How to Master Calendar Time Management & Make It a Habit
Let me guess – you're probably reading this blog because you want to bolster your productivity while streamlining your schedule – both at work and in your daily life. Who doesn’t?! It might seem glaringly obvious, but a calendar can be a simple (not to mention cost-effective) way to help you manage your time fruitfully.
Whether it's ye olde paper planner or via a trusty app on your device, there are oodles of options available to you. That said, the best calendar for time management is ultimately the one that both enhances your day-to-day and slots seamlessly into it.
Mastering calendar time management can transform your daily routine, making you more efficient and less stressed (which is always a bonus). By integrating a calendar into your daily routine you can:
- Prioritize key tasks successfully
- Set realistic goals without overcommitting yourself
- Ensure you never miss an important deadline or potentially life-altering appointment ever again!
This blog will provide you with practical tips to not only use your calendar effectively but also turn it into a habit that sticks.
Defining calendar time management
Simply put, calendar time management can be defined as the practice of using a calendar to organize and plan your time effectively.
By visually mapping out your time – either by day, week, or month – you can schedule tasks, appointments, and activities in a way that maximizes productivity. Most importantly, it also ensures that important deadlines and commitments are met.
So far, so self-explanatory. So, let's dig into some key aspects of good calendar time management.
- Aids prioritization. As usual, prioritize tasks by identifying what is urgent and important. This helps you to hone in on high-priority tasks first, ensuring that critical deadlines are met. Setting reminders for important events and deadlines is key to preventing last-minute rushes and turning up tardy to appointments.
- Promotes time blocking. This involves using specific time slots to suit different activities. It aids singular focus which improves overall efficiency. Start by blocking out time for essential activities, such as work, meetings, and personal commitments. Use color coding to differentiate between various types of tasks, making it easier to visualize your schedule instantly. Incorporate buffer times between tasks to account for any unexpected delays and to avoid back-to-back scheduling. You don't want to run the risk of the dreaded ‘burn out’.
- Negates overlapping. Again, visually mapping out your time ensures that tasks and appointments do not conflict.
- Simplifies reviewing and adjusting. Regularly checking and updating your calendar to reflect changes and new priorities naturally brings synergy to proceedings.
These four key aspects help you to create a balanced schedule. And a balanced schedule is a happy schedule – especially in terms of nailing one’s goals, while carving more time for the more fulfilling things in your life.
Benefits of calendar time management
While we’ve touched off the broad merits of calendar time management already – that being increased productivity, improved focus, plus the potential for a better work-life balance – let’s now look at the benefits in a professional setting.
Here are four ways effective calendar time management can positively impact your work:
Engaging with an effective calendar system gives you a central hub for all your commitments, ensuring nothing slips through those pesky yet inevitable cracks.
Different types of calendars for effective time management
As we said in the intro; effective time management starts with choosing the right calendar for you. From conventional paper planners to advanced digital tools, here are five different forms of calendars that can help you organize your tasks, appointments, and deadlines effectively.
Tangible
We’re talking physical workspace favourites, like your Gary Larson Far Side desktop daily; your traditional planner; and/or your (suitable for work) wall-hanging offering. Let’s face it, there’s no quicker way to get an overview of your month than glancing up at the wall in front of you.
Digital
These notably include key tech calendars, such as Google, Outlook and iCloud.
Specialized
AKA a Project Calendar (including base, project, resource, and task calendars) or a Shift Calendar for those in the business of organizing rotational work schedules.
Collaborative
Such calendars facilitate team collaboration by allowing multiple users to manage and view shared schedules. For example, Zoom Workplace integrates with Zoom to streamline meeting scheduling and team availability management.
Integrated and customizable
These are digital tools that allow users to personalize their scheduling experience by connecting with other apps and services.
On the downside; in the event you must reschedule something (repeatedly), that can lead to a cluttered, messy, and therefore counterproductive paper calendar. That’s where digital reigns supreme.
