Why Should You Use a Calendar?

One of the biggest mistakes I see my clients make is they try to keep their schedule in their heads. Pretty soon their brain is full of dates and details, they reach critical mass, and they can’t keep everything straight. They forget appointments, important dates, and critical deadlines.

It’s time to get everything out of your head and onto a calendar.

Calendars Prevent Information Overload

Your brain was not designed to keep track of all of your appointments, deadlines, and commitments. Productivity guru David Allen likens the brain to a computer and warns that we only have so much “Psychic Ram.” Our minds can only process so much information at once.

Calendars are Great Planning Tools

In addition to being a great place to keep important dates and information, a calendar can be a great planning tool as well. Before plotting out what you are going to accomplish for the day or week, you should survey the landscape of your calendar taking into account all of your commitments.

If you have a light calendar day, you can knock out a lot on your to-do list, but if you have a day with back-to-back meetings, appointments and/or errands, that is going to affect how much you can get done.

Calendars Help You Prioritize

Getting items out of your head and onto your calendar also makes it easier to prioritize. When you keep two tasks or activities in your head, your brain gives them equal value. The more you add to your mental calendar and to-do list, the harder it becomes to judge their importance, which can lead to you becoming overcommitted.

When you keep all your commitments on a calendar, you can see what is already on the books before taking on a new appointment, project, or task. You will be able to quickly and easily judge how much time you have and determine which commitments you should keep and which activities you should not agree to in the first place.

Using a calendar will help you prioritize and plan the important aspects of your life letting you make time for what is important to you and allowing you to live life to the fullest. This habit will help you stay cool, calm and collected, and is, in my opinion, the first step to organizational bliss.

Want more help with your time management? I offer coaching and I have an online course coming in September 2017 called Simply Fabulous. Watch for more information on my Facebook page SimplyOrganizedYou. Not on Facebook? That’s ok, send me an e-mail or call me for more information 404-825-2105