Keeping track of appointments and deadlines is crucial for everyone, whether you’re running a business or managing a busy personal life. Without a reliable system, things can quickly spiral out of control – unless you have a photographic memory (which most of us don’t!).
Many people struggle with organizing their digital calendars effectively. Do any of these scenarios sound familiar to you?:
- You start with a personal calendar linked to your personal email. Simple enough.
- If you’re a business owner, freelancer, or someone responsible for managing other schedules, you might create a separate work email and calendar to ‘keep things professional’. Now you’re juggling two schedules.
- As your business grows or club becomes popular, you add a custom domain with an email and calendar of its own. Suddenly, you’re managing three different systems!
I’ve been there myself, and I know how overwhelming it can feel. Juggling my drummer partner’s gigs, my mother’s medical appointments, and my own packed schedule was challenging, to say the least. The good news? There’s a better way.
The key is consolidation. Some resist this idea, wanting to keep work and personal life separate. But remember: there’s only one you, and you can only be in one place at a time. A unified calendar gives you a bird’s-eye view of your entire schedule, helping you balance your professional and personal responsibilities, making time management a breeze.
The benefits are significant:
- You’ll never double-book yourself again.
- You can easily share your availability with family, friends, or clients.
- You can toggle different calendars on and off as needed (e.g., viewing just your work schedule for holiday planning).
Ready to simplify your life? Here’s how to get started:
- Choose your primary calendar app. Transfer all appointments from other calendars, either manually or with help. Don’t forget to check a year ahead for recurring or one-off events. It would be a shame to miss an anniversary, birthday, wedding or national doughnut day!
- Update your email settings to ensure all calendar invites use your primary calendar. This ensures that all your appointments and events are consolidated in one place, streamlining your scheduling and reducing the risk of conflicts.
- Invite relevant people (family members, key clients, team members) to share their calendars with you. Most calendar apps make this easy – just check their help guides for instructions. To start you off, if use Google calendar click here for step by step instructions; if you use Outlook click here.
Once you’ve taken the plunge, you’ll have a clear view of your entire schedule across all devices and never look back. Here’s to no more switching between apps or missing important dates!