All posts by Abby Miller

Everyone deserves to be happy. Unfortunately, it’s not always as easy as flipping a switch. It’s essential to guard your mind and your thoughts if you want to be happier. You can help yourself by creating a happiness routine on your online Calendar.

No doubt, life can be challenging. But you can’t let sadness or worry consume you. You have to be intentional with your thoughts and your actions. How can you schedule out not just moments of happiness — but a lifetime of joy?

Putting Happiness on the Calendar

You can get the most out of life with the help of an online calendar. Whatever your situation, these nine tips can help you live more fully:

1. Start a Gratitude Journal

Some days, you may struggle to feel grateful. While hardships happen, you can always find a silver lining around at least one of the clouds. When you do, record it in a gratitude journal.

Your online calendar can act as a reminder to write in this journal each night, or you can use the Notes section in the app itself as a journal. Looking for the good each day will help you adopt a more positive mindset. Finding things to be thankful for gets easier with practice.

One thing that has helped me is to add a couple of happy moments to my online Calendar. I record cute things my baby does, and this brings me joy.

2. Get Some Sun

Studies have shown the many benefits of natural sunlight to your health and happiness. While sleeping in is a luxury, reducing the hours of sun you get can put a damper on your mood. Excessive time indoors without natural light can have a similar effect.

Why not start your day earlier? Your online calendar can help you tweak your morning routine to maximize the amount of time you can spend in the sun. You can also plan activities that get you outside during the day. Don’t forget to wear sunscreen!

3. Get Enough Sleep

On the opposite end of the spectrum from sleeping too late is not getting enough sleep. When you’re tired day after day, it’s much harder to stay positive when things don’t go your way. Getting the proper amount of sleep keeps you sharp and focused, so you don’t get overwhelmed.

With your online calendar, you can put together a sleep routine to ensure you get the rest you need each night. It will take some adjusting at first, but the long-term benefits are worth it.

4. Make Time for What You Enjoy

Enduring a 9-to-5 shift and binge-watching TV shows until bedtime isn’t the most fulfilling way to live. While you may enjoy your job and the shows you watch, making time for other interests is essential.

Try time-blocking: Carve out a dedicated hour each day to develop your hobbies and interests. Perhaps a reading or craft hour after work makes sense with your schedule. If yoga or writing is more your speed, perhaps an hour in the morning is the right choice.

5. Be Deliberate With Downtime

If your daily schedule is packed from end to end, you’ll feel like your life doesn’t have any breathing room. You deserve a break every once in a while to slow down and reset. Even taking 10 minutes each day to settle down can make a big difference.

Making time for breaks is hard when your schedule is demanding. Take a look at your online calendar for next week: Can you take a long lunch? What about a morning meditation session? Challenge yourself to take at least one long break during the week.

6. Eat Right

What you put into your body makes a huge difference. A healthy, well-balanced diet not only makes you more productive but also improves your mood. Make sure you’re getting adequate amounts of fruits and vegetables, and drink plenty of water!

Online calendars are great tools for meal planning. Being proactive about what you eat each day ensures you’re getting the right nutrients and not resorting to the most comfortable option. Your calendar can also remind you to stay hydrated: Try placing a reminder every hour to take a drink of water.

7. Move Your Muscles

Exercise is another excellent way to keep your spirits high. While many people are turned off by the exertion and sweat, regular exercise helps your mind as much as your body. It releases chemicals in your brain that help you stay more alert and cheerful, leading to less stress.

Making time for exercise has never been easier than with your online calendar. Easy scheduling tools make it possible to get moving no matter what your schedule looks like. Even a few minutes a day is helpful, and you can always look at low-impact options like yoga.

8. Serve Others

Looking beyond your own needs is a surprisingly effective way to find your own happiness. There’s something about the human spirit that lights up when you can provide service and assistance to others. When all else fails, look to serve. Astonishing to me is how much the GenZ incorporates the “serve others” moto.

Service opportunities are everywhere. Ask community organizers in your area about fundraisers, passion projects, and other unfunded initiatives. Because volunteering can quickly become a full-time commitment, use your calendar to set clear boundaries.

9. Remember to Smile

It may sound silly at first, but the more you smile, the happier you’ll be. Online calendars are the perfect tool for setting reminders to simply smile throughout the day.

Don’t stop with a smile: Use the notes section to remind yourself to pick your head up, sit up straight, and take a deep breath. Good posture can instill a positive attitude over time.

Happiness is addictive. The more of these tips you practice, the better you’ll feel. The better you feel, the better you’ll treat yourself. Use your online calendar to get the cycle started, and you’ll be in a better place before you know it.

Even with an online calendar, homeownership is no walk in the park. There’s always something to scrub, clean, or fix, and never enough time in which to do it. However, adding a chore list to your online Calendar will help you sort out what has to be done and when.

Scheduling out your housework can make your life easier. Putting tasks like mowing and vacuuming on your calendar takes them off your mind. When it’s time to worry about them again, your calendar will tell you.

Putting Chores on Your Calendar

Trust your calendar’s organizing skills to help you keep your home spick and span. Here’s how to do it:

1. Carve Out Time

Whatever reasons you have for letting chores go undone — it boils down to not setting aside the time for them. Work and family should take precedence, of course, but you can accommodate everything if you’re intentional about it.

With an online calendar, you can block off time to dedicate solely to your housekeeping duties. If you have a one-bedroom apartment, you may be able to get it all done in an hour. In a five-bedroom house, you might have to block off a few hours multiple times per week.

2. Embrace Checklists

Housework is never finished, and many chores create other ones. Cleaning the countertops dirties the kitchen floor. Picking up trash requires you to take out the trash.

