Calendar & Planner Hacks & Tips
Life can get crazy! Today I want to share with you some simple ways I use the tools that are already accessible to me to stay on top of dates, events, and tasks.
Reoccurring tasks - These are things ranging from due dates for my daughter’s school (reading log due, Show and Tell, Live Lessons) to bills. Put these things in your calendar and then also add them to your planner.
I make a note on my Thursday to do list that Friday is Show and Tell. This way I notice it as I’m closing out my day and we can be sure we have put her Show and Tell item in her backpack. We do this with all of the events we need to remember.
Set reminders in your calendar for expiration and renewal dates
Passports, Drivers License, TSA Precheck - these all expire. Go ahead and note when your passport expires and create a reminder in your calendar for 3 months prior to this date. That way you will never have an expired passport.
Subscriptions - Set a reminder to cancel that subscription before it renews.
Birthdays - you can set a reminder for a week or 2 before so you remember to send a gift or card.
Share dates with your spouse. My husband I both use Google Calendar as our digital calendars. We have shared our calendars with each other, so each time I open the app I see my events and my husband’s. Here are some tips for that.
When I have an appointment I need him to know about because he will need to be home from the office with the kids or pick our daughter up from school I put it in his calendar rather than mine.
Even if we have an appointment that doesn’t affect the other person, such as a lunch meeting, we still add it in the calendar for the other person to see it. This saves us from double booking and helps with family planning.
We add dates such as family devotion night or during the holidays if we choose a day to go do something fun, I put that in the calendar. This makes it really easy to see what is happening at a glance.
These are a few simple ways I stay on top of these dates and tasks. It’s a terrible feeling to realize you have forgotten something such as renewing your passport before vacation or the sad look in your child’s eyes when she tells you she forgot Show & Tell. We have a lot on our plate. Try these easy tools to help you remember the little (and big) things!