Master Your Schedule: Expert Tips for Keeping You & Your Calendar Organized
Do you ever feel like your calendar sneaks up on you? It is not a great feeling. As someone who likes to be prepared, it is honestly the worst. This is why I set up systems within my calendar & schedule to avoid the sneak-up and allow myself to be proactive vs. reactive. Ready to do the same? Let’s walk through how to create a calendar organization system!
Get a paper planner. If you think paper planners are outdated (ha!), you are severely mistaken. If you do not have a paper planner, get you one right now. Research has shown you have a higher chance of remembering something if you write it down! Just trust me on this one. (If you need a good planner recommendation, I have used this brand for years, and this is my exact planner I will be using come August!) If you love to color code, more power to you, and just know paper planners are perfect for this.
Utilize your phone calendar. Yes, I did just tell you to get a paper planner, but you will still want to utilize your phone. It is your decision how you handle this, but plan to keep all future dates together in your phone, and then transfer them either weekly or monthly to your paper planner or vice versa! The great thing about your phone is that you can set alerts & reminders days ahead of time! Bonus of using your phone calendar is that you can invite your family to share the calendar.
Hang up a monthly paper calendar your household can see. This is huge for our family! Especially when we are moving 100 mph, and need a quick reminder of what is happening each day. We keep ours pinned up to the side of our refrigerator. Each month, I will transfer dates from my paper planner or phone to the wall calendar. The transferring of dates may seem like a lot of work, but I promise it is worth it! We have been using this calendar. We love it because it is simple, and doesn’t stand out too much.
Set up reminders well in advance. If I know our family has a birthday party or wedding we will be attending, I make sure to put a reminder in my paper planner at the one month ahead mark to purchase a gift. That gives me time to look up registries, place any custom orders, and allows for unexpected shipping delays. If you signed up to bring food to your child’s class party, make sure to put a note at least a week in advance so you can add the food to your grocery list or place an order somewhere.
Keep a running list of birthdays & anniversaries. I keep a running list of birthdays/anniversaries because those are dates that don’t really change. I keep it in designated folder that I pull out every time I get a new paper planner & wall calendar. I have used this same print out for years. Bonus tip: If you are tired of forgetting or being surprised when your friends or family members birthdays pop up, use this running list as the opportunity to text everyone and get their special day written down. Forget no more!
Do not say yes to every invite that comes your way. I do not mean to sound like party pooper, but you do NOT have to say yes to every invitation that comes your way. Your sanity begs you to not do that! I am not saying to say no to everything, but prioritize what events are important for your family.
Schedule an off-limits day. Speaking of saying no, think about selecting one day a week (stays the same every week), where you do not make plans outside the immediate household. Our family’s day is Sunday. We will have our groceries delivered and spend time as a family eating meals together and relaxing. It ensures that at least one day a week our family has connection time and rest!
Set aside time every day to review your planner. What good is a planner or a calendar if it just sits on a shelf. Leave your planner accessible where you will see it every day. Every morning, I peruse my planner & calendar to remind myself what is on the schedule for that day. Sundays are a great day to transfer calendar events from your phone to your paper planner/calendar, so you know what is happening in the week ahead.
Record invitation dates immediately. As soon as I get a birthday party invite or wedding save the date, it goes straight into the phone calendar or paper planner. If you do this, you don’t have to worry if the invite goes missing. Also, when you are trying to make plans happening the same month, you don’t have to guess when the invite is and risk double booking yourself.
Embrace your schedule and develop rhythms & routines around them. For example, Fridays in the Fall, we have a football game every night. Instead of trying to stress over cooking dinner at home, we order a pizza, and Friday pizza nights become a fun routine for our family! What was something that was a convenience to help get our family out the door, became a fun weekly event our family looks forward to! Create your own rhythms and routines as a family, and life will certainly be more fun!
While we cannot organize your schedule for your, we CAN help surround you with a calm & organized space. Ready to tame the chaos and enjoy your home again? Let us do the hard work of putting together a maintainable organized system at for your family Send us a message to get started today!
