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Want to Save More Money This Year? Put it on Your Calendar

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save more money

Each day, you probably consult a common item that can help you save more money. It’s probably sitting right there on your desk, wall, or conveniently on your phone or laptop.

If you haven’t figured this out yet, I’m referring to the trusty Calendar.

We all have them on hand, whether they are in the form of the old-fashioned paper copy or an app that can be edited and shared. Without a calendar, you wouldn’t be able to remember deadlines, important meetings, or social functions. But, besides making our lives more organized and productive, we can also use calendars to help save more of our hard-earned money.

Use Your Calendar to Create a Budget

Do you put together a monthly budget? If you don’t, you’re not alone. A survey by The Penny Hoarder shows that over 55% of Americans do not manage their money with a budget.

But, it’s never too late to budget. And, thanks to your online Calendar, this has never been easier. After all, when you use an online calendar for budgeting, you track your spending, schedule savings reminders, stay motivated with milestones. So, for example, if you planned to save $1,000 in six months, you could book an affordable weekend getaway to reach that goal.

If you want to buy a new car or eliminate debt, then budgeting is how to do it. And, thanks to the Calendar app — it can help you budget like a pro.

To get started, create a repeating event for the first of the month. Then, make sure you check your expenses against the targets you set to see if everything is still intact. If not, don’t be afraid to revise your targets – or spending – if they’re too low or too high.

Put Due Dates on Your Calendar

According to a report from several years ago, about one in five credit card accounts incurs late fees. That cost is added to the amounts in 170 million accounts. According to this astounding statistic — $11.4 billion is going to credit card companies instead of your pocket.

However, while past-due credit card debt rose during the pandemic, 30-day delinquencies declined to an all-time low in early 2021. Still, that doesn’t negate the fact that missing any type of payment could have serious ramifications.

Usually, this is a late fee charge of around $25 to $45. That’s not a lot. But, when you’re trying to save more money, every dollar counts. More problematic, though, is that late payments can increase your interest rate, decrease your credit score, and show up on your credit score for up to seven years.

When it comes to recurring bills, whether if you’re manual or automatic payments, never be taken by surprise. Place these due dates into your Calendar and set reminders to ensure that these payments go through without a hitch.

Schedule “No Spend” Days

There are days when you don’t spend a dime, don’t you? Shocking, I know. But let’s say that you’re working from home all day since you’re fortunate enough to have a hybrid work schedule. Because of this, you aren’t spending money on gas, Starbucks, or ordering takeout for lunch. Instead, you brew your own coffee and make a salad from the items you have in your fridge.

Of course, that’s not the daily day for most of us. Even if you aren’t going to the workplace, you still might be spending a ton of money online — probably on stuff you really don’t need. The average American drops $18,000 a year on non-essentials.

To balance this out, consider imposing “no-spend” days.

Your online Calendar should contain and maximize both types of days. For example, if you need to get out of the house, then block out Friday afternoons for grocery shopping, dinner, and maybe a movie. However, on Thursday and Saturday, put the brakes on your spending and look for free activities, like going for a hike and making your meals at home.

Set Reminders for Free or Reduced Days

Many locations offer certain popular family attractions for free on certain days of the week, such as museums and aquariums. And, on certain days, like Tuesdays or Wednesdays, movie theaters offer cheaper tickets and snacks.

In addition, you can usually save money at your favorite restaurants during the midweek period. On Tuesdays, for instance, you might find $1 tacos at your favorite Mexican restaurant. But, what could is that going to do you on Wednesday when you’re craving a taco?

To make sure that you can take advantage of these deals, mark them down in your Calendar. Of course, you don’t have to partake every. But, at least it gives you options when trying to save money.

Add To-Do-List Items to Your Calendar

In addition to recurring bill payment dates, you should also mark the due dates of your personal federal and state taxes for the upcoming year on your Calendar. Adding a reminder to yourself to prepare your taxes sooner is better than waiting until the last minute.

Moreover, you should also schedule the following household items into your Calendar;

  • Appliance warranty dates. Note on your Calendar how long it is until the warranty expires. Let this serve as a reminder to take advantage of the warranty before it expires.
  • Vehicle maintenance and inspection dates. Make sure those car maintenance and inspection dates are on your Calendar. Treating your car well can prevent expensive repairs, as well as tickets if you’re driving around with an expired inspection.
  • Household repair and maintenance. Just like your car, add home maintenance reminders, like HVAC and gutter cleaning, to your Calendar to keep your home in tiptop shape.
  • Insurance. Check all of your insurance policies, whether your home, auto, life, or renters. It doesn’t hurt to know about these dates in advance, even if you receive alerts from companies during the year.

Also, don’t forget to schedule doctor’s appointments and check-ups. Staying on top of your health could prevent costly medical bills down the road.

Note When Free Trials End or Set Reminders to Cancel Subscriptions

You may have taken advantage of Netflix’s free trial because you had to check out that new Ryan Reynolds flick. But, if you aren’t using Netflix after that trial ends, make a note to cancel it before you get charged.

Or, maybe you used to love going to the gym but now prefer to work out from home. Cancel your memberships instead of forking over this money each month.

Implement Savings Challenges

“Sure, everyone wants to have more money available for their needs and wants, but the process of actually doing it?” asks Lisa Rowan in Forbes. “It brings up images of depriving yourself of activities you enjoy or eating the same meal over and over to save a few bucks.”

“But changing your approach to saving money could motivate you to develop better habits as you watch your nest egg grow,” she adds. Making saving a game, even if it’s a brief one, can increase your chances of saving money.

Many money-saving challenges run over an extended period of time, like an entire year. However, if you set a resolution to save long after January 1, you can still start any of these saving challenges whenever you want. And to track your progress, you’ll also need to rely on your Calendar as well.

  • 52-week challenge. As you save each week, you will put away $1 on week one, $2 on week two, and so on until you reach week 52: you will have saved $52.
  • Dollar savings challenge. Set a goal of saving a dollar each day. You can keep this up throughout the entire year to build your savings fund in a manageable way.
  • $20 savings challenge. Is saving $1 a day too easy for you? How about multiplying it? Put aside $20 each week for the year.
  • The 26-week challenge. Those who get paid every other week, do this rather than the 52-week challenge. Savings will be the same over the year but adjusted according to your biweekly pay period.
  • The 33.3 challenge. You only have 30 days to save $1,000. You might feel more able to achieve this if you think of it as $33.33 per day.

Schedule Meetings With Your Advisor

According to one poll, 44% of Americans without financial advisors said that major events in the United States in 2020 and their effects on their finances have made them realize the advantages of working with a professional. Of these, 54% are 18-to-34-year-olds, 58% are 35-to-44-year-olds, and 60% are Hispanic.

It will be a challenging job for advisors, as Americans have a variety of goals and priorities related to their money. In 2021, Americans with financial advisors (33%) and Americans without financial advisors (30%) both identified and prepared for long-term financial goals as their top priority in working with a financial advisor.

What are the top priorities among Americans without advisors? The creation of an emergency savings fund (28%) and paying off debt (26%)

Set up a regular meeting with your financial advisor of choice in your Calendar. A monthly meeting should suffice to start. But, depending on your preferences and needs, the frequency can be adjusted in the future. Be prepared to discuss your game plan with your advisor at each meeting by bringing your questions and thoughts.