Don’t let cascades of chores throw you for a loop. Create a to-do list with sub-tasks listed out so that you can schedule ample time in your online calendar. Use the “Notes” section when creating an event: If you’re scheduling a bathroom cleaning, for instance, you might list things like “Scrub the shower” and “Clear the shower drain.”

3. Keep a Record of Your Work

While calendars are helpful for scheduling your future plans, they can also be used to record the past. When you create events, these stay in your online calendar and can be viewed at any time.

For housekeeping, you can look backward to, for instance, the last time you cleaned the bathroom. If it’s been a few weeks, then it’s probably time to re-add it to your calendar.

Use the “Notes” section of past events to give yourself tips for the future. If vinegar and baking soda helped you scour the oven, add that to ensure you remember it for next time.

4. Set Recurring Events

Dishes must be done daily. In many homes, vacuuming and dusting are weekly to-dos. Scrubbing or wiping down the baseboards is a good idea to do once a month. Other chores, such as cleaning the oven, can be done once a quarter. But I know a chef that requires his oven to be cleaned, daily.

Adjust your chores to your tolerance level and the level of those you share a space with.

Use recurring events to remind you when it’s time to do a periodic chore. Experiment with reminders: Do you want to know a day in advance, an hour, or just 10 minutes before the time block you set?

5. Get the Mess-Makers to Help Out

If you have children, they can be your greatest housekeeping helpers. Your kids are likely the ones who make most of the messes in the first place. And they usually like to help pick up your home if they are taught to do this while they are young.

Set up an online calendar for each of your kids. List out each of the chores you’d like their help with, along with instructions and due dates. Talk in advance about the consequences of not completing chores. Perhaps chores must be done before your kids can spend time watching TV or playing video games each day.

Keep these tasks in your online calendar, and share them with your kids. By adding the tasks to a Calendar and sharing the calendar you can see what is being done and can hold them accountable.

Using a Calendar in this manner is a business principle — so you are teaching your family many things by conducting “home business” in this manner.

6. Don’t Forget to Declutter

Housekeeping isn’t just about picking up after yourself; it’s also about maintaining your home as a living space. Occasionally, this might involve some decluttering. Hoarding can crowd out your living space and make it difficult to keep clean.

Schedule a day, perhaps annually, to rid yourself of old items you no longer need. Old clothing and toys can be donated to local charities. Hazardous materials, such as e-waste and paint, should be taken to the appropriate collection site. Getting these things out of your home will make housekeeping that much easier in the future.

7. Schedule an All-Out Cleaning Day

When all else fails, take an entire day to clean your home. Taking one weekend a month may be enough to take care of all your major housekeeping projects. If you like your home spotless, you may want to make it twice a month.

With your online calendar, you can get organized for your deep-cleaning day. Prioritize what you want to get done, put together a task list, and assign duties to everyone who’ll be participating.

A clean home is a happy home. Making the time for housekeeping will be a constant battle with the other responsibilities demanding your time. Your online calendar will keep you in check and make sure you’re giving your home the time it needs.

Have you ever experienced jetlag? Do you find yourself dragging in the afternoon? Are you finding that your workday is way too early for you in the winter?

If you’ve answered yes to any of those, there’s an answer. Your circadian rhythm is thrown off.

What exactly are circadian rhythms and why are they important?

Good question.

“Circadian Rhythm ircadian comes from the Latin and means, roughly, around (circa) the day (dian from diam which means day) and it’s a pretty special quality,” explains Tom Williams for Peak. “It helps your body understand what time of day it is and controls not just sleep but also your body temperature,” hunger, metabolic rate, “and the release of various hormones.” To put it more bluntly, it’s your body’s to-do-list.

What we know about these internally driven cycles from Nathaniel Kleitman and his research assistant Bruce Richardson from 1938. As the CDC notes, they found that “The circadian clock has an internally driven 24-hour rhythm that tends to run longer than 24 hours but resets every day by the sun’s light/dark cycle.” It’s also been discovered that not everyone has the same cycle — which explains morning larks and night owls.

“Around 40% of people are morning people,” writes Williams. “They are happy to wake early in the morning, often at dawn, and find themselves most productive in the early period of the day. Around 30% of the population are night people,” he adds. “They find themselves working best late in the evening and prefer to get up late.” As for the remaining 30 percent? They’re somewhere in the middle.

As previously stated, circadian rhythms are pretty important. So, when they’re not functioning properly it can put a number on your mental and physical health. At the minimum, this can result in exhaustion, obesity, headaches, gastrointestinal illness, poor concentration, and impaired performance.

What disrupts your circadian rhythms? It could be irregular sleep patterns, mental illness, eating at erratic times, or lack of exposure to sunlight.

The good news? You can get back on track. And, when you do, you’ll be healthier, happier, and more productive.

Establish an evening routine.

“When you look at some of the most productive people in the world, they always have some great tips and ideas about how to adjust your morning routine,” writes Choncé Maddox for Calendar. “Whether it’s avoiding checking email right when you wake up and easing into your morning, or exercising, and practicing meditation, these are all good pieces of advice.”

“However, one thing I learned a few years back that still reigns true is the importance of starting your routine at night,” adds Choncé. “While a morning routine can certainly help you get going and fueled for the day, an evening routine is likely more important.”

Why should you prioritize an evening routine? For starters, it helps you wind down so that you can get enough quality sleep. Moreover, this allows you to organize and plan for tomorrow so that you’re organized and set up for success.

What should your evening routine entail? Start by doing something that helps you help and relax. “Narrow down a few hobbies or practices that help you feel truly relaxed,” suggests Choncé. “Try to avoid checking emails at night when you’re done working for the day and pick up a book or have a chat with a loved one.”

Other options would be to read or journal. You can also review your calendar, lay out your clothes, and avoid blue light at least an hour before bed.

