A new year, and a new calendar. One of my activities this weekend will be to update my 2015 calendar with all the dates of holidays, vacations, and other events that I know.
Without a doubt, the calendar rules any busy family. Without knowing what is on the schedule, who has to be where and when, life would be a constant <losing> battle of trying to remember all that in your head.
I know quite a few people who still use a paper calendar to keep track of the family commitments. Hey, if it works for you, then don’t fix what isn’t broken. Only thing is, when I try to schedule something with one of the paper-calendar folks, they always have to go home to “check the calendar”. This really seems to slow down the process because either they forget to check, or when they go to check, they don’t remember when we said, or they don’t have the email in front of them, etc. By the time they have gotten back to me, the original date has changed, and we have to start all over.
The separate family paper calendar, whether on the cork board at home, or in mom’s day planner in her purse, is a challenge because a hardcopy can only be in one place at one time, and it’s bound to not be in a place when you need it at least once a week. That can cause lots of scheduling conflicts and stress.
I realized a long time ago that I needed to have one calendar, and it needed to be electronic/on line. Since you are reading this blog, I’m going to assume that you have access to the internet, and even that you have a basic level of technological savvy. There are so many useful applications and tools for the naturally disorganized – I hope to be able to feature all of them – but today we start with the on-line Calendar. If you only have time or patience for one electronic tool, I recommend that you make it the on-line calendar.
Before we get into the list of calendar offerings, I have to address the problem of the work calendar. If you work in an office for a company, you most likely have a calendar software that work supplies, and that most often is Outlook.
Of course, as a working parent, I have to know what work obligations I (and my husband) have in order to have a complete picture of our commitments. This is not always easy to do – many companies have prohibit synchronization with outside applications due to the risk of virus, etc. This is a real PITA because then you either have to keep two separate calendars, or you have to only use your work calendar and live with whatever limitations that presents. Also, it’s awkward to have personal appointments, etc. on your work calendar (although Outlook has the ability to make appointments private). But, if your work provides you with a work phone – Blackberry, iPhone, etc. OR uses a secure application, like GOOD, to let you sync your work calendar with a device, then using your work calendar for all your family commitments is probably the best option.
Pros: You have all your work commitments on the calendar so you can schedule around them; one calendar means less duplication and human error; you can have the calendar with you all the time.
Cons: Only one parent can own the calendar – if other parent/caregiver also has work obligations, it’s an issue keeping them in sync. Also, the owner of the work calendar has the responsibility of putting all events on the calendar. The company owns this calendar, and it can be taken away – appointments archived, etc. based on its policies. If you have a personal phone, you now have to carry around a second device in order to have your calendar with you.
Recommendation: If you have an option to have your work calendar with your phone/pda, then go with your work calendar being your online calendar. My husband doesn’t have many work-related items that interfere with our family responsibilities, so he just sends me an invite to the ones that do, (working on the weekend or on-call time, for example) so that they can be on my calendar. I do all the inputting, but I’m the one that is usually making all the appointments and arrangements for the kids anyway.
So, what if you don’t have the work calendar challenge – you can either access/sync your work calendar with a personal calendar or import appointments, etc.? You will want to choose one of the on-line calendars that are available.
Online calendars: Google calendar, Yahoo!, Comcast/Xfinity , etc. Each have pros and cons. All have to have an email ID or account ID, but Google allows you to sync your accounts (work only if your company allows it). With these type of calendars, the events are stored online, so they are accessible from any location that has internet access. Also, you won’t lose your calendar due to a local PC failure. The features on Google and Yahoo! are similar – they allow for importing other calendar formats like .vcs and .ics, they have multiple ways to view the calendar (day, week, month, agenda, etc.) and they synchronize with all the typical devices. The most important feature for organization, however, is the ability to share the calendar, so that other can either read or edit. Another feature that should be mentioned is that these sites all have applications for your phone.
Internet provider calendars, i.e., Comcast/Xfinity (link), is a little different – you obviously have to have Comcast service to be able to use the calendar. I have Xfinity service, and I found the calendar to be slow – click on a link and wait for it to respond. You can share your calendar, and it shows you your scheduled DVR recordings. It doesn’t seem as robust as Google or Yahoo!. Xfinity also has a phone application, Xfinity Connect. It should be noted that Verizon uses Google calendar.
Cozi is a website (and application) for family organization that includes a calendar function. It allows multiple family members to manage appointments and schedules with one account. In addition to the calendar functions, it includes functions for shopping, meal planning, and to do lists. There is a free site and an add-free paid site. The calendar functionality allows for sharing, and also importing iCalendars. There are lots of other features like reminders and emailing agendas that you might find useful.
Summary recommendation:
- If you have a locked down work calendar, there is not going to be duplication of effort involved if you don’t use the work calendar as the primary calendar. This is not too bad if your work allows for smart phone and/or internet access of your work calendar.
- Second choice is Google calendar. It has the most flexibility and doesn’t have any ads. Inlcudes all the features like multiple calendars, calendar sharing, device synchronization, etc.
If you don’t have an on-line calendar yet, I highly recommend that you set one up. It is definitely one of those tasks that will pay back big in dividends for the time it takes you to set it up, and it will also save you a lot of stress.
What calendar do you use? Is it online or pen and paper?