A financial advisor will, for instance, ask you about your goals during your first meeting. Next, your advisor will outline a preliminary plan and provide risk management advice in the next step. Eventually, meetings can focus on specific assets or how you should spend a bonus, raise, or tax return.

Image Credit: Pixabay; Pexels; Thank you!

Want to Save More Money This Year? Put it on Your Calendar was originally published on Calendar by John Hall.

Declutter Your Brain by Decluttering Your Calendar

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declutter your calendar

You can feel overwhelmed when you have so much on your mind. So, you do the right thing and get these thoughts out of your head and onto paper. Eventually, you use this to generate an extensive to-do list that will clutter your Calendar.

What happens next? Not only is your brain cluttered, so is your Calendar. That makes it impossible to focus on your priorities. And even worse, this leads to unnecessary stress.

While you’re on the right track by writing things down, you also need to declutter your Calendar so that you’ll be healthier, happier, and more productive.

Of course, that may sound easier said than done. So, here are some of the best ways to declutter your brain by decluttering your Calendar.

Acknowledge the fact that you can’t do everything.

“We can only do so much,” Mike Burns writes over Becoming Minimalist. “We have unlimited options but limited resources.” As such, some decisions must be made to eliminate certain things.

“When we’re feeling especially productive and superhuman, we struggle to admit this reality,” he adds. But, no matter how hard we, it’s impossible for us to do it all. “We have to remove the clutter.”

Clutter is all the stuff that gets in the way of living a happy life. As a result, we cannot do the things we value the most. “It’s that unnecessary stuff that we entertain but doesn’t help us get where we want to go,” Burns adds. “And it needs to be removed.”

Take stock and track your time.

“I always say if you want to spend your time better, you have to figure out how you’re spending your time now,” asserts Laura Vanderkam, author of, Off the Clock: Feel Less Busy While Getting More Done. “People have a lot of stories they tell themselves about their time,” she adds, but those stories aren’t always accurate.

Therefore, you must first take stock of what is in your Calendar to truly clean it up. Reviewing past appointments and calendars can give you some historical information to give you some insights into how you’ve spent your time. However, you should also track how you spend your time.

Here, you are generally presented with two options. One is a productivity journal, while the other is a time tracker. The most crucial step is to record all your daily activities for a week or so. From there, you can decide which entries you can remove from your Calendar.

Additionally, Vanderkam recommends channeling your inner Marie Kondo. If, for example, you no longer enjoy that cooking, music, or yoga class on Wednesday nights, dump it.

“It’s a ridiculous thing to think that everything will spark joy,” adds Vanderkam. “You might love your job, but your commute will not spark joy. Likewise, you love your children but changing a diaper will not spark joy,” she says.

Consider asking yourself, “What is causing the most pain? And what is something I can actually do something about?”

Question the validity of any recurring commitments.

Piggybacking from the point above — You should make a detailed inventory of what exactly is filling your schedule before attempting to declutter it.

We all do things the way we do because we are accustomed to them. But nevertheless, it doesn’t mean that we should continue doing them as we have day-in-and-out. And another way to achieve this is by questioning your recurring calendar commitments.

As a starting point, ask;

  • Why am I doing this? Is your Calendar full of entries that it easier than more essential tasks? Does it exist because you were told to do it by someone else?
  • Are my priorities aligned with this activity? Do you do this because you have to, or does it help you move closer to your goals?
  • Is this beneficial to my family or me?
  • How will this affect me? Is it draining or energizing?
  • Is my Calendar a reflection of how I want to live? Are you living your life on purpose? What do you think is the best way for you to spend your free time?

Get it off your Calendar whenever you don’t have a real reason to do something. At the same time, be careful not to remove something working well to make your schedule seem more organized.

You must be intentional about your Calendar if you want more space and time for what matters.

Delete old tasks.

When you have a minute, please glance over your to-do list. The chances are that you haven’t updated it in quite a long time. And, that’s alright. Some of these items are just habits that have become second nature. But, here they important or still relevant?

In reality, those items are nothing more than clutter. So, go ahead and remove them from your list. As for the remaining items, you might want to use something like the Eisenhower Matrix to prioritize your list.

You would do anything urgent and essential right away — meaning they get scheduled first in your Calendar. Then, you would schedule essential but less urgent tasks later. And, don’t forget that anything that’s urgent but not necessary can be delegated or outsourced.

Use the “Rule of Three.”

By following the Rule of Three, you will succeed in reaching your goals and getting more done. Apparently, according to Dan Silvestre, it was introduced by J.D Meier in “Getting Results the Agile Way. And, it works like this.

The Rule of Three stresses that you should only focus on 3 of your most important goals instead of aiming for everything. By limiting the number of tasks you do simultaneously, you can increase your focus and output. And it’s also helpful in keeping your Calendar in check so that you don’t feel as overwhelmed.

As an example, let’s say that you’re mapping out your week. Rather than trying to cram every to-do list item into your Calendar, only schedule three priorities for each day.

Verify your timeslots.

If you share your Calendar with others, then people can not only see your availability, they can also book these open slots. That comes in handy when someone needs to schedule a meeting or phone call with you. But, here’s the thing, schedules are likely to change.

Let’s say you have an upcoming trip or the other party had to attend to a personal matter. The chances are that something like a 15-minute phone call isn’t a priority. As such, to prevent wasting everyone’s time, you should verify this time slot.

You can use a calendar reminder to make sure that everyone can still meet at the agreed-upon time. Usually, this could be a couple of days in advance. But, if you know that you have more pressing matters coming up, like a vacation, you might want a longer timeframe, like a week or two ahead of time.

That might seem a bit much. However, it’s an effective way to safeguard your Calendar from last-minute cancellations and conflicts. I would suggest being a pro and giving others a deadline when your open slots will close.

And, one more thing, When you’re booked or off-the-clock, double-check that your Calendar shows that you’re unavailable. When you do, then others won’t be able to reserve that time slot.

Don’t make your Calendar annoyingly inflexible.

For better or worse, Elon Musk is known for many things. However, he’s also known for using a productivity hack in which he schedules his time into 5-minute segments. While Musk has denied this, it’s understandable why this technique is appealing. It not only protects your valuable, but it also can keep your Calendar so organized that you’ll get more done.

Here’s the problem, though. This technique is ridiculously inflexible that there is zero wiggle room. What’s more, it takes a lot of upfront planning to schedule your time so meticulously.

I’m all for time blocking. But that doesn’t mean you have to full each block of time. Instead, you should leave some blocks blank. The reason? Let’s say there’s a fire that needs to be put out? Then, you can more easily shuffle your schedule around to attending to this emergency without throwing your entire schedule off-track.

Make use of a scheduling assistant or calendar app.

Calendar apps and scheduling assistants offer a quick and efficient alternative to back-and-forth communication when scheduling a meeting or event. Furthermore, they keep your schedule from getting cluttered.

Calendar, for example, allows users to share their availability with others via e-mail or embeddable links. As a result, people can choose a time that works for them when they see your schedule. By doing so, you won’t overload your Calendar. It also lets you buffer meetings between them and avoid last-minute meetings, so you never have a congested Calendar.

As if that weren’t enough, Calendar uses machine learning to make smart scheduling suggestions. It can also determine the breakdown of your day by task type by analyzing your schedule.

