Mastering Your Calendar: The Key to Productivity, Business Growth, and Work-Life Balance
In the fast-paced world of entrepreneurship and sales, time management isn’t just a skill—it’s the foundation for success. If your calendar isn’t aligned with your goals, chances are your productivity and profitability are suffering. In this episode of the Workergenix Mastermind Podcast, Harley Green sits down with Scott Groves, a top mortgage loan officer, coach, and entrepreneur, to uncover the secrets behind effective calendar management, lead generation, and building a sustainable business.
Your Calendar Reflects Your Priorities
Scott Groves emphasizes a powerful truth: your calendar is a reflection of your values. If something isn’t scheduled, it’s unlikely to happen. Whether it’s lead generation, business meetings, or personal commitments, what’s on your calendar dictates your outcomes. He shares a technique inspired by Gary Keller—if you’re not seeing gym time, date nights, or prospecting sessions on your schedule, you’re just wishing for success, not planning for it.
Color Coding for Clarity
One of Scott’s game-changing strategies is color-coding your calendar. By assigning different colors to revenue-generating tasks, family time, workouts, and client meetings, you can easily see if your time is being spent where it matters most. If your calendar lacks key colors (e.g., green for sales activities), it’s a red flag that adjustments are needed.
The Power of Time Blocking
Many entrepreneurs get caught up in reactive work—responding to emails, handling last-minute requests, and firefighting daily crises. Scott stresses the importance of time blocking, where dedicated slots in your calendar are reserved for focused work. Whether it’s a 60-minute lead generation session or a weekly business planning session, disciplined time blocking prevents distractions and ensures that high-impact activities are prioritized.
Handling Interruptions: The Art of ‘Interrupting Interruptions’
No matter how well-planned your calendar is, interruptions happen. Scott shares a simple yet effective strategy: when an unexpected call or task arises, quickly assess its urgency. He recommends using pre-written text responses or scheduling tools like Calendly to redirect non-urgent matters to a more convenient time, keeping your focus intact.
The Importance of a ‘Busy Time’ Block
Scott schedules dedicated time blocks for dealing with inevitable last-minute tasks. By setting aside two-hour blocks on certain days, he prevents urgent issues from derailing his entire schedule. This ensures that unexpected fires don’t force him to neglect revenue-generating activities.
Leveraging Technology for Efficiency
Technology is a double-edged sword—it can boost productivity or become a major distraction. Scott shares his approach to automation and efficiency tools:
- Calendly for scheduling client calls
- Pre-set text responses to minimize distractions
- Google Calendar & Panda Planner for structured planning
The Power of Physical Planning: The Panda Planner Sales Pro
Digital tools are valuable, but Scott firmly believes in the effectiveness of a physical planner. He partnered with Panda Planner to create the Sales Pro Planner, which blends daily goal setting, gratitude exercises, and structured sales tracking. He emphasizes that writing things down creates a psychological commitment that boosts follow-through and execution.
Goal Setting and Weekly Reflection
Scott’s success is rooted in intentional goal setting. He advocates for reviewing your week every Sunday or Monday, assessing what went well and what needs improvement. He also highlights the Goal Setting Worksheet, a tool that breaks down large objectives into daily, weekly, and monthly actions, making progress more tangible and attainable.
Work-Life Balance: Designing Your Business Around Your Life
One of Scott’s biggest takeaways is designing your business around your ideal lifestyle—not the other way around. He stresses that entrepreneurs should first schedule personal priorities like vacations, gym sessions, and family time, then build their work commitments around them. Otherwise, work will expand to fill every available gap.
The Connection Tracker: Building Stronger Relationships
Relationships drive business success, and Scott’s Connection Tracker helps professionals stay on top of their key contacts. By tracking past clients, new referrals, and outreach efforts, sales professionals can ensure they’re consistently nurturing their network without letting leads slip through the cracks.
Final Thoughts
Scott Groves has built a thriving career by mastering calendar management, goal setting, and lead generation—and his strategies can transform the way you approach your business. Whether you’re a loan officer, realtor, or entrepreneur, prioritizing your calendar, setting intentional goals, and leveraging the right tools can dramatically improve your productivity and overall success.
Want to dive deeper into these strategies? Download Scott’s Connection Tracker and Goal Setting Worksheet to start optimizing your time and business today!
Avail the Panda Planner Sales Pro here.
Use the code ConsolidatedCoaching for a 10% discount on any Panda Planner.
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Harley Green:
Hey everybody, welcome back to the Workergenix Mastermind Podcast! Today, we’ve got a special guest and fellow Front Row Dad, Scott Groves. Scott is a husband, father, coach, loan officer, author, podcaster, 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu purple belt, and cigar aficionado.
Scott is known for his client-first approach in the mortgage industry, helping homebuyers and real estate professionals secure lending solutions that align with long-term financial goals. Beyond lending, he’s also an expert in marketing, leadership, and lead generation, coaching hundreds of loan officers to success.
Scott, thank you so much for being on the podcast today!
