Organize your Time and Optimize Your Life through Calendaring.

Funny thing about time, it passes you by whether you use it wisely or not. Since none of us mortal beings have unlimited time on this planet, we should all consider how we spend it. I am spending time writing this blog whereas you have decided to spend time reading it. Whether you are a student, a worker, retired, or the leader of the free world, you need to organize your time to optimize your life. Calendars are just such a tool to help you optimize. Here are the many types of calendars that I use along with their intended purpose. You may have others.House Calendar
Each year I subscribe to Martha Stewart magazine, I receive a calendar that has mini reminders throughout. While not every suggestion applies to me, many are relevant and I take the opportunity to fill out the calendar with all things home. A typical entry might be inspect windows or have dinner party, or change fire alarm batteries. Oh yeah – note to self add “filing” to the house calendar. Martha’s calendar is available online.

Travel Calendar
I do a fair amount of travel for my work and I sometimes wish to combine these business trips with personal vacations. To avoid calendar collisions I make sure that I have lined up the calendar with all planned work trips as well as vacations. If you typical carry over to the next year too many vacation hours at work then you need better planning around a travel calendar. I create a laminated sheet (easier to hang on the wall, less inclined to get tossed) that I give to my wife and work colleagues to make my planned trips visible. At a glance we all know if an impromptu trip can be accommodated in the schedule.
Budget Calendar
Like most households we have income and we have expenses. Also, like most people we care about paying bills on time, keeping track of expenses, and not letting things fall through the cracks. After using many versions of Quicken, and Microsoft Money we decided that we needed something more simple and reliable. We built an excel budget calendar model that allows us to gain control over our finances and see anything at a glance.

The workbook is a collection of worksheets (tabs) for each month. Each tab is a month and has columns for name of bill, date due, amount, amount paid, and check number. Income is tracked in another table including expense reimbursement, rebates, etc. There is a separate table for unscheduled expenses e.g. trips to the grocery store, tree removal, the vet, etc. Columns in this table include date, item, amount, and check number (could be debit card expense instead of check number). We roll all of the months into a summary worksheet so you can see all months at a glance along with trending. Since the data exists in Excel we can also create charts to help us visualize.
If you are interested in leveraging our template email me and I’ll send you a blank copy.

Other Calendars
You might also put together an exercise or workout calendar that includes walks, hikes and other exercise events. Projects can reside on the home calendar but you may decide that a separate project or craft calendar is in order. Meal calendars are also useful to keep your health and pantry in order. This also helps to keep foods from going to spoil. You will most likely benefit from having multiple calendars both on print, hanging on your wall and also online in your computer.

No matter which calendars you decide to use, you will benefit by getting more done in your life. By calendaring, fewer things will fall through the cracks and you will find yourself with more time than you thought you had. You’ll be able to fit in the cup of coffee with a friend, lunch with Mom or a date with that special person. Your projects will be under control, as will your finances, meals, and health. Good luck and let me know of your calendaring successes.