Practice good sleep hygiene.

Now that you’re ready for bed, here are some ways that you can stay asleep for the entire night. To begin with, go to bed and wake-up at the same time. I know that sounds like when you were a kid, but this ensures that you have a regular sleep pattern. Bonus tip, maintain this schedule even on the weekends, and try to do this naturally, aka not using your alarm to wake-up.

Some other tips to make sure that a lack of sleep isn’t’ destroying your productivity are:

• Pay attention to what you eat and drink. Don’t go to bed feeling hungry or full. Also, avoid caffeine or foods that are spicy, fatty, or fried.
• Exercise daily.
• Optimize your bedroom so that it’s like a cave. That means it should be cool, dark, and quiet.
• Keep your hands and feet warm.
• Rethink daytime naps by only taking a 20-30 minute power nap.
• Don’t let work interfere with your sleep schedule. For example, if you work until 8 pm and you want to go to bed an hour later, that’s not enough time to decompress.

Spend time outside.

There’s a direct link between exposure to natural sunlight and better sleep. The reason? It enhances nighttime melatonin. Additionally, spending time outside boosts your immune system and improves your mood.

When possible, get outside as much as possible. You can do this by spending your breaks going for a bike ride or scheduling a walking meeting. Another option would be to work in a park, your backyard, or balcony. If it’s cold, then at least setup shop next to a window.

And, when you need to reset your body’s clock, go camping. “Just two days of summer camping reset people’s clocks,” said Dr. Phyllis Zee, director of the Center for Circadian and Sleep Medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago. It’s recommended though that when you do minimize bright artificial light at night.

Identify your sleep chronotype.

According to sleep expert Dr. Michael Breus, there are four different chronotypes or circadian rhythm personalities. He suggests that you determine which one you are so that you can mirror the sleep-wake habits that best describe you.

• Bear. Most of us fall into this category. Their sleep-wake patterns follow the sun. They’re “ready for intense tasks smack in the middle of the morning,” but feel a dip by mid-afternoon.
• Lion. If you’re a lion, then you’re an early riser. “These are the go-getters, the leaders, the type-A movers and shakers.” However, they also fizzle out earlier and don’t stay up late.
• Wolf. Wolves are nocturnal. As such, they start later in the day and have two peak periods — noon to 2 pm and late afternoon/early evening. Wolves also happen to be makers and crave alone time.
• Dolphin. Because dolphins are light sleepers, they may have an irregular sleep routine. They also tend to be perfectionists and work best from mid-morning through early afternoon.

To find out what your animal, track your time and take Dr. Breus’ sleep chronotype quiz. After that, re-organize your day so that you can align your sleep pattern and work schedule. For example, if you’re a lion, then you would want to tackle your most important work bright and early.

Eat at set times.

Research shows that we also have a food-related clock. And, it can influence wakefulness and sleepiness. Because of this, you should try to eat at the same time each day. Moreover, it’s best to consume heavier meals earlier. And, you should try to stay away from dairy and saturated fats.

When traveling, or needing to reset because of shift work, scientists at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) recommend a fasting period.

“Modern day humans may be able to use these findings in an adaptive way. If, for example, you are traveling from the U.S. to Japan, you are forced to adjust to an 11-hour time difference,” says the study’s senior author Clifford Saper. “Because the body’s biological clock can only shift a small amount each day, it takes the average person about a week to adjust to the new time zone. And, by then, it’s often time to turn around and come home.”

But, if you adapt your eating schedules, you may be able to engage this second “feeding” clock. In turn, this can help you adjust more quickly to the new time zone.

“A period of fasting with no food at all for about 16 hours is enough to engage this new clock,” says Saper. “So, in this case, simply avoiding any food on the plane, and then eating as soon as you land, should help you to adjust – and avoid some of the uncomfortable feelings of jet lag.”

Sync your exercise routine.

It’s been found that exercise can be just as powerful as sunlight when it comes to engaging your circadian rhythms. Primarily this is because it releases melatonin. However, when you exercise depends on if you’re a morning person or night owl. For instance, if you’re a morning person, then you should get your sweat on first thing in the AM.

Reduce psychological stress.

While not surprising, stress can throw off your circadian rhythm. As such, identify your stress triggers and eliminate them. For example, if you’re anxious about an upcoming presentation, write down why you’re so worried. Seeing your thoughts on paper can help you develop ways to resolve this problem.

Of course, eating healthy and physical activity are also proven ways to reduce stress. Other suggestions would be to staying connected with others, meditating, and planning ahead. You should also definitely prioritize yourself by adding a self-care routine to your calendar.

Healthy shouldn’t be hard. It may seem to a hungry mind that some of the most delicious foods are full of sugar, carbs, and fats. Fast-food chains with easy access can make it tough to be a conscious consumer of mindful, healthy meals. Here’s how to use our online Calendar for meal planning.

Watching what you eat is key to living a healthy lifestyle. That’s why many diet and nutrition specialists suggest meal planning. Scheduling your snacks and meals is an excellent way to ensure you eat only what fits in your diet plan.

The keyword? Plan. Unless you schedule out what you’ll eat when you’re going to struggle with meal planning. To help you make the switch to a healthier lifestyle, use an online calendar to map out your meals.

Making Your Meal Calendar

An online calendar is an ideal tool for planning meals: Here’s how to use it well:

Create a Schedule

A meal plan requires you to think through your future eating habits. In an online calendar, plot out your breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. Use color-coding to separate them from the other activities and reminders you log in to your calendar.

Decide on a day each week to meal plan, but don’t be afraid to update it as you go. If your colleague brings you a dozen farm-fresh eggs one day, don’t let them go to waste: Update your schedule.