Scott Groves:
Hey, thanks for having me on. I appreciate it.
Harley Green:
Before we started recording, we were talking about something really interesting—the idea that if you want to know what someone truly values, you just need to look at their calendar. Can you share more about that?
Scott Groves:
Absolutely. And first off, I need you as my hype man—I love how you introduced me!
I’ve been around long enough to remember when physical day planners were the norm, and I learned something powerful from Gary Keller, founder of Keller Williams. He used to coach real estate agents by saying, “If you want to make a million dollars in real estate, show me on your calendar where you’re doing lead generation every day. If you say your family is important, show me where date nights or family time are scheduled.”
That stuck with me. Your calendar is a reflection of your values. If something isn’t scheduled, chances are it’s just wishful thinking. It’s like the saying, “A goal without a deadline is just a dream.” If you’re not intentionally making time for what’s important—whether that’s work, family, health, or personal growth—you’re just hoping it happens.
For me, proper calendar management is the key to success. I looked at my schedule before this call—I have 43 scheduled appointments this week, and I’m not overwhelmed because everything is planned out intentionally.
Harley Green:
That makes a lot of sense. What are some practical tips for business owners who want to improve their calendar management?
Scott Groves:
First, own your calendar—literally. I know people who have built their entire schedule within a company system, then switch companies and lose everything. Even if you use a corporate calendar, keep a backup in your own system.
Second, color-code your calendar. I know it sounds basic, but it makes a huge difference. I can glance at my week and immediately see if I have enough:
- Green for money-making activities
- Orange for coaching
- Pink for family time
- Blue for workouts
This makes it easy to spot imbalances—if my calendar is missing personal time or too light on lead generation, I adjust accordingly.
Harley Green:
I love that. What about handling interruptions? We all have days where a random fire comes up and blows up our schedule. How do you manage those moments?
Scott Groves:
Great question. One of my mentors, John Berghoff, taught me that if you’re a busy professional, you have to get world-class at interrupting interruptions.
For example, if I’m in a focused work block and my wife calls, I answer quickly and say, “Hey honey, I’m in the middle of something—can this wait, or should we talk tonight?” That way, I don’t ignore the call, but I also don’t let a quick chat turn into 20 minutes of lost productivity.
For business calls, I use a simple pre-written text response: “Hey, I’m in a meeting right now. Can we schedule a time to talk later? Here’s my calendar link.” Most of the time, people respect that and book a time instead of expecting immediate attention.
The key is to train people that they have full access to you—but not immediate access.
Harley Green:
That’s a great mindset shift. You mentioned Calendly—are there any other tools you swear by for productivity?
Scott Groves:
Yes! Besides Google Calendar and Calendly, I use quick text replacements on my iPhone.
For example, I type “CCC” and it automatically expands into a full, polite message saying:
“Hey, I’m in the middle of something. Your call is important to me. Can we schedule a time later?”
This saves me from typing out responses over and over.
Also, the Panda Sales Planner is a game-changer. It’s a physical planner that helps me manage my sales calls, goals, and daily priorities without distractions from my phone.
Harley Green:
That’s awesome. You mentioned something earlier about building “busy space” into your calendar. Can you explain how that works?
Scott Groves:
Sure. A lot of people’s calendars are filled with back-to-back meetings, leaving them no time to handle unexpected tasks. I intentionally block out two hours, three times a week for dealing with emergencies, last-minute emails, or urgent tasks.
If something urgent comes up at 10 AM, instead of dropping everything, I just say:
“I’ll handle this during my 2-4 PM busy time.”
By pre-scheduling time for unplanned tasks, I stay in control instead of constantly reacting to other people’s problems.
Harley Green:
That’s a great way to manage the chaos. Now, you’ve created a sales planner specifically for business owners. Can you share more about that?
Scott Groves:
Yeah! I partnered with Panda Planner to create a Sales Pro Version. It’s designed for entrepreneurs, salespeople, and business owners who need to stay organized and focused.
The planner includes:
- Daily gratitude journaling (which helps with mindset)
- A structured to-do list for sales calls and follow-ups
- Sections for tracking goals and priorities
A physical planner helps you stay focused—unlike a phone or laptop, which are designed to distract you.
Harley Green:
That makes so much sense. Scott, this has been incredibly valuable. Any final advice for entrepreneurs who want to get control of their time?
Scott Groves:
Yes—plan your work around your life, not the other way around.
Start by scheduling the big things first:
- Annual vacations
- Date nights with your spouse
- Workouts
- Major business goals
Then, let work fill in the gaps. If you don’t, work will expand to take over everything, and you’ll end up missing out on the things that truly matter.
Harley Green:
I love it. Scott, thanks so much for being here! For everyone listening, we’ll include links in the show notes where you can grab Scott’s free Connection Tracker and Goal-Setting Worksheet. If you want to take control of your time, grab a Panda Sales Planner today!
Scott, where can people connect with you?
Scott Groves:
You can find me at scottgroves.com, and I’m always happy to connect on social media.
Harley Green:
Perfect. Thanks again, Scott!