When you want to manage your time, productivity and effectiveness; a calendar is one of the most important tools you can use. And, you don’t even have to pay for one; if you want to use an electronic calendar, Google Calendar is as good as you will get. A calendar, will allow you to stay on top of your appointments while letting you know where you need to be, when you need to be there and why you need to be there. Oh Yes, a calendar is a wonderful productivity tool but it has the same flaw as any other productivity tool – you need to use it properly.
Many people make a mess of the way that they use their calendar and as a result, they end up in a world of chaos. They may encounter some of the following problems:
When you want to manage your time, productivity and effectiveness; a calendar is one of the most important tools you can use. And, you don’t even have to pay for one; if you want to use an electronic calendar, Google Calendar is as good as you will get. A calendar, will allow you to stay on top of your appointments while letting you know where you need to be, when you need to be there and why you need to be there. Oh Yes, a calendar is a wonderful productivity tool but it has the same flaw as any other productivity tool – you need to use it properly.
Many people make a mess of the way that they use their calendar and as a result, they end up in a world of chaos. They may encounter some of the following problems:
- Their calendar is crammed full to the point that they can’t read it
Their calendar is crammed full to the point that they can’t read it
- They end up with competing appointments
They end up with competing appointments
- They have forgotten to enter an appointment
They have forgotten to enter an appointment
- They have a lot of meetings but they are not sure what the purpose of each meeting is
They have a lot of meetings but they are not sure what the purpose of each meeting is
- They have no time to prepare for their meetings
They have no time to prepare for their meetings
- Their calendar is full of unimportant stuff which leaves them with no time for the stuff which is important
Their calendar is full of unimportant stuff which leaves them with no time for the stuff which is important
There are many other problems which arise from not using your calendar properly but you get the drift.
There are many other problems which arise from not using your calendar properly but you get the drift.
You can get a copy of my FREE Report to Improve Your Focus and Increase Your Productivity.
6 Simple steps to use your calendar effectively
6 Simple steps to use your calendar effectively
The following steps will help you use your calendar more effectively so that it boosts your productivity rather than hinder it.
The following steps will help you use your calendar more effectively so that boosts your productivity rather than hinder it.
1. Only one calendar
1. Only one calendar
This should be obvious but you would be surprised at how many people try to use more than one. What ends up happening is that you book some appointments in one calendar and other appointments in a different calendar. It becomes very easy to double book yourself or to forget about an appointment.
Technically, if you have strict working hours, you might be able to get away with having one calendar for your work life and a separate one for your personal life. However, in the modern world, you are probably going to have to work some extra time every now and again or; you are going to be free on a day when you are expected to be working. You then have to start scrambling for two calendars to see if you have enough time to do whatever it is that you were hoping to do.
When you only use one, you know instantly whether you are available, not just for that day but for the days and weeks ahead. You can make a quick decision which is the basis of great productivity.
This should be obvious but you would be surprised at how many try to use more than one. What ends up happening is that you book some appointments in one calendar and other appointments in a different calendar. It becomes very easy to double book yourself or to forget about an appointment.
Technically, if you have strict working hours, you might be able to get away with having one calendar for your work life and a separate one for your personal life. However, in the modern world, you are probably going to have to work some extra time every now and again or; you are going to be free on a day when you expected to be working. You then have to start scrambling for two calendars to see if you have enough time to do whatever it is that you were hoping to do.
When you only use one, you know instantly whether you are available, not just for that day but for the days and weeks ahead. You can make quick decision which is the basis of great productivity.
There is only one of you. You don’t need two calendars to keep track of one person.
There is only one of you. You don’t need two calendars to keep track on one person.
2. Time specific / Date specific only
2. Time specific / Date specific only
The purpose of a calendar is to record appointments or actions which must happen at a specific time or date. If it is a task which can be done at any time; it belongs on a task list and/or in a project plan.
There is an old belief that what gets scheduled gets done and there is an element of truth with that. The problem is that if you schedule unimportant work, that gets done ahead of work which is more important. That is a terrible use of time. Another problem which arises here is that whenever something more important comes you; you must try to rearrange your entire calendar to make space for it. This can be a complete nightmare and you are likely to end up with a deadline being missed or something slipping through the cracks.
