Do you keep trying to find the “ultimate” calendar solution for your lifestyle? I have tried a number of different ways, but since I spend a lot of time in the Studio/Office I have primarily settled on using Outlook Calendar. I especially loved it when they added labels (2003?) so that I could color code the kids’ activities.
I also like that I can enter piano lessons, basketball practice, birthdays and anniversaries as a recurring events. This doesn’t mean that I remember to send a birthday card!
I have not gone paperless, however. I print out a monthly calendar for the bulletin board and to give to my husband.
I am currently also printing out a weekly calendar. I’ve tried various formats – small ones to put in the purse – daily, with hourly lines. But for now, the winning method is the weekly calendar. There is enough room to write down “to dos”. Although, It’s not always enough space for a long to do list.
The biggest drawback when switching to a digital calendar was not having it with me when I needed to make appointments. The answer came in the form of my Itouch. I bought it several years ago with some birthday money and I love it. I love it for my music, audio books that I get from the library, and it even has my favorite movie, Becoming Jane. (BTW, I bought a used one at Best Buy and saved a ton of money. Even though that store usually drives me bonkers, a young clerk suggested a used one that was kept under the display cases. Boy was I ever grateful because I simply did not want to carry around a device in my purse that was $200+! It has worked like a charm!)
So when I am at the dentist I simply enter my new appointment in the Itouch and then sync it with my calendar.
What calendar methods do you use?
We have a splendid Gruffalo themed ‘family’ calendar on the wall in the hallway.
I blu-tac all the letters from schools/scouts etc. next to it, and slips from the dentist and party invites. There are 5 columns on the calendar between 7 of us though, which is a little tricky – I share with the 2 year old, since most of our social events are shared (read : He has more of a life than I do)
I used to carry around a little pocket diary, I think I might start that again as I am forever forgetting arrangements I make on a whim – and I have no idea if my phone would sync to anything other than Angry birds !!
Check out Cozi – I have been using that app for my IPhone…it has calendar, grocery list, shared and invidual to do list and a journal all in one place; and it syncs to your laptop….It was designed for Moms that are trying to keep their family organized. If you use the “FLy Lady” system of cleaning, it also co-ordinates with that as well. Just something else to consider!
Outlook calendar, on my laptop and in my iPhone (like in your iTouch). It’s always with me, so I make appointments in it and it tells me 30 minutes before I need to be somewhere. Perfect!
DH has a big dry-erase calendar on his wall for scheduling biz trips, so I can always figure out where he’s going to be and when. I put my trips on there, too, so we can schedule around each other.