The ability to quickly update your calendar is a crucial advantage of an online calendar: You can access your calendar on your phone, letting you adjust your plans no matter where you are at the moment. Your easy digital access to your calendar is also helpful when you come across a new recipe you want to add to your list before you forget.

1. Add Reminders to Promote Accountability

Once you’ve committed to meal planning, you need to stick to it. The benefits of meal planning are long-term, meaning they require perseverance. Use your online calendar to remind you to track your progress.

For example, you can create an event in your calendar to mark down your daily calorie count or plan your next week’s meals. Set these events to repeat daily or weekly. Build a routine that helps you keep moving forward.

Another way to keep yourself accountable is to share your meal plan with someone else — ideally, a significant other that enjoys your cooking. Online calendars are easy to share and can be viewed simultaneously by multiple people. You can even set a reminder to notify your partner of the night’s meal as they leave work, giving them the chance to stop by the store for a missing ingredient.

2. Link Recipes

When you begin meal planning, you’ll have to do a lot of experimenting. Until you get your favorites down pat, you’ll want to follow recipes.

Memorizing recipes can be tough, especially when you’re trying to learn many of them at once. With an online calendar, there’s no need to commit them to memory.

When you add a recipe to your calendar, link to it in the “Notes” section. You probably prefer to find recipes on social media than in cookbooks nowadays, and your calendar is a great place to store them until it’s time to cook.

Through trial and error, you’ll likely find several new recipes that you consider you “real winners.” If you want to attempt a great recipe again, drag and drop associated events (shopping, ingreds) to a later date. Once you build up a bank of favorite recipes, ingredients, where to shop for specialty items, etc., meal planning is as easy as reselecting old ones.

3. Keep Track

While meal planning means preparing for the future, learning from your past meal schedule is just as helpful. As you go through your week cooking and eating, there will be things that you want to remember — some good things and some planning that didn’t work out so well for you.

All of your cooking information can be stored in the above-mentioned “Notes” section of your online calendar. The Calendar search function is also a helpful feature to use when you need to check-on stored information. Use your search functionalities to:

• Get Plenty of Variety

Can’t remember the last time you had chicken parmesan for dinner? Just check your past online calendar events. They’ll tell you the last time you prepared a meal, helping you decide if it’s too soon to repeat. Variety is important for proper nutrition, not to mention keeping you satisfied with your diet plan.

• Suggest Recipe Tweaks

It’s tough to get a new recipe right on the first try. There will be some things you might want to remember for next time, which can be easily recorded in your online calendar. Recording in your Calendar needs to become second nature (a habit!) for you so that you don’t waste time. Your Calendar information can then become your at-ready-reference tool — so you don’t add too much salt during take-two trial.

• Rate Your Meals

What if you didn’t like a certain meal? Remind “future you” in the notes section of a calendar event to avoid making that meal a second time. You could develop a fun rating system for your own meals that the whole family can take part in. A meal that earned 1-star reviews from all five family members probably isn’t going to make the cut.

4. Plan When to Eat Out

If you like to eat out, know this: It shouldn’t be part of your meal plan every day, but it’s okay to reward yourself on occasion by eating out.

While home cooking is often healthier and more cost-effective, it can be arduous. Your time is valuable. Using your online calendar to schedule meals out (or in, if you prefer takeout) can mix things up and insert some food fun into your week.

Eating out can prevent burnout — sometimes — but it’s a slippery slope. When scheduling your meals, pick a couple of days each month when you would like to eat meals out of the home. Also, think about preparing meals and hitting a park or some other place to eat. In this way, you are still eating well (less fat, less sugar), but you are getting out. Hey, take your dog to the dog park and eat lunch there. (Professional Hint: take dog treats, or your dog will eat your lunch for you.)

Remember, sometimes you just want to “emotionally” eat out.  By incorporating periodic eat-out-splurges into your schedule, you can look forward to a calm dining experience, instead of a mad-rush toward the nearest fast food joint on a whim.

Don’t let meal planning scare you. Online calendars can help you live a healthier, more organized life. Stick to your planned schedule, and you’ll save money, maintain a healthy weight, and learn a new skill. Go ahead: Grab your computer and get going on a delicious new adventure.

Working from home can be pretty sweet—no long and lousy commutes. You can work around your preferred schedule. And, you don’t need to be concerned about distractions like talkative and sick co-workers.

At the same time, remote working does come with its own set of challenges. I’m talking about interruptions friends, family, neighbors, and pets, household chores, or lying on your comfy couch with the TV on. If you don’t keep these interferences in-check, then maintaining your focus is pretty much impossible. But, there are ways to remain focused and motivated when working from home.

Have a designated workspace.

No offense to your bedroom, kitchen table, or couch. But, none of these locations are exactly the best places to work. Take your cozy bed as an example. Working in bed creates a mental between work and rest. That means when you’re trying to drift off, your mind is thinking about work. What’s more, it can decrease the quality of your sleep since looking at a blue screen reduces melatonin.

But that’s not all. Having a dedicated workspace can help get in the zone when it’s time to focus on your work. More importantly, it removes distractions like household chores or binge-watching the latest streaming TV series.

If you don’t have the room for a home office, then experiment with various spots in your home. For example, your focus zone could be a hallway closet that you’ve made into a makeshift office. Or, you could get out of your home and work from a coworking spot of a coffee shop.

Stay off social media.

You don’t necessarily have to go to the extreme and permanently quit social media — unless that’s you’re provocative. But, you should, at the minimum, remove the apps from your home screen so that they don’t interfere with your focus. However, I would go a step further and delete the apps from your phone altogether. It’s easy to limit your usage since you have to log into your account.

To prevent anxiety from FOMO, you could also schedule specific times to check your accounts. I do this in the morning before work, after lunch, and before heading home for the day.