How Memtime can help in terms of calendar management
When it comes to Memtime, we offer a wide range of calendar integrations. Simply connect your preferred calendar app to Memtime, and you’ll be able to view your prescheduled meetings and events alongside their actual duration.
Consider this a “combo” for calendar time management. You can import unlimited calendar events and compare your planned times with the actual duration of these activities captured by Memtime.
Below are the calendar integrations we're currently offering:
Tips for effective calendar time management
Only by allocating time wisely can you take control of it. For instance, scheduling specific times for emails can help keep your inbox organized. Similarly, planning meetings or calls in advance provides clarity on key tasks and frees up time for additional responsibilities.
Here are some tips to help you allocate that time adequately.
1. Pre-planning is imperative
Choose a day on which you plan your calendar and stick with it. Whether you plan your week on Monday morning, or the next day’s tasks at the end of each day, this approach helps manage a busy schedule.
2. Deploy those deadlines
As you may (or may not) know, I'm a HUGE fan of a deadline. There's no greater motivator. That said, keep it realistic. Visual cues are a great way to keep you on track, so (since we're bigging up calendars) use reminders to keep you focused. Plan your deadlines to avoid conflicts with other tasks. Push yourself to meet them and remember to reward your efforts!
3. Use one calendar
As the boundaries between work and personal life become increasingly blurred, it might seem unappealing or counterintuitive to use the same calendar for both. Think about it though; having to consider and switch between two separate calendars will inevitably lead to confusion and scheduling conflicts.
4. Leave some breathing room
Don’t overschedule yourself to within an inch of your own existence. Always give yourself a little bit of wiggle room should something impromptu pop up (as it invariably will).
5. Review, review, review
Like everything else in work/life – there is a process. And a healthy, functioning process needs reviewing regularly. So, in the event you have overscheduled yourself, you should reevaluate each task’s necessity and time allocation. See if you can delegate tasks or use technology to work more efficiently. By reviewing your past calendars, you can identify priorities and optimize your time.
Making calendar time management a habit
Making effective calendar time management a habit can not only transform your productivity but reduce any stress around it. Here are some steps to help you integrate this practice into your daily routine:
Start small and be consistent
Begin by scheduling just a few key tasks each day. Gradually increase the number as you get more comfortable. Moreover, like we said in the previous section, schedule your calendar at the same time each week, or the same time each day, for maximum consistency.
Reflect and adjust
We've mentioned reviewing a few times now. Well, you need to make it a steadfast thing in order to make mastering your calendar a healthy habit. So, assign a set time to reflect on what worked for you that week and what didn’t.
For instance, if you’re planning on scheduling your calendar weekly, might I suggest doing this on a Friday afternoon (when your head is invariably elsewhere anyway). However, if daily scheduling suits you and your work better; morning reviews prepare you for the day, while evening reviews help you reflect and plan. Then, adjust your approach accordingly to improve your time management.
Fully utilize the features available
Similarly to using the reminder feature as a visual cue for deadlines, categorize events using color coding for easy visualization. Plus, personalize your calendar so it's appealing for you to use.
Celebrate the wins
Acknowledge and celebrate your progress (no matter how small). This positive reinforcement can help you stay motivated. At the end of the day, we're all Pavlov's Dog.
Wrapping up
If you often feel overwhelmed or stressed by your responsibilities constantly looming over your shoulder, incorporating calendar management into your routine can provide clarity and reduce that Sunday night ‘fear’ feeling.
Whether you're an analog advocate or a digital devotee, the principles behind mastering your calendar time management remain the same:
Sheena McGinley
Sheena McGinley is a columnist and features writer for the Irish press since 2008. She’s also a business owner that is conscious of how time tracking can foster progress. She wrote for SaaS companies and businesses that specialize in revenue optimization by implementing processes. She has the unique ability to digest complex topics and make them easy to understand. She shares this precious skill with Memtime readers. When she's not making words work for people, Sheena can be found taking (very) brisk dips in the Irish Sea.
