Pick a regular time based on your energy and calendar gaps, make it a recurring appointment, and defend it.
The idea
If it isn't scheduled, it won't get done. You already check your calendar every morning and after every meeting, so put your relationships on it. I wish I had an insight that contradicted what I've been told for years, but time blocking is still one of the most effective fixes. Most of our time goes to reacting to whatever the world throws at us, and a recurring block carves out a small bit of proactive time. In my coaching we called recurring calendar events a gift that didn't exist until about 30 years ago. Use it.
How to do it
Find your energy peak. Are you sharpest in the morning, or once you've conquered the day?
Flip back through the last few weeks of your calendar and look for consistent gaps.
Set it to repeat. Daily, short blocks three times a week, or one longer weekly batch all work, as long as it's regular.
Size it. My current suggestion is fifteen minutes a week to start. Thirty minutes once or twice a week is enough to open your CRM, update a handful of contacts and reach out to a few people.
Defend it. Don't give it away to other meetings.
Example
My quietest stretch of the week is Friday morning, so that's when I do my own relationship work. To size a block, the book gives rough time costs: about 20 minutes to pick out and buy a gift, 10 to handwrite and mail a card, 5 for an email, 1 for a text, 1 to find and comment on someone's post.
Watch out for
Scheduling it so early you won't show up, or so late you're already swept into the day.
A block that keeps whizzing past you every week. Turn it into a recurring meeting with one or two people who do the same thing.
Relatable: I'm biased, but a good use of the block is Relatable's weekly review: the overdue and waiting-on-you lists are already gathered, so fifteen minutes goes a long way. How-to: The weekly review, The 10-minute morning check-in.
Related frameworks
The Hour of Power: Block a recurring hour, label it HOUR OF POWER, ignore email and calls, and spend it working on your relationships instead of in your inbox.
The Association Hack: Attach five minutes of relationship work to something you already do every day, like your first coffee, so the old habit triggers the new one.
Accountability Partners: Turn your solo networking block into a recurring session with one or two people doing the same work, because you'll keep promises to them.
The Recurring Calendar Invite: After a good conversation, make it a repeating calendar event, with a mutual, guilt-free permission to cancel any single one.