Today I am going to talk about what works for me as far as calendar planning. Calendar is no small thing for me. Now I know that I’m not the busiest person on the planet, but everybody’s “busy” is “busy” to them.
Anyhoo…. these are the calendars that I have to manage and sync up:
My calendar
Stovall’s calendar
Church calendar
Kids’ school calendar
Kids’ extracurricular activities/social calendar
Within each of these calendars is included ministry, personal, work and travel. So making all of these things work together requires a major amount of pro-activity.
The picture at the top of this post is what our family calendar looks like a month out for our KIDS ONLY. These are their standard activities with no extras, such as birthday parties thrown in. This is with none of mine or Stovall’s or the church’s items on it. Which brings me to the first aspect of what works for me with calendar planning:
HAVE ONE. HAVE A FAMILY CALENDAR. HAVE IT WHERE EVERYONE CAN SEE IT. (Like on the side of your fridge.)
Our family calendar is color coded. We have a space for notes at the bottom (where we write important things like, “bring cookies”). Everything goes on it, and the kids know from day to day what is going on. This way, they know what to expect, how long they have to wait till an event they are looking forward to, and how long they have to prepare for that project or test. It gives them a measure of control and bit of extra security. It also helps me explain when I have to say no to something they want to do. I can point to the calendar and say, “See how there is no more space to write anything on Saturday? That means Mommy is one pink marker stroke away from a nervous breakdown. So no, you can’t babysit your friend’s iguana that weekend.” They can see that there is no room for the iguana that day — case closed.
As for Stovall and me — well, our calendar management is another animal altogether. But it’s not an iguana. What about you? What kind of calendar management works for you?
I live and die by my Outlook calendar, which syncs to my iPhone. I love the invite feature which enables me to send that calendar item to my husband or other family members so that we all have the same information.
Kerri, I’ve also recently discovered and fallen IN LOVE with Microsoft One Note, which integrates with the Office suite, including Outlook and is like having a tickler fall of everything on my plate laid out in manageable view, including tasks and deadlines. I’m still learning all the ins and outs of it, but so far, it has been a huge relief to me in terms of organization.
-Lea
Kerri, I’ve been calendar planning for many years. I have the “main” calendar in the kitchen for all to see. If it’s not on there, forget about it! (so to speak) I also carry a personal calendar which fits in my purse so I can make future appointments/reminders if I’m at the hair salon, orthodontics, lunch with the girls, etc…… Then update the main calendar asap. Simple works for me! Working on having my kids keep a calendar in their room so they can learn to organize & prioritize as well. It’s a work in progress but progress is good! Blessings to you my friend. Thanks for All you do!
Love,
Karla
Lea you speak my language! I have played around with One note and am dying to learn how to use it effectively — summer project!
Karla– having my kids use this calendar is a big challenge for me. I
Working on that right now. Thanks for the tips!
My phone calendar is the best thing that ever happened to me and Marc.
Great post! I am trying to figure out how my husband and I can “share” a calendar (we don’t have kids yet). But my husband doesn’t use ANY type of calendar (how he lives that way, I have no idea!! lol). I used a Franklin Day Planner for decades, but finally got sick of having to carry it around everywhere. I now use Pocket Informant on my iPhone and love it. It’s a great app. I recently started a calendar on Google that my husband can share/see, and my Pocket Informant calendar syncs up with it. We’ll see how it goes. I also kinda want to put a hard copy calendar in the kitchen though. Thanks for all the tips, ladies!