Back from the beach...and back to reality! My darling husband did an excellent job while I was away of keeping everyone on their chore schedule while he took care of the laundry and the yard. (He is loving my new washer & dryer now.) But, I still need to get us 'ready' for the upcoming week. Plus, I am trying to get us organized. (Who am I kidding? It's really me that needs organizing.)
First, I am trying to find a calendar system. I have tried a planner in the past...and honestly, if I stay on top of it, it works well. But it is a lot of work to stay on top of it.
I am currently using (1) a calendar on the side of the refrigerator for sports and family schedules, (2) a Windows calendar on my office computer with company schedules/doctor's & dentist's appointments/large events, and (3) my iTouch calendar for some of my stuff.
Needless to say, this 'system' isn't working. My problem is that I am not in the same place for calendaring everything in one place. I am at home when I get the kids school schedules. I am at work when I call to make appointments for myself and the family. I am in the car when someone calls and tells me of an upcoming event. And so on....
I don't really want the extra responsibility of lugging around a planner. I already walk out of the house with a purse, my keys, my cell phone, a cup of coffee and often, a beach bag full of mail that needs to be opened or work that I brought home or that I need to take home or that I need to file...you get the picture.
I am learning to use the Windows calendar at work more efficiently by utilizing the alerts to remind me of appointments or important tasks that must be completed monthly (or quarterly). I also love that I can color co-ordinate the various calendars to more easily identify who is affected by each entry.
The one on the refrigerator isn't working at all. As a matter of fact, Bri went to add some info to it last week and found that it was still on March! Without the boys being involved in a sport right now, there is no information to record.
So, I would be interested to know what has worked for you. I am considering a PDA...but that would be like carrying around another iTouch. Is there an application for my iTouch that might work? I haven't checked yet. (Brian is just now teaching me about applications. I have Sudoku and the Bible on there so far.) Is a planner still the best thing going? If so, how do I get reminders for those things that are not a regular part of my schedules (like paying quarterly taxes or getting the monthly billing out on time each month)?
I would really appreciate your words of wisdom...and even your 'don't try this at home' stories. Sometimes knowing what didn't work helps to figure out what does!
8 years ago
6 comments:
Have you tried a palm pilot? or even a cell phone with a built in interactive calender? Kyle has a touch screen cell phone with a planner on it. I have never used so I am not sure how well it works, but I know the phone is pretty high tech. To get myself organized, I have bought a planner that fits in my purse. I don't do good with the weekly so what I do is on the month view put a simple list of events/deadlines and then on the week view, I put all the details since there is more room. So far it has really helped me stay organized. So for example, if Brian has a tennis match, on the month view you can put "B-tennis" and then on the week view where there is more room, you can include the time and location. Just an idea!
I have a pocket calendar that has plenty of room to write things down. You have to look for them but they are out there. The trick is to look at it everyday. That's where I mess up. I write things down and forget about it. But once in the habit of looking at it on a daily basis, it should work out fine. You can also use the calendar on your home computer so everyone in your house knows what's going on. Just be sure to look at it everyday too or set the alarms. A friend of mine uses a big calendar and everyone in her family has their own color. Everyone is responsible for writing their own stuff on the calendar. Yeah, like that would work in my house. HA HA
Rita
go to cozi.com it is like having a planner but online... it shows reminders everyday in the corner of your computer. it is free and you can access it from any computer and i think you can update it from your phone as well. and you can color cose different events for different family members.
When it's time to upgrade your cellphone get one with a planner built in.
DH and I both have Motorola Q. For next upgrade I want a Blackberry or and iPhone.
Since it's just an iPhone without the phone, I cannot imagine the Touch doesn't have available applications. Whatever you decide, the prime #1 unbreakable rule of event control (time cannot be "managed") is USE ONE CALENDAR.
It doesn't really matter what you decide on, but there should be a single master calendar. If you're using Outlook at work, most applications will synchronize with the Outlook calendar.
ok - so in my purse is my palm pilot - then I hot sink it to my computer - it has an alarm that will remind me of what I have to do - I think it is easy - because when I am out I can write things on it and then when I am by my computer I can input it in Outlook - and then - pow - hot sink and all is well! Anyway - that is my 2 cents! :)
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