When you only schedule items which are time or date specific, you end up with plenty of free time to get your most important work done. You then decide what to do in any given moment by using the following question:
What is the most important task I can complete with the time and resources available to me?
When you then complete that task, you are constantly completing the most important work you can in that given moment. That is far more effective than scheduling everything and just working on whatever is up next; regardless of the level of importance.
You should always decide what to do next based on importance. Scheduling something which doesn’t’ t need to be scheduled is akin to assigning it a level of importance it doesn’t deserve.
You should always decide what to do next based on importance. Scheduling something which doesn’t’ t need to be schedule is akin to assigning it a level of importance it doesn’t deserve.
There is only one of you. You don’t need two calendars to keep track on one person.
The purpose of a calendar is to record appointment or actions which must happen at a specific time or date. If it is a task which can be done at any time; it belongs on a task list and/or in a project plan.
There is an old belief that what gets scheduled gets done and there is an element of truth with that. The problem is that if you schedule unimportant work, that gets done ahead of work which is more important. That is a terrible use of time. Another problem which arises is here is that whenever something more important comes you; you must try to rearrange your entire calendar to make space for it. This can be a complete nightmare and you are likely to end up with a deadline being missed or something slipping through the cracks.
When you only schedule items which are time or date specific, you end up with plenty of free time to get your most important work done. You then decide what to do in any given moment by using the following question:
What is the most important task I can complete with the time and resources available to me?
When you then complete that task, you are constantly completing the most important work you can in that given moment. That is far more effective than scheduling everything and just working on whatever is up next; regardless of the level of importance.
3. Record the appointment immediately
3. Record the appointment immediately
If you make an appointment, you have given your word and so, missing that appointment would do a little damage to your credibility. With friends and family, you will usually get a chance to make amends but it the appointment was with a business contact or customer, you may not get another chance.
Emergency situations may arise which cause you to miss the appointment but you then need to get in contact and explain yourself at the first opportunity. But to be able to do that, you must first know that you had an appointment.
In my early days. I missed many appointments which did a little damage to my reputation in the workplace. I overrated my memory and trusted that I would remember all my appointments. With very few exceptions, anybody who completely trusts their memory is going to let themselves down.
It is so easy to make sure you don’t forget or double book appointments. All you have to do is to record that appointment as soon as you make it. You can even set reminders (with online calendars) to appear at specified intervals before the appointments. You avoid a difficult situation and remove stress from your memory by taking a few moments to record the appointment in your calendar.
When coaching time management clients, I often find that their problems with any project began at the very beginning. If you start wrong; you are like to keep going wrong. So, make the right start. Recording your appointments immediately is just one example of making the right start.
When coaching time management clients, I often find that their problems with any project began at the very beginning. If you start wrong; you are like to keep going wrong. So, make the right start. Recording your appointments immediately is just one example of making the right start.
You should always decide what to do next based on importance. Scheduling something which doesn’t’ t need to be schedule is akin to assigning it a level of importance it doesn’t deserve.
There is only one of you. You don’t need two calendars to keep track on one person.
If you make an appointment, you have given your word and so, missing that appointment would do a little damage to your credibility. With friends and family, you will usually get a chance to make amends but it the appointment was with a business contact or customer, you may not get another chance.
Emergency situations may arise which cause you to miss the appointment but you then need to get in contact and explain yourself at the first opportunity. But to be able to do that, you must first know that you had an appointment.
In my early days. I missed many appointments which did a little damage to my reputation in the workplace. I overrated my memory and trusted that I would remember all my appointments. With very few exceptions, anybody who completely trusts their memory is going to let themselves down.
It is so easy to make sure you don’t forget or double book appointments. All you have to do is to record that appointment as soon as you make it. You an even set reminders to appear at specified intervals before the appointments. You avoid a difficult situation and remove stress from your memory by taking a few moments to record the appointment in your calendar.
Your calendar is a great tool to boost your productivity but only if you use it correctly.