Merge your calendars.

People often like to keep several calendars to keep the various facets of their lives organized. For example, you may have a calendar designated solely for work and another for your family’s schedule. You may also have calendars for birthdays, holidays, medical appointments, or even when your favorite sports teams are playing.

I get the appeal with this strategy. But, conflicts are ultimately more challenging to avoid when juggling multiple calendars. I know this from personal experience. Back in the day, I kept work and a personal calendar. Eventually, I would agree to an after-hours work event only to notice that I had already committed to going to a birthday dinner for a friend.

Aside from that, switching between calendars was inconvenient and a huge waste of time. So I found the simple solution to be consolidating all of my calendars into one master calendar.

How am I able to remain organized? I use color-coding.

“Most calendar apps will allow you to order your events by color, making it easy to distinguish them at a glance,” writes Howie Jones in a previous Calendar article. “Your online Calendar will have different events for work, home, and leisure. Assign a color to each category, and it will be easy to locate exactly what you’re looking for.”

“For example, the color red can distinguish all of your work-related events from the rest of your calendar,” Howie explains. “You might use blue to indicate your at-home priorities.”

The best part? “You can customize your calendar with whatever palette you choose, making your online calendar unique to your style and preference.”

Make decluttering a priority.

“Finally, there’s more to decluttering than just cleaning and organizing,” notes Deanna Ritchie in a previous Calendar article. “It is also about staying committed to living a clutter-free life.” You can easily keep on top of this by scheduling frequent cleaning sessions.

“For instance, you could block out from four p.m. to five p.m. on the last Friday of every month to tidy up your office,” Denna suggests. “Every Saturday morning could be reserved for household chores. And, so forth.”

It’s important to schedule these sessions in advance to commit to following through with this. Remember, your word is your bond as if you were meeting with a client or doctor. In addition, you won’t have to stress as much about cleaning and organizing your Calendar because you’re keeping it lean and mean before it becomes too overwhelming.

Image Credit: RODNAE Productions; Pexels; Thank you

Declutter Your Brain by Decluttering Your Calendar was originally published on Calendar by John Hall.

Pivot to Your Successful Calendar in 2022

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Pivot Successful Calendar 2022

Only a month of the way into 2022 and this year already seems to be looking up compared to the craziness of the last two years. The COVID-19 vaccine was rolled out to reasonable success, and businesses are beginning to thrive once more. The holidays were great, and we’re moving forward, hoping summer vacations won’t be limited with Omicron, or something else. With this positive outlook in mind, it’s a prime time for personal development and achievement.

Time management is the key ingredient behind personal progression. Using a tool such as your Calendar allows you to harness your time and daily efforts to make things happen in your favor. A lot can be achieved through proper time management, but avoid the tricky mistakes that may slow you down.

During this first quarter, take the time to assess your time management skills and pivot to your best Calendar success, making this year the best ever.

Here are some things you can look for to pick up your personal success pace.

Identify Working Patterns

Kick things off by celebrating your successes. Were you able to meet your daily exercise goals through successful Calendar additions? Is your side hustle growing thanks to some successful Calendar finessing that helps you be more productive in the evenings? Whatever your successes are — pat yourself on the back.

If you’ve been a big miss, don’t let that bother you — take courage and plan out the next few months of this quarter to continue to see progress on your goals. If your new morning routine helps you make time for exercise, be sure to include that schedule in your future Calendar plans. Keep track of what works and what doesn’t.

Ditch Bad Habits

Next up, it’s time to admit defeat in certain aspects of your time management. It’s okay to recognize that you spent a lot more time watching Netflix than you should have. Now’s your chance to turn things around using your Calendar.

Identify your lousy time management habits so that you can stop them in their tracks. What can you do to break the habit if you have a late-night binge-watching problem? Plan an evening activity in your Calendar, such as reading a chapter of a book, doing a chore that you have been putting off.

Think about studying a subject or investigating a skill you have wanted to work on or think about. Creative pursuits often pull me out of a bad time management issue. Thinking in this new way will help you increase your productivity.

A bonus tip: for recognizing both successful habits and destructive tendencies, take a look at your Calendar analytics. You can’t hide from the fact, and this will give you an inside view of how you’re spending your time.

Feel free to create a few events that weren’t originally planned on your Calendar or make adjustments to make your analytics more realistic. These numbers will show you what’s going the way you want, and which areas of your schedule could use some work.

Realign Your Goals

Hopefully, you haven’t forgotten those New Year’s Resolutions already? But, even if you have, this is as good a time as any to bring them back up. Scheduling a planning session to reevaluate your goals will put you back on the right track.

If you haven’t set any goals for this year or haven’t done anything to pursue them, make plans to start afresh. Organize your Calendar in a way that focuses your efforts on the goals you want to achieve. For example, you might be putting off finding a new job. Scheduling time to review your resume and write up applications helps you be accountable to your goal and take action.

For your existing goals, it’s time to evaluate your progress. Is your goal still attainable? Did you set your sights too low or too high? Realigning your goals helps you maintain productivity instead of becoming discouraged because you set the bar too high.

Try Something New

Time management perfection is different for everyone. You can’t expect to follow the daily routine of your favorite influencer and expect the same results for yourself. Instead, you need to find what works best for you and stick with it. That’s why trying something new with your Calendar can pivot your Calendar success for the rest of the year.

As an example, take a minute to fiddle with different Calendar settings. Color-coding your events or projects using a different view makes for minor adjustments — but might just be the difference-maker you need to manage your time even a little more effectively.

Take a swing at different time management techniques such as timeboxing or the Pomodoro method in an attempt to find the best methods for your personal use.

Find Your Balance

Think about your Calendar’s strengths and weaknesses — circle back and look at how you’re balancing your time. Have you only thought about how time management will help you with your professional life? While this is very important, it’s also vital that you implement a successful Calendar skill to improve your personal life. You won’t find true success until you find your life balance.

A Groupon survey shows that 60% of Americans have difficulties finding a healthy work-life balance. This is mainly because work often seeps into your extra time, making it feel like work is a 24/7 affair.

For this first quarter of the year, attempt to schedule out more personal activities in pursuit of a better balance. But, of course, you can always check your Calendar analytics page to gauge your progress.

Conclusion

Continue using your online Calendar to hone your time management. Consider taking the time this business quarter to continue evaluating your progress and note how things are going. The more diligent you are in keeping track of your time — the more you’ll be able to accomplish, and the fuller your life will be.

Image Credit: Towfiqu Barbhuiya; Pexels; Thank you!

The Assault on Productivity, Neglect of Your Calendar

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Assault Productivity Neglect Calendar

Almost all of us want to be able to improve our productivity. But how exactly can we do this?

There’s certainly no shortage of tried and true techniques. Examples would be working when you’re most effective, setting timers, blocking out distractions, or setting daily goals.

While all of these are helpful, they also rely on a calendar. Case in point, to reach your goals, you need to block out undistracted times for you to focus on tasks that get you closer to your desired outcome. If not, you’ll get bombarded by phone calls or commit to less difficult chores.

But, just because you have a calendar doesn’t mean you’re getting the most out of it. It’s like buying an elliptical to improve your health but letting it sit there collecting dust. If you ignore your new exercise equipment, you’re still failing to maintain your health.