Motivate yourself.

Yeah. I know. You may be thinking that this is much easier said than done. But, in reality, it’s not all that difficult.

Science-backed techniques to improve your self-motivation include:

• Getting positive. Sound difficult? You can start by monitoring you’re progress and celebrating it.
• Rewarding yourself. Speaking of rewards, you can treat yourself, like buying a latte or going out with friends, when you cross off an item on your to-do-list.
• Surrounding yourself with highly motivated people. Stop hanging out with those who drag you down and those you get stuff done.

Structure your day for success.

“Maximize the effectiveness of your time at home by structuring it differently than a typical workday,” suggests Elizabeth Grace Saunders in HBR. “For example, if you work from home only one day a week or on occasion, make it a meeting-free day.” Not an option? Then at least reserve half of your day for focused work. Just remember to pick “a time that works best for you, based on any required meetings and your energy levels.”

“Then define one to two key items that you want to accomplish during this time,” adds Elizabeth. “These could be tasks that require an hour or more of uninterrupted attention, or they could be items that simply require more creative, strategic thinking than you may be able to achieve in the office environment.”

“It’s also helpful to shut down your email during this period — or at least stay away from it for an hour at a time,” she says. “Alert any colleagues of times that you’ll be disconnected so that they won’t be surprised by a delayed response.”

Schedule “lazy” time.

“Don’t make the entire day about work. I know, it sounds counterintuitive,” writes Colleen Trinkaus. “But oftentimes regular remote workers find themselves letting work creep into evenings and weekends.”

You can’t fault them. Without being burdened by a commute, they’ll just dive into work earlier in the day. Or, they may keep working “later into the evening because they aren’t seeing their colleagues leave for the day.”

To avoid overworking, which will ultimately burn you out, “monitor your daily workload – and if you realize you’re putting in overtime, sprinkle in some free time throughout the day to do what you please.” Whether if that’s walking your dog or having lunch with a friend, you need these “breaks will help reset your mind and prevent burnout.”

Adjust your Sunday routine.

I have a ritual every Sunday. I prepare for the upcoming week. Sure. It may eat up a couple of hours. But, it’s been an effective way to ease my anxiety and keep me focused on my work throughout the week.

While you don’t have to follow exactly what I do, here are some ways that you can spend your Sundays:

• Do any household chores and errands.
• Review and organize your to-do-list and calendar.
• Layout your clothes and prep your meals.
• Attend to your wellbeing, like exercising and engaging in a little self-care.
• Change your mindset about Mondays. Instead of dreading the start of a new week, view it as full of opportunities.

Swap your to-to-do-list with a done list.

“There aren’t any scientific studies that specifically examine the impact of a “done” list in the workplace. However, Laura Vanderkam, author and time-management sorcerer, extrapolates from some existing research in her book 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think, writes Melissa Dahl over at The Cut.

Vanderkam has written “that research has consistently found that dieters who keep daily diaries tracking what they ate tend to lose more weight” The reason? It turns out that writing everything down “allows people to reflect on their food choices honestly, and to notice patterns and identify trends that they can then change, if necessary.” And, that concept can be applied to keeping your eyes on the prize.

“Plus, it’s a nice little pat-on-the-back — proof that even if you didn’t get everything on your ‘official’ to-do list done, you did make some progress on something,” adds Dahl. “Sometimes people get to the end of the day and haven’t tackled various priorities, because other stuff has come up, but you did something with your time,” Vanderkam told Science of Us, “Something changed in the world (hopefully!). So what was that? Often it was good stuff. Write it down. Share it with your team. Celebrate it. Just because it wasn’t on the list doesn’t mean it wasn’t important.”

Program daydreaming into your schedule.

You’ve probably been told numerous times that you shouldn’t waste your time daydreaming. But, if you did that, then you wouldn’t have chased your passion and become an entrepreneur.

With that said, you should make some time in your schedule to wander off and daydream. When you, it will help you relax your body and mind, inspire innovation, and unlocks our real purpose.

Pretend like you’re going somewhere else to work.

I’m not saying that you have to follow a traditional work schedule or play by the same rules. But, you should establish a routine that gets you into work mode. I’m talking about waking up at the same time daily and getting into your workspace at a specific time and not staying in your pajamas all day. And, setting-up separate email accounts so that you aren’t checking personal messages.

Match music with your tasks.

“Music isn’t just a means of entertaining ourselves: it can also encourage creativity and help us become more productive,” Deep Patel writes previously for Entrepreneur. “Listening to music can also be therapeutic, relieving feelings of stress so you can concentrate better.”

“Research has found that certain types of music can be beneficial to us while we work,” adds Deep. “Some types of music seem to help with learning and improve our ability to process information. Other types help block out distracting background noise. And, there are “different types sync with our brain waves to induce ‘eureka moments.’”

So, what should you listen to? Research has found that classical, video game, cinematic, and anything between 50 to 80 beats per minute is ideal. You can also listen to the sounds of nature if you like.

Find your tribe.

I’m talking about your fellow entrepreneurs here. The reason? You can bounce ideas off each other, share advice, and help hold each other accountable. Besides, this gives you a chance to combat isolation and interact with people in-person. I suggest you check out local meetups, entrepreneurial organizations, and conferences.

Have a shutdown ritual.

“For many work-from-home entrepreneurs, work bleeds into all hours of the day (and night),” says Zach Obront, Co-Founder of Scribe Media. “Rather than leaving an office and leaving work behind, it’s always with you.”

“Counterintuitively, this leads to less productivity because you’re often half working,” adds Zach. “Creating a shutdown ritual for the end of the day allows you to focus deeply during work hours and recharge effectively the rest of the time.” Learn how to leave work at work.

