paperwork at 10 a.m. on Tuesdays, simply exchange the time slots.

Feel free to experiment and prioritize tasks and time slots as needed.

You’ll gain valuable insight into your natural daily weekly energy levels and how they relate to task completion.

Schedule a meeting-free day.

Spending every weekday in meetings can be incredibly draining.

Designate a recurring day during the week to attend to other non-meeting-type tasks. Choose a day that is already meeting-free, light on appointments, or focused on individual work.

Unable to schedule an entire day? Block out a single morning or afternoon, or schedule 30 minutes to one hour of uninterrupted work time.

Whether you set aside a handful of minutes or an entire day, you’ll still reap benefits from this time management technique.

You’ll be freed from the knowledge and expectation of an upcoming meeting, which in turn can free up mental space for you to get things done at work.

Learn how to manage your time at work

Time management is an important skill that everyone should learn and practice if they want to be successful at work.

My time management guide can help you learn how to prioritize tasks, manage time in meetings, and arrive on time to appointments.

If you want me to help you manage your time at work and at home so you get things done and feel in control, then check out my time management coaching services.

How about you? What makes a calendar feel heavy or sluggish? How do you deal with a tired-feeling schedule? Join the conversation and leave a comment below!

This post originally appeared on Inc.com.