In short, if you want to bolster your productivity, then you can’t neglect your Calendar. Here are the best ways to prevent that from happening.

Time estimates aren’t adjusted.

This past Sunday, I decided to cook dinner for my family. It wasn’t an overly complicated entree — it was stuffed peppers if you’re curious. Unfortunately, I underestimated how long it would take me to prep and cook the meal — leaving a very hangry family.

To be fair, we’re all terrible at estimating time. And, you can thank the planning fallacy for that.

What is the planning fallacy?

The planning fallacy is a psychological term that describes our tendency to underestimate how much time a task will take. It was first introduced in 1977 by psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky. They found that people tend to ignore historical data when making predictions.

In other words? We don’t use historical evidence to estimate time. Instead, we concentrate exclusively on the upcoming task at hand.

Kahneman later elaborated on the original concept in his 2011 book “Thinking Fast and Slow.” According to him, estimation mistakes are usually caused by two factors;

  • Failure to consider the past times when we have completed similar tasks
  • We assume no complications will arise that will delay us

A second mistake relates to optimism bias, which describes our tendency to believe that the future will be a better place than the past. How does this connect to the planning fallacy? People think that things they do in the future will be more efficient than the things they do now.

As a result of our optimism, we believe that delays will be unlikely. But, unfortunately, that means when it comes to estimating time, you go with the best-case scenario. Consequently, we tend to disregard historical data that proves that the best-case scenario is, in fact, highly improbable.

How to overcome the planning fallacy?

In some cases, the planning fallacy is nothing more than an inconvenience. For example, you might have a hungry family when dinner is running late. But, you can put out some snacks in the meantime. However, time estimation errors account for 25 percent of failed projects at work.

The easiest fix? To estimate time spent on different types of tasks, use a time tracking app to track your progress over time or uncover when you’re most productive. The app’s built-in reports make it easy to reference the data later on.

Another easy solution? Give yourself some time than you need. For instance, you could set aside 2 hours for a specific task, even though you believe that it will only take you an hour. If it ends up taking you an hour-and-a-hour, then you have 30-minutes to spare instead of going over the allotted time you planned.

Sorry to continually beat the drum on this same idea — but you should periodically track your time on your recurring tasks to improve your productivity. As you become more proficient at these tasks, you should complete them faster. For example, if you blocked out two hours for a task and it now takes you an hour and a half, that extra time could be used elsewhere.

Not blocking out your priorities first.

Throughout my entrepreneurial career, I have sported a variety of hats. Obviously, this is more important when just getting started. There is no way to hire a talented team when you don’t have the resources. Once the cash starts flowing in, hiring a stellar team to support means fewer hats you have to wear.

That doesn’t mean you should completely ignore these responsibilities. Instead, it means that you can delegate specific tasks to others. On the downside, that could mean that you start filling your Calendar with entries that aren’t priorities.

Instead, follow the advice of Stephen Covey. “The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule but to schedule your priorities.”

This isn’t as easy as it sounds. Still, it shouldn’t be too difficult to achieve. After all, when it comes down to it, your priorities are anything that moves you closer to your goals.

With that in mind, you should book your priorities before anything else. If you don’t, other less critical items will take their place, thus hindering your productivity. Also, keep in mind that you won’t accomplish them all on a single day, so focus only on your three most important tasks. All other activities should be put off until later, delegated, or deleted.

Ignoring calendar conflicts.

Occasionally, calendar conflicts will arise. That’s life. But that doesn’t mean you should just shrug your shoulders and tell yourself, “Oh, well.”

Ignoring calendar conflicts doesn’t mean that they’ll magic resolve themselves. Instead, you’re going to have to be proactive and tackle them head-on.

For example, if you double-booked a time slot, own up to your mistake and try to make it right. So, let’s say you have a doctor’s appointment when you were supposed to have a call with a client. Let your client know about the scheduling error and offer an alternative date to speak. They may be disappointed, but it’s better than leaving them high and dry.

Forgetting to add calendar entries.

It’s possible to lose productivity when you forget to add calendar entries. Don’t wait to add events to your Calendar until the last minute as well. You might miss important meetings if you don’t do it immediately. As a result, you may be unable to meet deadlines, or you’ll need extra time to catch up on missed tasks.

Always schedule items as soon as possible — even if it’s a year in advance. But, of course, with the popularity of calendar apps, you can do this whenever and wherever you can. So, in my opinion, there’s really no excuse for forgetting to add entries to your Calendar.

Not clearing your Calendar regularly.

There are very things in life that you’ll possess forever if you don’t clean things out — including your Calendar. Everything from torn clothing, broken appliances, and outdated pantry items must be replaced. If not, you’ll end up in an episode of Hoarders.

The same is valid with your Calendar. If you don’t declutter your Calendar from time to time, it’s going to be packed with unnecessary entries. How often you go about this is up to you — I personally do this twice a year. Regardless, here are some items that you may want to remove when cleaning your Calendar;

  • Meetings with no purpose or agenda
  • Back-to-back or standing meetings
  • Habitual or minute activities, like brushing your teeth.
  • Unnecessary notifications and reminders, such as “Walk your dog.”
  • Recurring events that no longer fit into your schedule or you have no interest in attending
  • Tasks that can be delegated or outsourced
  • Other people’s priorities

Sticking with calendar default settings.

Make sure your calendar settings are tailored to your specific productivity needs, instead of just accepting the defaults.

For instance, multiple calendars and color-coding options are typically available in calendar apps. By using a different font or all caps, you can also draw attention to necessary entries. Alternatively, you can change the calendar view and decide what day to start.

In addition, you have the option to enable other time zones, hide specific calendars, and change the default time. This last option is particularly important. You can set the time to exactly what you need for an event or task instead of blocking out the default time — usually, this is an hour.

As an example, you might only need to meet with your team for 30-minutes. But, since you stuck with the entire hour, you’re wasting everyone’s valuable time that could have been spent on something more important.

If you really want to supercharge your Calendar and productivity, consider teaming your Calendar with other tools. By harnessing machine learning, Calendar, for example, suggests when, where, and how to schedule your time.

One final piece of advice here. The calendar app and tools that you use should seamlessly sync across multiple devices. Google Calendar, for instance, is equally accessible on Android and iOS devices. That means you can switch between your iPhone and Chromebook, preventing any missed calendar entries.

Failing to review your Calendar constantly.

To start the day on the right foot, you need to plan ahead. I mean, that’s like saying you’re going to cook your family meatloaf for dinner on a whim. Unfortunately, you don’t have all of the ingredients, leaving you scrambling to think of a replacement — on top of a disappointed and hungry family.

As for productivity specifically, let’s say it’s Sunday night, and you didn’t look ahead on your Calendar schedule for tomorrow. Because you’re busy with your family, it slips your mind that you have an early meeting in the morning. Suffice to say, you don’t prep for the meeting and are caught off guard when you receive a calendar reminder 15-minutes before the meeting starts.

In situations like above, that could not throw your schedule off. Or, even if you can keep your schedule intact, you may feel “off” for the remainder of the day. In turn, this could slow your productivity to a screeching halt.

Image Credit: Olya Kobruseva; Pexels; Thank you!

The Assault on Productivity, Neglect of Your Calendar was originally published on Calendar by John Rampton.