Adding anything to your Calendar may sound like a strange way to increase productivity. However, productivity is not all about cranking out task after task without interruption. A productive life is typically based on a balanced lifestyle. Extra random tasks on your Calendar will not increase your productivity, but making time for specific tasks can improve your overall productivity. Here are ten things Gen Z should put on their Calendar for productivity.

What tasks will increase your productivity?

Before making time for anything on your Calendar, you should carefully assess the possible benefits. If you aren’t entirely sure about trying something on your Calendar — then consider testing it out for a couple of weeks. Some things may not help you, but other listed items could have a life-changing impact. Everyone is different, so make time for the things that are most useful for you.

Our Gen Z — the true digital natives — have always had business savvy.

Gen Z was practically born with business-savvy. Now, take a look at a Gen Z Calendar. The Gen Zers seem to put everything in their Calendar, and this may be why they are finding a better work-life balance than the rest of us. I asked about a few of the items listed on the Calendar of our Gen Zers on the team. Below are the answers:

1. Sleep.

Although sleeping seems like the exact opposite of productivity, a healthy sleep pattern can significantly increase your productivity. Instead of getting the bare minimum amount of sleep that you need to function, consider making time to get enough sleep to feel well-rested.

Sleeping replenishes your energy reserves and allows you to function at a much higher level. We all know that sleep makes us feel good, but it can lead to an increase in productivity. If you get a healthy amount of sleep, your body will reward you with enough energy to be more productive.

Make time for a regular sleep schedule that maximizes your energy levels for higher productivity throughout the day.

2. Eat health foods — and health food.

Eating healthy can seem like a chore to many of us. It can take time and energy to prepare a healthy meal that you will enjoy. It seems more natural to grab a quick bite from a fast food place or heat yet another unhealthy frozen meal. It takes time to make a healthy choice meal, and it takes time even to eat it. Gen Z puts in the blocks of time to do each action. Fueling your body with healthy food can make a difference in your productivity.

A few ways to make healthy eating less painful includes choosing healthy restaurants to order from — meal prep in advance and stocking your pantry with healthy options.

3. Downtime.

Making time to unwind is an effective way to increase your productivity. Without scheduled downtime, it can be tempting to keep plugging away at your ever-present to-do list. Not only is this an exhausting way to live, but it’s also unproductive.

When you choose to never really stop working, it will drain your productivity because you are never able just to start fresh. Downtime could be a short break in the afternoon, a weeklong vacation, or just enough time to enjoy the evening before bed.

4. Exercise.

Building a healthy body will also help to create a healthy mind. When you make a healthy mind and body, you’ll be more resilient to changes in your workload and prepared to tackle the inevitable challenges.

Exercise leads to the release of endorphins in your body, which are linked to a happier state of mind. Getting through your daily responsibilities while working towards your long-term goals is usually not easy. There will be good days, bad days, and “bad-bads.” Our Gen Z plan for the bad-bads better than the rest of us. A healthy boost from exercise can help make the bad-bads more bearable.

5. Learn something new.

It can seem impossible to dedicate time to anything new in the middle of your busy Calendar. However, learning new things can help you reach your overall goals. It also stimulates your brain and can help you accomplish more with the new information. I’ve put more learning into my Calendar than ever before.

Reading a book, taking a course, or flipping through an article may seem like a luxury you don’t have time for. It can be challenging but make time to learn something new. Even dedicating just a few minutes a day can really help to boost your long-term productivity.

6. Set clear goals.

Instead of vaguely setting goals and throwing tasks on your Calendar, make time to set clear and attainable goals for your future. Think about both your long-term and short-term goals. Decide on the steps that will help you achieve these goals. Finally, schedule the tasks necessary in a reasonable way.

If you don’t set clear goals, then some of your time will be wasted on tasks that do not help you achieve your goals. A clear vision will allow you to plan out your Calendar for maximum productivity.

7. Get outside.

Nature has a fantastic way of making us feel more at ease. When you are tied to your desk for days in a row, sometimes you need a little bit of inspiration to get yourself motivated. Without the right motivation, it can be hard to achieve a high productivity level.

Whether you can take a walk, plan a beach day, or escape to a National Park, a little bit of time outside can help to give perspective to your daily workload.

8. Track wasted time.

Many of us waste time in small amounts throughout the day. Scrolling through your phone or mindlessly checking emails can seriously affect our productivity levels. The worst part is that most of us don’t even realize that we are wasting this much time!

Install an app that tracks your phone usage and let it track you for a few days. It will take a few minutes to set up, but it will be worth it. You may be shocked at how much time you waste on your phone. Try to cut back this time and use it for something more productive.

9. Declutter.

Cleaning out your workspace can seem like a daunting task. You may have months (or years) of clutter piled around you. Clutter can quickly decrease your productivity in a variety of ways.

• First, you may waste time sifting through the clutter to find important things.
• Second, you may feel slightly claustrophobic in your workspace, which can kill your creativity.
• Finally, thoughts that you really should tidy up invade your thoughts daily and distract you from your work.

Make the time to clean up your space. You might be surprised how much your productivity will increase. While you’re here — stick in a plant.

10. Meet with an accountability buddy.

Find someone that you can hold yourself accountable to and make the time to chat regularly. Your buddy should help to keep you on track as you work towards your goals.

An accountable relationship takes time and effort, but it can help you meet your goals efficiently.

The Bottom Line

Your Calendar is already full, but finding the time for some activities could help to increase your overall productivity. It will take some trial and error to find the right balance for your Calendar — but it will be worth the effort.

Here’s a brief experiment for you to perform the next time you have a minute spare. Open up any calendar. It could be the calendar in your planner, the paper calendar hanging from your wall, or the online calendar you have on your desktop or smartphone. You’ll find that there are eight calendar views you never knew existed.