Click to Tweet
4. Use a scheduling tool
4. Use a scheduling tool
If you work for a company with an internal calendar system (e.g. using MS Outlook) you can probably check your colleague’s availability before you schedule an appointment because you can see their calendar. Then you just pick a time when they are available and send them an appointment invite for that time. If they want to accept, they just click a button and that appointment is entered into both calendars.
This system does depend on your colleague using their calendar properly but your chances of successfully getting that appointment are much higher. This is an example of a scheduling tool and it works brilliantly.
Unfortunately, if like me, you make appointments with clients across the world; you don’t’ have access to their calendar. If you try to arrange an appointment time which suits both of you, it can take several emails which is irritating. If you are in different time zones, it is even worse.
Fortunately, using a scheduling tool, you can give them access to your calendar. You provide them with a link which allows them to see an up to date version of your calendar and book an appointment time that suits them and which is automatically entered into your calendar. This saves you a lot of time and hassle and it increases the chances that both of you will turn up and have a productive meeting.
Perhaps the greatest benefit of the scheduling tool is that the appointment is quickly, and easliy, saved into both people's calendar - stress free appointment setting.
When coaching time management clients, I often find that their problems with any project began at the very beginning. If you start wrong; you are like to keep going wrong. So, make the right start. Recording your appointments immediately is just one example of making the right start.
You should always decide what to do next based on importance. Scheduling something which doesn’t’ t need to be schedule is akin to assigning it a level of importance it doesn’t deserve.
There is only one of you. You don’t need two calendars to keep track on one person.
If you work for a company with an internal calendar system (e.g. using MS Outlook) you can probably check your colleague’s availability before you schedule an appointment because you can see their calendar. Then you just pick a time when they are available and send them an appointment invite for that time. If they want to accept, they just click a button and that appointment is entered into both calendars.
This system does depend on your colleague using their calendar properly but your chances of successfully getting that appointment are much higher. This is an example of a scheduling tool and it works brilliantly.
Unfortunately, if like me, you make appointments with clients across the world; you don’t’ have access their calendar. If you try to arrange an appointment time which suits both of you, it can take several emails which is irritating. If you are in different time zones, it is even worse.
Fortunately, using a scheduling tool, you can give them access to your calendar. You provide them with a link which allows them to see an up to date version of your calendar and book an appointment time that suits them and which is automatically entered into your calendar. This saves you a lot of time and hassle and it increases the chances that both you will turn up and have a productive meeting.
5. Add a little information
5. Add a little information
There were many times when I would check my calendar and see that I had an appointment scheduled with no idea what it was about. I would have saved the appointment under the person’s name or under the project name. However, there would not be enough information for me to figure out the specific purpose of the meeting.
I would then have to search through all my notes to find more information. This wasted a great deal of time and it could be quite stressful. I know that I would have been embarrassed to have turned up to a meeting, to which I had agreed, without having any idea what it was about.
If you are in sales this is even more important. You would be shocked at how many people have made sales pitches to me without having any idea what my business is. It takes about 10 seconds to realise that they know nothing about my business and I certainly don’t buy off those people. They could have increased their chances by researching what I do and making a simple note of it.
Some information you should consider saving under the appointment in your calendar:
There were many times when I would check my calendar and see that I had an appointment scheduled with no idea what it was about. I would have saved the appointment under the person’s name or under the project name. However, there would not be enough information for me to figure out the specific purpose of the meeting.
I would then have to search through all my notes to find more information. This wasted a great deal of time and it could be quite stressful. I know that I would have been embarrassed to have turned up to a meeting, to which I had agreed, without having any idea what it was about.
If you are in sales this is even more important. You would be shocked at how many people have made sales pitches to me without having any idea what my business is. It takes about 10 seconds to realise that they know nothing about my business and I certainly don’t buy off those people.