The Debate is Over – Yes You Need a Calendar

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you need a calendar

First, there are many reasons you need a calendar. For example, while you’re enjoying your Sunday, you’re planning your week since the weekend is over. Suddenly, there are a million racing thoughts going through your head.

On Monday night, your kids have a soccer game. There’s a meeting with your team on Tuesday morning. Wednesday? There’s a project deadline, along with a dentist appointment. On Thursday, there’s lunch with an investor and parent-teacher conferences. So even though you’re exhausted by Friday, you need to review progress reports and schedule dinner reservations for the weekend.

Take a moment to breathe. Everything is going to be alright.

Our calendars are constantly filled with meetings, events, special occasions, assignments, and tests, even before the week has begun. Therefore, keeping your schedule organized is essential to your success when pursuing your goals. And the simplest, most effective, and inexpensive way to achieve this is by utilizing a calendar.

In short, regardless of whether you use a paper-and-pen notebook or an online calendar, there’s no debate about it. You need a Calendar. Period.

Promotes accountability.

“Did you know that writing down your goals will make you 1.4 times more likely to succeed?” asks Howie Jones in a previous Calendar. “One reason for this is because writing lets your brain know what to focus on.” As a result, it becomes easier to remember.

Moreover, writing clarifies your goals and limits exceptions. “Also, written goals serve as constant reminders, lets you review your progress, and gives you the satisfaction of crossing items off your to-do list,” he adds.

What if you aren’t using a daily planner or wall calendar? Even though adding entries to your online Calendar may not be effective, it still helps you to schedule a specific meeting or doctor’s appointment. As well as giving you the chance to meet up with friends or accomplish particular tasks on your to-do list, it allows you to carve out time for family time.

Additionally, with an online calendar or app, you can set reminders. As a result, this will ensure that you won’t run late for a meeting, miss a deadline, or show up late to your kid’s soccer game.

And, speaking of accountability, with a calendar, you’ll finally achieve your goals. This is clutch since about 70 percent of people don’t reach their goals. But, how can a calendar help you reach your goals? While you can set realistic deadlines for mico-goals instead of setting ambitious and vague goals that take you longer to complete than anticipated. Additionally, you can use your Calendar to track your progress so that you’ll remain motivated.

Helps with prioritizing.

I get it. You have a never-ending list of tasks you need to get to. But, here’s the thing. Not every item on your to-do list is a priority.

Putting items on your Calendar allows us to choose which tasks are essential and which are not. By filtering out the unnecessary, we can make room for the important stuff.

But don’t just take my word for it. According to experts like Daniel Markovitz and Kevin Kruse, you should live by your Calendar instead of making lists. To them, lists give us too many options and fail to provide context, making it difficult to tell what is urgent and what is essential. They also don’t take time into account. And, lists can sway from tacking more challenging and complex tasks.

Aids in record keeping.

It’s also useful to maintain an up-to-date calendar for finding information about past events. Knowing when certain things, such as oil changes, quarterly reviews, doctor’s appointments, pet grooming, annual conferences, ensure that you won’t overlook them. It can also remind you of your child’s school schedule or keep track of your habits.

As if that weren’t enough, you could review past events to know when to book a team meeting, who to invite, and what should be discussed. You may even refer to your Calendar if there are any issues like billing disagreements or getting audited.

And, most importantly, at least for me, this can help you plan out your year in advance. That may sound excessive. But, I firmly believe that this is the key to time management.

Addresses procrastination.

Are you prone to procrastination? For some, this might motivate them to kick it into high gear. However, procrastination can halt productivity, impede innovation, limit opportunities, and strain relationships. And it can also cause anxiety and depression.

Will a calendar alone completely absolve you of procrastination? Most likely not. Nonetheless, having a specific date and time set aside for our tasks gives us a sense of urgency.

What’s more, this motivates us to get to work on time by eliminating excuses. For example, if you must complete a task by noon, then you can politely decline your co-worker’s invitation to join them for a mid-morning coffee break.

Provides structure.

Most of us thrive when we have a structured routine. And that’s precisely what Calendar provides us. For example;

  • Begin your day with a ritual. Get in the habit of waking up early and starting your day on the right foot by establishing a morning routine. Exercise, clearing out your inbox, reading, and planning your day are all excellent ideas for a morning ritual.
  • You should eat frogs in the morning. Not literally. Your “frog” is actually your most important task of the day. According to studies, our alertness and concentration are at their peak two hours after we wake up. Therefore, your morning should be used to tackle your main priority for the day.
  • Make the most of your afternoons by performing soft tasks and doing physical activities. Throughout the day, our energy levels decrease. Because of this, you should spend your afternoons on physical activities, meetings, and organizing your emails instead of working on tasks that require a lot of mental energy.
  • Take advantage of your commute by brainstorming. Chances are, you’ll be exhausted at the end of the workday. However, since you are less likely to be able to make connections in your brain, this is an excellent time to come up with new ideas.
  • Spend your evenings relaxing. The best way to recharge for the day ahead is to relax after dinner. The best ways to spend your evenings are to go for a walk, read, meditate, write, and check your Calendar.

Of course, you can use your Calendar to schedule breaks and fun activities to help you unwind and recharge.

Protects your mental and physical health.

By noting due dates, tasks, and special events on your Calendar, you will be able to free your mind from clutter. In addition, your Calendar is a good place to keep track of things, as you frequently check it. In turn, this can reduce stress and anxiety.

A calendar also “helps your physical health by helping you track things like diet and exercise,” writes Barbara Markway, Ph.D. for Psychology Today. Also, “you can schedule regular doctor and dentist appointments, and make sure you are getting enough fresh air and vitamin D by scheduling days spent outdoors.”

Prevents conflicts and establishes boundaries.

We all know how frustrating it is when we accept an invitation to an event, only to find out that we already have obligations during that time. Or the feeling of embarrassment we feel when we’ve double-booked ourselves into a corner. In either situation, someone will feel let down, which may also harm your reputation.

Calendars let you see what commitments you have and when you are available. It is easier to plan events or other special occasions when you know your availability. And more importantly, a calendar can assist you in setting boundaries so that you aren’t overextending yourself.

Image Credit: William Mattey; Pexels; Thank you!

The Debate is Over – Yes You Need a Calendar was originally published on Calendar by John Hall.

A Beginner’s Guide to Intuitive Calendar Management

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Calendar Management

Entrepreneurs and business professionals have a lot on their plates. There are forms to sign, meetings to attend, and a work-life balance that’s always teetering on edge. But, while the focus of business is almost always money at the end of the day, the real currency for businesspersons is time. The adage “time is money” is more true today than ever before.

If you can genuinely harness your time, there’s almost nothing you can’t accomplish. However, mastering time management is easier said than done. A lot of effort is required to manage time effectively, as well as a solid desire to structure your life and business with extra precision.

To satisfy the time management needs of every person possible, the calendar in its physical and digital forms was made. By learning better calendar management, you can make huge strides forward in your personal time management. Here is a beginner’s guide to help you get started:

Aim for Purpose and Results

When it comes to time management, everything you do should be intentional. Don’t just fill your calendar for the sake of looking busy. You will find a lot more success by aiming for a specific purpose and focusing on results.

