I love to-do lists. Always have. Always will. I love to cross things off my to-do list as I complete them. If I do something that’s not on my list, I’ll often write it on my list and then cross it off. It’s such a great feeling!
I’m also a planner. Again, always have been. Always will be. I loved my Franklin Covey planner for years, and the Seasons refill was my favorite. I took my planner with me to a lot of places, and while it worked for a long time, at some point, it didn’t work as well anymore. It became more and more cumbersome to take it everywhere so I could use it efficiently, but I wasn’t sure what to use instead for all my listing and planning needs.
When I went to work for Chris and Heidi Powell back in 2013, they introduced me to the magic of a digital calendar, and Calendar (the Apple version) slowly became my planner. Due to the variety of my responsibilities on their team, I was on 15 shared calendars plus my own calendars, and that was quite the education into the value of a digital calendar.
In addition to Calendar, I use Apple Notes when I need to keep track of more than my calendar can hold. But for the most part, Calendar is my go-to to keep my life on track. My phone is always with me, so I can quickly record things I need to do and schedule appointments. Here are some ways I use Calendar, and hopefully, you can use some of these ideas or tweak them to work for you.
- I have a separate calendar for each client, and each one also has its own color, which makes it super easy to see what’s going on.
- I have a separate calendar with a different color for my calling (responsibilities) at church.
- I have a personal calendar, and it has its own color.
- I have Trello, one of my other favorite productivity tools, linked to Calendar so any due dates also show up in Calendar, and Trello has it’s own color too. Learn how I use Trello here.
- I add attachments to Calendar entries so I have what I need literally at my fingertips.
- The search option in Calendar has been a lifesaver many times when I can’t remember when I did something or where I put it.
- I add repeats so I don’t have to remember the same things over and over again, even for things I do every day like my habits (I have one entry to remind me to do them) and my Wordle game. Here are some other ways I use repeats: Birthdays, when to send a birthday card or present, auto pay business receipts to pull, reoccurring events, when to pay bills, when to check on client invoices, repeat things I need to do, and more.
- I look through Trello every Friday for what’s due for my clients the next week, and then I schedule 1-hour segments each day to make sure I’m keeping ahead of schedule for due dates. I put these in the “All Day” section since they aren’t actually scheduled at a specific time.
- I add reminders to myself of things I need to do the next day whenever they come into my brain since I pretty much have my phone with me most of the time.
What’s your favorite calendaring and planning tool? If you’re a digital calendar lover like I am, please share your best tips!
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