A calendar is a must-have tool to keep your household functioning efficiently. It helps everyone in your household organize their schedules and ensures that important tasks don’t fall by the wayside. You can also personalize your calendar to make it work for you. For example, you can create your own color scheme, symbols, or labels to keep things organized. Here are seven ways to manage your home with your calendar.
1. Schedule Chores and Home Improvement Projects
Using a calendar is one of the best ways to ensure you don’t fall behind on important chores and maintenance projects around the house. In the short term, you can create a rotating weekly chore schedule. Make a list of tasks that need to be done regularly, and divvy them up between each person in your household based on their availability and preferences. Rotate the chores weekly to keep things fair for everyone. This will be a helpful reminder to ensure you don’t fall behind on important tasks.
In the long term, you can also use your calendar to schedule maintenance and home improvement projects throughout the year. Start by making another list, with this one focused on larger maintenance projects that can be done over a year. For example, you might want to clean the gutters, schedule HVAC maintenance, or retile your kitchen floor. Place these home improvement projects on your calendar at different points of the year, considering which season they would be most appropriate for. These larger projects are essential for maintaining the value of your home and preventing emergency repairs, so you mustn’t forget about them.
2. Coordinate Social Events
You can also use your calendar to coordinate your social schedule along with others in your household. Digital calendar tools like Calendar.com or Google Calendar are particularly helpful for this, as you can create shared calendars with your friends. Everyone can create their own profile and upload their schedules.
This way, you can see who is available on any given day at a glance. When you want to plan a social event, you can look at your calendar and find a time that works well for everyone. Then, you can send a digital invitation and track who’s coming. Be sure to set notifications for your upcoming social events, so you don’t miss out.
3. Keep Kids’ Activities Organized
If you have kids, your calendar can also help you organize their activities and commitments. In addition to academic assignments, many kids participate in extracurricular activities like sports or performing arts. If you have multiple children, your schedule can quickly become a confusing mess of soccer games, band performances, and debate team practices.
You can solve this problem by implementing a family calendar system. Label each child’s activities with a specific color or symbol. If they happen every week, set them as a recurring event in your calendar app. You can also use the calendar to make notes about specific days — for example, it might be your turn to bring a snack, or your child may need to prepare a presentation for that day.
Having everything laid out visually on the calendar will help you prevent challenging scheduling conflicts before they happen. You can even use the calendar to note transportation options — can your child walk, bike, or carpool, or will you need to drive them? Once your children are old enough, they can put their activities on the calendar themselves. This is a great teaching opportunity to help them learn about staying organized.
4. Never Miss a Medical Appointment
These days, many people schedule their medical appointments weeks or months in advance. Your appointments can quickly sneak up on you, and it’s easy to forget about them accidentally. If this happens to you, try using your calendar to keep up with appointments and other medical obligations.
When you schedule an upcoming appointment, make a calendar entry noting the date and time of the appointment, the location, the doctor you’re seeing, and what it’s for. This will help prevent any confusion when the day arrives. It’s also a good reminder to request time away from work or school. Suppose you struggle to remember to take pills or do physical therapy exercises. In that case, you can also set a daily reminder in your calendar to keep up with these important healthcare activities.
5. Set Bill Pay Reminders
A well-organized calendar can also help you remember to pay your bills on time. This will help you avoid frustrating late fees and keep your credit in good shape. Go through your calendar and set regular reminders to pay essential bills each month.
In the entry notes, you can even add a link to the online bill pay site for extra convenience. You can also time these bill pay reminders with your paychecks to ensure you always have enough cash. If you struggle with budgeting, you can also add reminders to your calendar to create a monthly financial plan.
6. Plan for Trips
Your calendar is an extremely valuable tool for trip planning. If you want to go on vacation, start by reviewing your calendar to make sure your trip doesn’t conflict with any important obligations. Once you’ve gotten the trip booked, block off the calendar to make sure you don’t accidentally overcommit yourself.
In the lead-up to the trip, use your calendar for important trip-planning reminders. For example, you can set reminders to schedule time away from work, hire a housesitter, or start packing. You can also use your calendar as a reference point for important trip information. To keep things organized, you can place details like flight numbers, hotel bookings, and restaurant reservations in your calendar notes.
7. Stay Connected With Roommates
Shared calendars don’t just have to be for families — they can also be for roommates. When you live with roommates, you might not always see them, especially if you all have different work schedules. Using a calendar is a great way to stay in touch and make sure you’re all on the same page.
You can use your roommate’s (or other household member’ s) calendar for various purposes. For example, you can use it to organize chores, rent payments, and maintenance appointments. You can also use it to let roommates know when you’ll be out of town or if you’re having guests stay with you. If your work schedule changes frequently, you can also use your calendar to keep roommates informed. Coordinating your calendars helps your household avoid unpleasant surprises and keeps everyone in the loop.
Final Thoughts
If you struggle to keep your home organized, investing time in your calendar will greatly benefit you. Your calendar will help you visualize your time and commitments, which can help prevent you from overscheduling yourself. You’ll also stay organized and won’t forget important tasks, which can help you feel more in control of your life. Digital calendar tools have made this even easier, with the option to set repeating events and sync your schedule with friends, family, and coworkers. You can even check your calendar on the go using your phone.
Featured Image Credit: Photo by Anastasia Shuraeva; Pexels
Abby Miller
Student at UC Berkeley, currently working on a degree in Electrical Engineering/Computer Sciences and Business Administration. Experienced in CSX, productivity management, and chatbot implementation.