One way to ensure that your scheduling remains intentional is to follow a tried-and-true planning method from a time management expert. For example, the Rapid Planning Method from renowned motivational speaker Tony Robbins is crafted with intentional time management in mind.

Use an Organizational System

Once you have a good idea of how you want to use your calendar to improve time management, you need to keep it nice. If you purchase a three-ring binder but fail to follow an organizational pattern, you’re not going to get much value out of it. However, if you’re utilizing a system by using things such as tabs and dividers, you’ll find the binder to be quite useful.

Your online calendar of choice will have various options and features you can use to stay organized. One of the most common and effective options available is color-coding. This will change how your events appear based on how you want to organize them. For example, you can match work events with your company’s logo to easily differentiate them from the rest of your schedule.

The great thing about online calendars is that they are highly flexible. You can use your own combination of color-coding and organize in a way that works specifically for you. Key points to remember are not doing too much and using a practical and memorable system. Too many colors can be challenging to keep track of.

Take Advantage of Recurring Events

As you’re setting up your calendar, note any repeat events you see. For example, you might have a team huddle every Monday morning or attend a spin class on Friday nights. Instead of manually inputting every single one of these events into your calendar, you can take advantage of recurring events.

When you set a recurring event, it pops up in your calendar at an automatic interval. This can be done for monthly, weekly, or even daily activities. This will save you a lot of time when planning out your schedule, as you don’t have to input the same event over and over again manually. This also will ensure that you never accidentally miss an event because you didn’t happen to add it to your calendar once.

Recurring events are also helpful for scheduling routines. You don’t always need to put a morning routine into your calendar, but doing so for a few weeks can help you adapt to a new schedule. For instance, if you’re moving from day shifts to night shifts, you might want to plan out the specifics in your calendar with recurring events until you’re used to the new schedule.

Learn How to Batch

At this point, you should have most of your calendar squared away. You can now start working on fine-tuning your calendar to make it work even better for you. One such thing you can learn to tune up your calendar is how to batch tasks. This will condense your calendar, making it appear less cluttered while still getting just as much done.

Most people batch tasks by starting with a to-do list. This is separate from the schedule that ends up in their calendar. Once you create a to-do list, you can organize each task by function and priority. This will give you batches of tasks that can be added to larger time blocks in your calendar instead of individual pieces that have you bouncing all over the place.

Don’t Forget Buffer Time

If you’re still concerned about how to fit everything into your busy schedule without overlapping, be sure not to forget about buffer time. Adding buffer time to all of your events can be a daily life saver. More often than not, you’ll be glad you included buffer time even if you didn’t need it.

Always leave some amount of time in between your meetings and events. For example, if you have back-to-back meetings, you might try and schedule them on the hour to fit them nicely into your calendar. Including 15 minutes of buffer time in between meetings will protect you if one meeting happens to run long and threatens to make you late for the next.

If you don’t need to use the buffer time, you can always have a backup plan for how you can use that time. For example, you can do some bonus prep as you move on to your next meeting, take care of some emails, or outline your next blog post. Of course, none of these tasks are urgent, but you might as well take advantage of any opportunities you find.

Who knew that something as simple as a Calendar could be used for so much. Simply using a calendar regularly is already a step in the right direction. Add these details along the way, and time management will begin to come naturally to you, and there won’t be anything you can’t achieve.

Image Credit: cottonbro; Pexels; Thank you! 

Tips to Switching Calendars Between Computer and Phone

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switching calendars

If you’re like most people these days, you’re incredibly busy. That said, having access to your calendar in multiple locations is one of the easiest ways to boost productivity and keep on track.

So, what does this “switching calendars” look like? Well, it means ensuring that what’s on your desktop calendar or to-do list syncs to your phone and tablet, too.

Since most people have access to at least one of these items at any given time in the day, it is a great way to always ensure you know what’s going on, where you have to be, and what you need to do.

Here are eight tips for creating a cohesive scheduling system between your computer and smartphone.

1. Choose a Program That Syncs to Both

Choosing a program that syncs to both is the first tip for switching calendars between your computer and phone.

For example, the Calendar app works seamlessly on your smartphone and desktop computer to update in real-time. Additionally, it offers time tracking features for better productivity.

Google Calendar, Microsoft Calendar, and Apple Calendar are also excellent options that offer this type of functionality.

If you have a team of employees to oversee, Hot Schedules and Deputy are two apps that also offer both desktop and smartphone access for better time management and productivity.

2. Know the Steps for Syncing Your Calendars

The next tip to consider is simply knowing the steps for syncing your calendars. In most apps, this takes place automatically every few minutes. However, you have to set this up first to ensure that it does.

How do you find out how to sync your calendar between your smartphone and computer? There are a few really great tutorials out there to do this, but it really depends on the app you’re using.

That said, the best advice is to look on your preferred calendar app’s website. Often, they’ll have a step-by-step guide for you to follow to ensure your schedule is syncing between platforms.

3. Remember to Use Your Synced Calendar

Of course, the most significant part of switching between desktop and smartphone calendars is actually remembering to use them.

In some cases, those looking for increased productivity find an app that works on their computer and phone. Then they forget to use it altogether, which pretty much defeats the whole purpose.

Instead, work to make it a habit to use your new synced calendar as often as possible. Set reminders or leave yourself notes to include this step as part of your daily routine.

After a few weeks, it should become second nature to add meetings, appointments, and tasks to your schedule this way.

4. Create Multiple Calendars for Different Needs

Another tip to help your productivity is to create multiple syncing calendars for different needs. Most scheduling programs allow you to at least have a business and a personal calendar.

But you might consider breaking down yours to add more for things like finance due dates, hobbies, school schedules, etc.

You can even do this and provide access to certain people, like giving your spouse access to the family calendar. Not only does this improve your productivity, but it can help your entire family stay connected with what’s going on.

5. Use Color Coding for Easy Viewing

If you’re guilty of just glancing at your calendar and not really diving into what you have going on in the day, you’ll like this tip.

Consider color-coding different tasks and items for easy viewability on your phone or computer. For example, appointments at someone else’s office might all be blue and in-house team meetings green. Personal time might even be a different color than tasks associated with work.

There are numerous ways to accomplish this, but it really makes things easier to understand at a glance when you’re super busy.

6. Link Your Favorite Smart Assistant

Productivity and smart assistants go well together. You can even link your preferred calendar with your chosen AI—Google Assistant, Siri, Alexa, etc.

Most calendar programs now offer the ability to link the two, making it simple to ask what you have on your schedule for that day. Some even provide the chance to give reminders, get directions and drive times to specific locations, and more.

If you’re looking for a great time hack to improve your daily schedule, this is one to keep in mind.

7. Utilize Pop-Ups and Reminders

If you didn’t already know, calendar applications also offer the ability to use pop-ups and reminders to help keep you on track.

For example, maybe you need an alert on your phone thirty minutes before you have to drive to that dental appointment. Or you want your calendar to email you the evening before trash day.

Generally, this is just a matter of configuring settings to remind you of what you’ve got going on with enough time to plan to attend. However, it can be a real lifesaver for those who are forgetful or constantly running late.

8. Configure Your Calendar to Suit Your Needs

Finally, it is essential to remember to configure your calendar to suit your needs. Each platform generally has a whole host of customizable features to make it simple to boost productivity.

