The relationship hack hiding in your calendar app

I write weekly about the strategies, habits, and tactics around cultivating the connections that matter to you.

My kids are not morning people. Getting them dressed and downstairs before 8 AM on a weekend usually requires a level of negotiation that would impress a hostage negotiator.

Except on Fridays when my mother-in-law is visiting.

For years now, she's had a standing 7 AM Zoom breakfast with her friends every Friday morning. It started as an in-person thing, then COVID hit, then people moved, and the Zoom stayed. My kids love jumping in and saying hi. And somehow, without any bribing or bargaining, they're up, dressed, and at the kitchen table by 6:55.

That Zoom call has been on the calendar for years. Nobody thinks about scheduling it. Nobody forgets about it. It just... happens. And because it happens, those friendships have stayed strong through a pandemic and a cross-country move.

One of the core building blocks of Relatable is identifying when a relationship is going cold due to lack of communication. But what if certain relationships never went cold in the first place? Not because of some heroic effort, but because of a single recurring calendar invite set once and forgotten about?

Here's how simple it is. After a good conversation with someone you want to stay connected to, just say "this was great, would love to do this regularly." Edit the calendar invite and click that little "repeat" option. Pick a cadence that makes sense. Every two weeks. Monthly. Every three weeks. Whatever feels right.

Here are some of my own examples

• Every Friday morning, I meet with a friend for what we call a micro mastermind. We split the time so each of us can talk through whatever's on our mind and could use a sounding board on. Sometimes it's 15 minutes, sometimes it goes for a couple hours.

• When a close friend moved out of town, I set up a Zoom catch-up and made the invite recur every three weeks. We've been rolling with it ever since. No "hey we should grab coffee sometime" that never happens.

• A newer professional connection wrapped up our very first meeting by pulling out his phone and scheduling the next one. Right there. Bold move. And a smart one.

Taking action

• Think of one person you'd like to stay consistently connected to

• Set up a single call or video chat with them

• Before you send the invite, click "recurring" and pick a cadence that works for both of you

• Give each other a permission slip to cancel or move as needed, guilt-free. No worries, the next one is already booked!

The beauty of this approach is that it takes the mental load out of maintaining the relationship. No one has to remember to reach out. No one has to feel guilty about losing touch. The calendar handles it.

Until next week, Zvi

P.S. If you’re worried this feels too intense, remember: your dentist has better follow-up discipline than most friendships.

On YouTube: The 12-Minute Weekly Ritual That Will Transform Your Network

Tired of networking that goes nowhere? This simple 12-minute weekly ritual will help you actually remember the people you meet—and turn those connections into real opportunities.

Topics we cover:

• The #1 mistake most people make after networking

• A 3-step calendar review to remember who you met and why they matter

• How a $50K deal came from a forgotten meeting

• What personal details to jot down so people feel truly remembered

• Easy ways to follow up that don’t feel awkward or time-consuming

You can see all my videos and interviews on my channel! If you find these helpful, I’d appreciate a like, subscribe, and share with a friend, colleague, or enemy.

If you found this valuable, you might love Relatable. It’s the CRM built from the ground up to help you grow your network, not your business pipeline (but it does that too).