Some information you should consider saving under the appointment in your calendar:
- The name, email and phone number of the contact
The name, email and phone number of the contact
- The location and any travel information
The location and any travel information
- A copy of the agenda
A copy of the agenda
- A link to their website so you can refresh your memory about what they do
A link to their website so you can refresh your memory about what they do
- A list of information you need to revise prior to the meeting
A list of information you need to revise prior to the meeting
- If it is an online meeting/training, save any link you need for access
If it is an online meeting/training, save any link you need for access
- Brief notes from a previous meeting
Brief notes from a previous meeting
- Anything which you feel might help make the meeting more effective
Anything which you feel might help make the meeting more effective
When you record the necessary information at the beginning, you can prepare properly for the meeting. Better preaparaion leads to better meetings.
When coaching time management clients, I often find that their problems with any project began at the very beginning. If you start wrong; you are like to keep going wrong. So, make the right start. Recording your appointments immediately is just one example of making the right start.
You should always decide what to do next based on importance. Scheduling something which doesn’t’ t need to be schedule is akin to assigning it a level of importance it doesn’t deserve.
There is only one of you. You don’t need two calendars to keep track on one person.
You can get a copy of my FREE Report to Improve Your Focus and Increase Your Productivity.
6. Check it!
6. Check it!
It is not enough to just book time and date specific items in to your calendar. You can’t just sit there and wait for a notification to remind you that you have an appointment. You need to remember that appointment in advance so that you can do the necessary preparatory work.
Whatever the nature of your appointment; even it is just an appointment with yourself, the appointment will be more effective if you are properly prepared for it. Every day, look at your calendar to see what it is coming up over the next few days. At least once per week, look at least two weeks ahead as there may be something coming up which requires a lot of preparation. Remember that you may have made some of these appointments weeks or even months ago. It is easy to forget what is coming up.
At least once per week, look back a couple of weeks in your calendar to make sure you haven’t forgotten to do something. If you have, the sooner you know about it, the sooner you can do your best to make amends.
They purpose of using the calendar is to take the burden off your memory so, make a habit of checking your calendar and stop trusting that you will remember everything when you need to remember it.
They purpose of using the calendar is to take the burden off your memory so, make a habit of checking your calendar and stop trusting that you will remember everything when you need to remember it.
When coaching time management clients, I often find that their problems with any project began at the very beginning. If you start wrong; you are like to keep going wrong. So, make the right start. Recording your appointments immediately is just one example of making the right start.
You should always decide what to do next based on importance. Scheduling something which doesn’t’ t need to be schedule is akin to assigning it a level of importance it doesn’t deserve.
There is only one of you. You don’t need two calendars to keep track on one person.
It is not enough to just book time and date specific items in to your calendar. You can’t just sit there and wait for a notification to remind you that you have an appointment. You need to remember that appointment in advance so that you can do the necessary preparatory work.
Whatever the nature of your appointment; even it is just an appointment with yourself, the appointment will be more effective if you are properly prepared for it. Every day, look at your calendar to see what it is coming up over the next few days. At least once per week, look at least two weeks ahead as there may be something coming up which requires a lot of preparation. Remember that you may have made some of these appointments weeks or even months ago. It is easy to forget what is coming up.
At least once per week, look back a couple of weeks in your calendar to make you haven’t forgotten to do something. If you have, the sooner you know about it, the sooner you can do your best to make amends.
Conclusion
A calendar/diary is an essential tool for maximising your productivity. You know where you must be, when you must be there and why you need to be there. When something is date or time specific, you must make sure that it gets done when it is meant to be done. It is foolish to trust your memory. You may well remember your appointment but you may not remember it when you are able to take action. It is essential that you remember at the right time and using your calendar properly will ensure that you do so. This article has given you some simple but power tips for using your calendar effectively. When you start using them as part of your overall productivity system; you will start to make real progress.
A calendar/diary is an essential tool for maximising your productivity. You know where you must be, when you must be there and why you need to be there. When something is dater or time specific, you must make sure that it gets done when it is meant to be done. It is foolish to trust your memory. You may well remember your appointment but you may not remember it when you are able to take action. It is essential that you remember at the right time and using your calendar properly will ensure that you do so. This article has given you some simple but power tips to for using your calendar effectively. When you start using them as part of your overall productivity system; you will start to make real progress.