If you aren’t sure of what your preferred calendar program can do, don’t be afraid to do a little research. There are so many excellent guides on advanced features out there that you’re sure to find one that helps you keep on track.

Whether these tips for syncing your calendars between your computer and phone are new to you or something you already use, we hope they help you stay more productive.

Image Credit: picjumbo.com; Pexels; Thank you!

Tips to Switching Calendars Between Computer and Phone was originally published on Calendar by Deanna Ritchie.

Black Thumb? Your Calendar Can Help You Keep Indoor Plants Alive

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indoor plants

The cold weather isn’t just getting you down. With less sunlight, your indoor plants will also struggle this time of year. You’ll need to be more proactive in caring for them to help them thrive until spring.

If you don’t have any indoor plants, consider getting one. Having a plant at your desk can spur productivity while working from home during COVID-19. It can even help ward off seasonal depression, a major concern this year when compounded with extended quarantine.

To aid you with your indoor horticulture, use an online calendar. This tool will help you organize your efforts and help your plants to stay strong through the winter. Here’s how it’s done:

Let the Light In

You need to take advantage of every hour of light to give your indoor plants the best chance at success. You can set all sorts of reminders in your online calendar to let the light shine on your indoor plants.

You can rotate window placements to follow the path of the sun, or even just set a reminder to make sure all the curtains are open. If natural light is hard to come by, consider setting up some grow lights and putting them on a schedule.

Set a Watering Schedule

Everyone knows that plants need a good amount of water to survive. What you might not be aware of is that overwatering during the winter is a serious problem. Many plants go dormant during the colder months, reducing their growth and their need to be watered.

Use your online calendar to create a watering schedule to make sure your plants are staying hydrated. Just be sure to remember not to overdo it with enthusiastic watering.

Cycle Through Pots

Just as your home needs to be cleaned regularly, so do the homes of your indoor plants. The pots and containers you keep your plants in grow old over time and can build up waste at the bottom which needs to be cleaned out.

Cycling through pots keeps plants fresh. At the very least, make a schedule for some regular maintenance. Your plants will be very thankful. Again, be reserved; too much potting and repotting can damage your plants.

Do a Little Dusting

As odd as it may sound, dusting off your plants is a helpful trick for helping them through the winter. Keeping the leaves clean and clear allows them to absorb more light, improving their overall health.

If you already use your online calendar to schedule housekeeping, leave your plants for last. The other bits of cleaning you do will stir up dust in the air that will settle on your plants. Dust those at the end and you’ll ensure they stay nice and clean.

Monitor Temperature

Plants can be a little finicky about their preferred temperature. Too hot or too cold and you can lose them fast. For this reason it’s important for you to monitor the temperature in your home both day and night.

If you happen to have a smart thermostat in your home you can set an automatic schedule to adjust temperatures. If not, use your online calendar to develop a schedule and stick to it. Make sure it doesn’t get too cold at night or too hot in the afternoon.

Check for Bugs

Winter is prime time for sickness, such as the flu and the common cold. These “bugs” as they’re called are frequent in humans, which your plants don’t have to worry about. What is a concern, however, are actual bugs who’ve made it inside your house for warmth and are looking for their next meal.

Set reminders in your online calendar to check for signs of pests. The sooner you spot signs of nibbling or crawling, the sooner you can start treatment. Research some products that can be used to prevent and rid your plants of insects so you can stock up and be ready to nip it in the bud.

Use a Humidifier

Some areas of the world get very dry in the winter. Most indoor plants prefer to be humid, so the dry spells of the winter months can rustle them up a bit.

You can purchase a small humidifier to set next to your plants to keep them comfortable. To ensure it’s running properly, schedule times in your online calendar to refill it and make sure your plants are benefiting from the mist.

Prepare for Travel

Got holiday travel plans in your online calendar? Chances are you aren’t planning on your plants tagging along. Plant sitters are expensive, so add some time to prepare them for your absence before you hit the road.

Bunching your plants together will help them to stay humid and warm even when you’re not there to check on them. Giving them extra water before you leave will also prevent them from drying out over the duration of your trip.

Track Warm Days

Some winter days will be surprisingly warm, especially at the beginning and end of the season. When there’s more sun than usual and the temperature is high enough, let your plants out for a little outdoor time.

Don’t forget to bring them back in at the end of the day! Your online calendar will remind you to bring plants back inside so they don’t freeze out in the cold.

Play Some Music

The debate on whether music actually helps plants to grow might never end. Regardless, it’s still worth a shot if you’re a new botanist enduring your first winter. Some soothing music just might do the trick.

If you do plan to play music, you can use your online calendar to rotate through playlists. Line it up with your day and you might be able to enjoy it as well.

Cultivating a green thumb in the winter is no easy task. You’ll warm up to the idea as you plan the process in your online calendar. Soon your plants will be looking as good as they do in the warmer weather.

Image Credit: sohail nachiti; Pexels; Thank you!

Black Thumb? Your Calendar Can Help You Keep Indoor Plants Alive was originally published on Calendar by Hunter Meine.

How Entrepreneurs Can Clean Up Their Calendars

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How Entrepreneurs Can Clean Up Their Calendars

Entrepreneurship is one of the most admired aspects of the American dream. Without hardworking men and women with dreams and passions — coupled with astounding drive and work ethics — we wouldn’t have many of the things we enjoy today. Think of your favorite brand and remember that before it became mainstream, it was a lowly startup backed by a bold entrepreneur.

While entrepreneurs are rightly praised for their accomplishments, it can be difficult to be in their shoes. A lot of blood, sweat, and tears go into entrepreneurship. All that effort can get exhausting. It can also get confusing when calendars are packed end-to-end with meetings and events to keep track of.

Time management is key to entrepreneurial success. Here are six ways active and aspiring entrepreneurs can clean up their online calendars to help them achieve more while stressing less.

1. Implement Color-Coding

Color-coding is a simple organizational system that will bring your calendar to life and keep it better organized. All you need to do is group your tasks together in a way that they can be identified with a single color. Once you get used to this new system, one glance at your day will give you all the information you need. 

For example, you can separate most of your tasks into three main groups, such as team huddles, client meetings, and administrative tasks. Each group will have its own color, like red, yellow, or blue. A stream of yellow for next Wednesday lets you know right away that you have a bunch of client meetings coming up that you need to prepare for.

Once you’ve implemented your color-coding strategy, you’ll begin to think about the tasks you put into your calendar more carefully. More methodical thinking will keep your calendar clean and organized even as you splash it with colors.

2. Batch Tasks Together

Speaking of grouping tasks together, not every single to-do item needs to have a designated space in your schedule. There are many instances where you can batch tasks together to condense your calendar and prevent clutter. 

It would be silly to create a calendar event for every email you plan to send throughout the day. Not only can you schedule a time to do all your emailing, but you can also batch that with other administrative tasks to get them done at the same time. If you don’t want to forget important details, use the notes section of your digital calendar to make to-do lists that accompany your task batches. 

3. Create a Separate Calendar

Many online calendar apps allow you to create multiple calendars to organize your time. With multiple calendars, you can clean up one messy calendar by dividing it up. To ensure double-booking doesn’t occur, keep these calendars synced even if you don’t view them together at the same time. 

One of your calendars can be designated for all your personal affairs. Track birthdays, anniversaries, sporting events, important school dates, and more here, while keeping all of your entrepreneurial activities on a separate calendar. If you really want to go all out, you can create separate calendars for each department of your budding organization. 