Besides the fact that they’re all calendars, was there a common thread among them? You probably noticed that they all had the same calendar views; day, week, month, or year.

Those calendar views typically work just fine. However, sometimes, you need a more customized view of your calendar to help you stay organized and maximize your productivity. While each calendar platform offers its own unique view, here are eight of the most common calendar views you never knew about that will change your life for the best.

1. Multiple calendars at once.

If you have multiple calendars, then you can view them at once side-by-side. For example, you could see your work and home calendars simultaneously when scheduling a dinner meeting with a client to make sure you don’t have any other commitments.

Another example would be viewing your calendar and that of your spouse or colleague at the same time. When you view your calendars in this way, you can coordinate schedules without creating a conflict. Some programs, like Outlook, even permit you to see two separate time zones within the Week View. If you work with a remote team, then this is a clutch feature when scheduling meetings. Then there are the calendar facts that all millennials know about.

2. Two days.

For platforms that let you customize your views, such as Google Calendar, you should consider using the option for two days. This way, when you view your calendar, you’ll only see what you have planned for today and tomorrow. It may not seem revolutionary, but as you know — the key to being productive is preparations — and blocking distraction. With this view, you plan for today and have tomorrow at the ready. You’ll be better able to stay on task — prepared to tackle the present.

What I personally like about this feature is keeping the future at bay. Sometimes when I look at my upcoming week, I can get overwhelmed with everything that is yet to be accomplished. With this calendar view, I can only focus on the next couple of days.

3. Two weeks.

Another customized view would be for the next two weeks. What I enjoy about this view is that it gives you a picture of the next couple of weeks — which is ideal for planning and prepping your time. If you train yourself not to look beyond the two weeks and get distracted, this too can keep you in the present. On the flip side, some people cannot resist looking at the entire month.

Additionally, it’s a great option if you’re schedule is about to change. For example, if you’re going on vacation next week, you can use this view. You’ll make sure that you get all of your priorities penciled in for this week — and glance at your travel itinerary.

4. Work schedule.

Sometimes it’s not necessary for you, or anyone else, to know what you’re doing outside of work. In this case, you can create a calendar that will only display your work schedule. A job-only feature available on most calendar tools, so you should be able to use this view.

To create this calendar, simply select the time you start and end work. You can then share it with your co-workers, family, or clients so that they know when your availability. This calendar view can also be handy if you work shifts — or have frequent changes to your schedule. For instance, there could be one week where you have to stay late to complete a project. You could share this new calendar view with your family so that they know to expect you home later than usual.

5. Weekdays.

If you’re sharing your schedule with co-workers, then there’s not much reason they need to see what you’re doing on Saturday and Sunday — unless you choose to show them. That’s why an excellent tool, like Calendar, gives you the option to see everything you’ve planned just from Monday through Friday.

Another perk is that it may also prevent you from getting distracted from your work. It takes a lot of discipline to remain focused on your daily tasks every time you see that you have something fun planned for the weekend. Who wants to buckle down and work when you keep seeing a visual reminder that you’re going on an adventure in just a couple of days?

Many people plan to unplug during their time off, and they may not want to fill up many time blocks on Saturday or Sunday. Allowing open spaces or blocking spaces then ensures a person is not always looking at their online calendar.

6. Project timelines.

If you’re using a calendar explicitly designed for teams, like Asana or Flow, you can create a project timeline calendar. Doing so will present the progress of the project, such as status updates or a progress chart. Some platforms will even let you know the number of tasks completed and how many are remaining.

For managers, having the option to add and subtract the number of jobs you have left guarantees that everyone in your organization is on the same page. Providing a visual can help equip and encourage individual accountability.

7. List or board.

A list view is an excellent way to glance at your day or week quickly. Some calendars, like Apple and Fantastical 2, offer this option as a handy widget that allows you to scroll through your lists. Your schedule can reflect your list in your head without you having actually to open up your calendar. Other options, like Teamup, allow you to create a list view with or without details.

Aren’t lists your thing? No worries. Apps like Vantage provide a more visual approach by using stacks. Doing so provides a summary of your day without all of the unnecessary clutter.

8. Past or future year visual.

It’s not always necessary, but there are occasions when you may want to look at a past calendar. For example, your accountant may want to see specific events or appointments you had for tax purposes. Other times you can use this existing information the create recurring events like an annual conference, quarterly reviews, or occasions like birthdays and anniversaries. You will likely find a time that you want to make your own calendar, for whatever reason.

Regardless of the situation, you can quickly look at past calendars by going into the Year View and clicking left for the previous year or right for the next. If so, here’s an article on how you can look up past calendar entries in Google Calendar, Outlook, and Apple Calendars.

Over the last couple of years, you’ve heard all about companies offering their employees unlimited vacation or paid-time-off. On the surface, this practice sounds fantastic. Who wouldn’t want to work with for a company that provided such a perk for their people — especially considering that we’re in a burn out epidemic. Have you considered the pros and cons of unlimited vacation?

However, before your startup jumps on this trend, you need to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of an unlimited policy. This way, you can determine if it’s a good fit for your business and employees.

The Pros

Offering your team unlimited PTO shows that you trust them enough that they won’t abuse this generous perk. As a result, this improves morale and builds a more loyal team. Additionally, this encourages ownership and drives motivation through autonomy.

Unlimited vacation encourages ownership and drives motivation.

Studies have found that when employees have more autonomy, they’re more satisfied. To me, this makes sense since you’re essentially allowing them to work when and how they prefer. Working how and where you want is perfect when a team member needs to take a vacation to recharge their batteries or take care of a sick family. Since you’re allowing them to take this time off, they’re going to address their top priorities beforehand.

