Calendar Questions Answered!!

Ok... I have a few minutes to try to get this post done.. I got these questions in a very nice email from a new reader. She is a young new mom and is trying to get and keep her home in order. I thought the questions were really kind and I hope this helps her as well as anyone else that likes organization.

First is her questions.. then I am going to tell a little more about my planning methods.. Nothing I do is perfect but this is the system that works best in MY home!

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Where did you find the calender you are using on the blog?

Its a Google Calender and you can find one at www.google.com. Just put google calender into the search engine and it will take you right to it. I looked for a while at different calenders and with google it was easier to add to the blog than any others. I also like that it sends me notifications to my phone and that it updates with no problems on the blog and its instant. I have only been using it for a couple weeks now but so far I love it!

Do you have a calender at home that you write in?

Since you are new to this blog.. I will tell you I have done countless post on how effective a calender is. I honestly don't know how any family can live without one. I have a large paper calender that is made by Mead. It gives a full page for each day except Saturday and Sunday shares a page. I have had many different ones and so far I like this one the best..

What are some key things you use when planning for your family?

I don't know exactly what you mean but I think you are asking what supplies I use.. I tend to use pens more than pencils ( even though pencils are great because you can erase if something changes. ) I also use highlighters, post it tabs and notes along with paper clips.

What is the most valuable part of your planner?

The Month view.. I lay out all big plans on the monthly section and on the daily section I put all things I should get done or need to remember.. I also put shopping list.. calls to make..birthdays..appointments..etc.

I didn't see your menu plan on the calender. Why not?

I do add menu planning ot my every day home calender. It never works out though. We always are switching it up or going out.. I was going to add that to the google calender.. but thought it would just take up too much room..

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More calender info..

Ok..here are a few more thoughts and tips on the calender.

I don't like to use a electronic calender all the time. I prefer a paper calender and then I incorporate my google calender into the mix when need be. I think that a paper calender is good because have your ever tried to plan something through email? Not so easy.. Doodling is the best way of getting everything sorted out.

I also think that if you are only use an electric calender.. think about what happens if you cant get to it for some reason. Most people know how much I love my blackberry.. but I don't use the calender on it. I just cant get use to it. I don't normally carry my calender around with me.. If I make an apt.. I will keep the card and add it when I get back home. I normally have a day planner in my purse but since transferring to the newer bigger mead calender I just wait till I'm back home to write down any new apts and if by some chance overbook then I call and change it.

A few more tips.. I take important days .. like birthdays and highlight the small box around the date so I don't miss it. I keep a paper clip on the month view and also on the day so I can flip to each one quickly...

I think postit's are great for additional notes. I also think they are great for things that are tentative..

I like to staple important receipts to the date they correspond with so I have them where they can't get lost.

I do not like to keep passwords of any kind in my calender. I keep them all in a private book that stays at home all the time...put up.. where they can not get stolen.

Ok.. here are some great online sources to help you keep your life and your families lives more organized!! Not every link is for your calender but they are organizational links that might give you a little more help!

 Google Calendar. Along with Gmail and Google Reader, Gcal is my favorite Google application — allows you to keep your life organized easily, intuitively, with no hassle or slow interface.

Backpack. Great list-maker, perfect for to-do lists and other types of lists, simple and clean and nice interface. Can be accessed from anywhere: home, work, Mac, PC, mobile.

Filofax-like organizer. Keeps all your info in a central spot: calendar, to do list, project list, watch-list, later-list, notebook and inbox, important addresses and phone numbers, important information to have on hand, tickler, diary.

TiddlyWiki. A GTD-style wiki, with your contexts on the left side (e.g. @desk, @home, @writing, @inbox, project list) and each one of these opens a list of next actions for each location. In the list you can highlight items and link to other items, wiki style. The system is made of a single html file so it’s very portable, either on the Internet, through email, or on a flash drive.

A stack of 3×5 index cards. It can be a ubiquitous capture device; keep context-based to-do lists; you project list, notes. Very modifiable, portable, fast, easy to use. (See Hipster PDA.)

PocketMod. Ultra-portable planning and capturing, it’s a sheet of paper, which makes it cheap and easy. You can choose the mods you want, such as a calendar, notes, to-do lists, reference sheets, daily planner, and more.

Behance Action Pad. This nice-looking organizational tool uses the Behance Action Method for creative types.

do.Oh. It’s a nice to-do list web app, with a twist: it adds a zany poll. Perhaps the oddest combination of any organizer, this nevertheless makes the to-do list app fun to use, and that’s a huge selling point.

The garbage can. Reduce before organizing. Toss anything that’s not absolutely needed, and you won’t have a need to organize. It’s liberating, too!

Landing strip near your front door. It’s for unloading your stuff as you come in, so it stays organized, and so you don’t forget it as you leave the house. You can make your landing strip any way you like, but my setup consists of a set of hooks for backpacks, lunch kits, etc.; a box which holds keys, sunglasses, cell phones, etc.; and a basket for shoes as they come off by the front door. I also keep library books in a bag that hangs off one of the hooks. Simple and perfect.

PalmPilot. Actually, any PDA works, but one reader swears by the Palm OS. Like the Filofax organizer above, the PDA has calendar, address book, to-do lists, documents/applications (Word & Excel, or others), clock (including alarm), calc, and more. It also syncs with work calendar. PDAs are also good for instant capture.

Stickies on your desktop (computer or physical). The Stickies program is a popular one for the Mac, and one reader keeps a running to-do list using stickies for each task. The most important things go at the top, and stickies are deleted as tasks are done. Others use actual Post-It notes, on their physical desktop, in the same manner. Analog or digital, it works well.

A notepad and a pen. Classic, and perfect. The Moleskine is a popular pocket notebook (I use it, because of its aesthetic appeal), but any cheap notebook works.

OneNote 2007 (and one index card/day). For use with GTD.

Vitalist.com. A popular online GTD oriented list application that is straightforward, easy, and free. I’ve actually tried this one and it works very well, and surprisingly the free version does everything you need.

A habit list. In addition to your to-do list, your habit list keeps your action list from becoming overwhelmed by the every-day things.

Remember the Milk. Does lists and tasks very well, including repetitive tasks. It has a plug-in for Google Calendar for one-stop organizing.

Task Toy. Simple web-based to-do list manager, populr with GTD-types.

iGTD. One of the most popular GTD apps for the Mac, and it’s free to boot.

Journler. Another Mac tool, this diary/journal app helps you keep track of your life. Entries can be for anything that goes on in your day, thoughts, tasks, etc., and can be organized into folders and store files..

Wooooo.. thats a lot of information!  I started this post last night and finally just got it finished!

Hope you enjoyed my thoughts on how to make a calender work better to keep your life together!

Have a great Sunday Night!

K Jaggers

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