4. Learn How to Delegate

One reason entrepreneurs’ lives are so grueling is that their plates get overloaded, especially in the early stages of a startup. Entrepreneurs are product developers, marketers, HR representatives, and salespeople all at the same time. The sooner you can delegate some of these tasks to others, the sooner you can clean up your calendar and clear your head. 

Learning how to delegate is a process. Many entrepreneurs don’t want to let go of their responsibilities because they only trust themselves to get the job done. Just remember that you’ll become more effective as you pass on assignments and focus your attention, and your calendar, on fewer projects. 

5. Make Time for Yourself

Entrepreneurship is often a 24/7 job. Building a business from the ground up isn’t easy. It takes a lot of time and effort to become one of the few who enjoy long-term success. Prioritizing your mental health and physical wellness will help ensure long-term success by staving off burnout and keeping your mind in top shape.

This is different from just creating a separate calendar for your personal events. You need to intentionally make time for yourself in your calendar. Schedule a date night with your significant other, allot time for exercise. Even schedule some evening hours to read a book. These blocks of time will help with your work-life balance and clear your calendar of unnecessary busywork you continue to pile onto yourself.

6. Lean on Automation

Any task that you can automate can be taken out of your schedule, which leads to a more open calendar. Not only that, but automation will keep your business running even without your constant supervision. You will be able to accomplish more with less effort.

No matter your business model, there is some business task that you can automate. You can add a chatbot to your website to answer frequent customer questions without the need for a human representative 24/7. You can automate email marketing campaigns and sales outreach. Find ways to automate your growing business, and these tasks and others won’t be taking up calendar space any longer. 

While it’s good to fill your time with productive activities, an overstuffed calendar can be counterproductive. Use these tips to clean up your calendar and keep it that way. That way o you can focus on your performance as an entrepreneur and not your ever-changing schedule. 

Your Calendar Will Help Make Your Camping Trip a Success

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Your Calendar Will Help Make Your Camping Trip a Success

Remember going camping as a kid? Even if it was only a few times growing up, camping trips make for enjoyable summer memories for the whole family. So invite friends and family — and have a blast!

Your Calendar Will Help Make Your Camping Trip a Success

Unfortunately, many people don’t have great memories of camping — but everyone needs to say they’ve camped at least once in their lives. I call it “life lessons and learning.” And, yes, I laugh when I say that. But, whether the former camping trip was boring, got rained on, or someone was eaten alive by mosquitos — some things can get in the way of a good time. Prevent catastrophe from striking your camping trip by organizing your efforts with your Calendar. Here’s how:

Choosing Dates

Hey, you only have about six weeks before the kids are back in school — so get cracking! First things first, you must select the dates of your camping trip in advance. Very rarely will an impromptu trip work out well, especially for larger families and all of their different schedules. However, some of our impromptu trips ended up the best ever —  so don’t discount that possibility.

Using your Calendar allows you to view all of these conflicting schedules and find free days for everyone. Then, once the date is chosen — create a Calendar event and share it with everyone who plans to attend so that they don’t end up booking something for the dates selected.

Remembering to Pack

Nothing is worse than arriving at your location and realizing you forgot to pack something important. Don’t let that happen to you by setting one or several reminders in your online Calendar. I, for one, always have camping specifics in a packed bag so I can just look through the items and make sure they aren’t out of date.

You can set a reminder for virtually anything you think you might forget. For example, a Calendar notification will help you get out the door at the right time. Another event will remind you to make a trip to the store to get all the snacks and supplies you need.

You will also find it useful to set a reminder to make sure you double-check your home, set the lock, turn the camera on, check the auto sprinklers, let the neighbor know to pick up mail. I keep this same list for trips on my Calendar, so I don’t have to write a new list each time we go somewhere. That puts everything in order before leaving town for a few days. I also have a “before you go cleaning list” to not be overwhelmed when I return home.

Planning the Road Trip

The best camping spots are usually a long-distance away. Those drives can get pretty grueling, especially for young kids and big families. Your Calendar will come in handy for planning the upcoming road trip and making it as painless as possible.

Most National Parks have a number you can call and select your date and reserve your spot. You have to be there by a certain time (usually 6:00 PM) or give them a late check-in time. If you aren’t there on time — the park will give away your spot.

Looking for a spot to camp at midnight, especially if you’ve brought a baby along, is not a pretty sight. And sleeping in the car because you lost your camping spot tends to be the memory that sticks with your fam and friends forever.

Thanks to GPS technology, you don’t have to plan your route as extensively as in generations past. However, it may be worth your time to plan some stops along the way. For example, optimize your bathroom and lunch breaks or scope out some roadside attractions that are worth checking out.

Plan these out in advance, and you can make the drive more enjoyable while still making it to your campsite at a reasonable hour.

Creating an Itinerary

Camping is so much more than sleeping in a tent on the hard ground. What makes camping worth it is all the activities you plan throughout the day. Your Calendar will help you create the perfect itinerary to fill your days with plenty of activities.

Do you want to go on a family hike? You want to plan water activities when it’s the warmest and plan everything else around it. We like to take our bikes and have a big long bike trip around the lake early while it’s still cool and then have lake time to cool off around noon or 1:00 PM. You could also check to see if the park rents bikes, paddle boats, or canoes. That way you don’t have to bring your own. But all these types of activities and questions can be answered by making an itinerary for your trip.

There’s also some merit in making time to do nothing but relax and get lost in your surroundings. Feel free to include your personal “away” time on your Calendar as well. Especially if it’s a high priority to you. If you’re an adventurous type, you can also freestyle the trip and see where it takes you.

As a footnote, your Calendar doesn’t always have to be online in order to be helpful. While traveling, you can still access the itinerary in offline mode. Thankfully there are fewer places where you won’t have cell service. But be aware no cell service does occur. Sometimes I take a screenshot of my Calendar so I have it in my photos if cell service is not to be had.

Getting Work Done

Just because it’s summer doesn’t mean the work has stopped. If you’re taking a weekday trip, you’ll need to ask for time off and might need to get some extra work done before you embark. Even a weekend outing can be a little stressful if you get home late Sunday night and need to get things ready to go to the office the following morning.

This is the perfect opportunity to use your Calendar for what it does best; time management. Leading up to your trip, try using time blocking or experiment with the Pomodoro Technique to get as much work done as possible so that you can take a camping trip without stressing about missing work.

Your Calendar will help you make a seamless return as well. You can organize all of your meetings and deadlines ahead of time to arrange your entire schedule before you even leave for your trip. Then, once you make it back home, all you have to do is check your Calendar for everything that needs to be done next.

Recording Memories

Just as was mentioned from the start, the goal of a camping trip is to have fun and make memories. Therefore, every event and note you add to your Calendar will serve as a reminder of the fun you had even long after the trip has finished.

You can also use your online Calendar to plan out a scrapbook or photo album of all the camping trips you ever take. This is a more visual and organized way to preserve memories for a very long time.

You can have a lot of fun roughing it if you come prepared. Before you leave to come home from a trip (camping or otherwise), get everyone to share photos from your phones. I put a reminder in my Calendar because sharing photos has become such a staple of our adventures and the highlight of our trips now.

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