Unlimited vacation increases employee happiness.

“One of the main reasons companies like Kronos and Netflix decide to implement such flexible benefits is to improve workplace culture and boost employee morale,” writes John Boitnott over on Inc.com. “After all, it’s becoming more important for employees to achieve equilibrium in the different aspects of their lives.”

“The 2017 State of the American Workplace Report from Gallup showed that 53 percent of employees say it’s ‘very important’ to have a job that allows them greater work-life balance and personal well-being,” adds Boitnott. “Unlimited vacation time could help achieve both of these by offering what is still a somewhat unique opportunity in the business landscape.”

Unlimited vacation gives everyone a chance to relax and rejuvenate.

Unlike employees in Europe, there isn’t mandatory time off. Combine that with the fact that we’re working more hours as well, and you can see why most people are headed down Burn Out Street. In turn, this puts everything from our health to workplace productivity in jeopardy.

While taking time off won’t completely resolve this, it’s definitely not going to hurt. After all, going on a vacation replenishes and reenergizes us cognitively. It also boosts creativity, gives us fresh perspectives, reduces stress, and helps improve focus and performance. As if that weren’t enough, taking a break allows us to process ideas, like how to develop an existing product or service.

Unlimited vacation creates a more collaborative culture.

“Unlimited vacation time doesn’t mean unplanned vacation time,” explains the Reflektive team. “Greater flexibility in using PTO means that employees also have to take responsibility for planning and requesting days off, as well as communicating with their managers and team members to ensure that work gets covered.” As a result, this “collective responsibility breeds a more collaborative culture.”

Keep in mind that unlimited vacation is good for your bottom line.

“I’m absolutely sure that it originated in some camps as a way to get a vast amount of vacation time off the books,” says Paula Brantner, senior advisor for Workplace Fairness. “It was something preferred by accountants and others looking at the bottom line. At the same time, some companies adopted it with good intentions, and that believe in the value of taking vacations.”

However, according to the Financial Times, “a big firm that ditches fixed paid leave for open vacations can wipe millions of dollars’ worth of unused leave liabilities from its books that would otherwise be paid to departing employees. At the same time, it can safely offer bottomless holidays, knowing most employees will never take them, especially in the U.S., the only major advanced economy in the world that does not guarantee workers paid vacation time.”

Any perk — such as unlimited vacation — can be used as a recruitment tool.

Employers may not believe that unlimited PTO is essential, but that’s not the case with potential hires. A PTO survey found that 51% of participants accept a job for 10% less pay if unlimited PTO was available.

The Cons

“One of the most obvious potential drawbacks to such a generous policy is the risk that employees will abuse it and take off weeks or even months without the risk of losing their jobs,” writes Boitnott. “No CEO wants to get caught in that type of financial pickle.”

Employees may abuse the policy or suffer from burnout.

However, “research compiled by Sage Business Researcher showed that companies offering unlimited vacation found that in many cases, it encouraged employees to take less time off.” Furthermore, other research has found “that it may even create competition to take fewer days off.” The main reason for this it doesn’t provide much structure since they aren’t sure how many days it is acceptable to take off. As a result, they become burned out, and productivity decreases.

Overlapping vacations.

“Without a system to track vacation requests, too many employees may take a vacation at the same time (such as during school vacations), explains the Glassdoor team. “This can put an undue burden on the remaining employees, or impact project timelines and customer accounts.”

This is especially true if you run a business where teams work in tandems — think production lines or sales organizations as examples. It may be almost impossible to be at peak productive when a good amount of your team aren’t available.

It can create animosity.

“Unlimited PTO can also create resentment and animosity among co-workers,” Taylor Cotterell writes in Forbes. “It opens up the possibility for employees to be irresponsible.” For example, there may be some employees who are taking way too much time off.

I have a friend who has been working a ton of overtime because his co-workers are doing this. And, while he enjoys the extra cash, he’s getting frustrated and exhausted. The reason is that inexperienced managers have a problem with declining time-off requests.

What creates animosity? It also rises when teams are “not effectively scheduled.” Consequently, “there might be too few co-workers to cover for them, leaving team members frazzled and overworked.” Frazzled workers can be a real serious problem during your busier times of the year.

In both situations, this is going to hinder productivity. An overworked team will be too tired to work at peak performance. And, with resentment all over the place, workplace morale will be at a low.

Compliance concerns.

“Employers are obligated to adjust certain production and performance expectations when employees take protected leave under, for example, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA),” writes Jennifer Carsen on HR Drive. All of the reasons can become a problem when employees don’t take into consideration legitimate and protected reasons for some rules and laws. For example, requested time off for maternity leave.

“Employers may think putting time off into the proper ‘bucket’ no longer matters if you have an unlimited leave policy, but it does,” adds Carsen. “If you don’t appropriately categorize the protected leave, you may not apply it correctly. You may not know when that special leave is expiring, and an employee may not give the appropriate notices,” Maggie Grover, a partner at Wendel, Rosen, Black & Dean LLP, told HR Dive.

Grover also said, “When is the leave paid, and when is it unpaid? If you don’t write the policy correctly, the employee will expect that the time is paid; the employer certainly won’t.”

Don’t forget to include your fulltime remote workers. These employees will likely have additional questions

Making PTO Work

Regardless if you provide limited or unlimited time off, here’s what you should to do to make it work for your business:

• Don’t call it “unlimited.” Instead, use terms like flexible or “personalized time off” to prevent any confusion or abuse.
• Make sure to anchor the policy to your core values.
• Clearly explain expectations. Employees must understand that in return for generous time off policy, they still need to get their work done.
• Establish guidelines for how time-off requests are approved or declined.
• Don’t focus on how much time your team is putting in at work. Instead, take a look at the employee’s contributions.