Master The Art Of Managing Your Design Calendar With These 10 Tips
Managing your calendar is crucial so that two critical meetings don’t overlap with each other. It is not an easy task as you have to keep several things on track while scheduling appointments. Using strategies and tricks will help to run your calendar smoothly with several facets of life. A person juggles through different virtues in life, and an uncertain event can occur at any point in time.
Calendar management is not a casual task; it is an art form rather an assignment in itself. You need to take proper care and duly maintain the calendar as soon as you know about a new event or meeting. If not so, you can easily get devoid of time to focus on something more beneficial and significant.
Hence, we have come up with a handy guide that contains some tips and advice that will help you manage your calendar accurately. Make the most of your schedules, whether it is daily, weekly, or even monthly.
Gaps for Transitions
Calendar management is basically done to set tasks and meetings and line them up back to back. Sometimes you may feel that you are just pushing into your day to the extent possible. You may not have the urge to do this. Transitions in between meetings and appointments are a lot helpful to free your mind. Thank yourself later for keeping gaps for transitions in your schedule.
Unplanned obligations may occur, an urgent email drops in and requires a reply, or you may have to take your scooby for a walk. Whether another chore bursts in or you need a break. No matter what the reason is, you should store some wiggle space for yourself. Or else, there are chances that you run behind or end your day very late than expected.
Using efficient platforms for setting meetings
You will have to take time out of your busy day to schedule all your meetings. If you need to book appointments or often meet with your colleagues or clients, consider using an alternative. Obtain maximum benefits from several automated meeting set-up platforms available. One of the widely used software is Calendly.
Such tools allow a person to set their availability, and it requires just emailing the link to the meeting partner. The link will have information about the time slots you are free at, and they can choose a time that suits them too. Great, isn’t it? You got a meeting scheduled without much also and fro.
A calendar app helps.
Managing the Calendar is problematic, but you will not have to do this alone. There are numerous calendar applications available that make the task of managing time slots easy. These tools are used to track, organize, and automate several tasks. Moreover, you will have to explore to find the application that fits your budget and schedule perfectly. Search for several guides available on the internet that will help you find the best tool.
Doodle is great for scheduling.
There are times when you are with several people on the same email thread, and everyone struggles to find time for a meeting. Coordinating with the schedules is tough, and it also wastes much time. Doodle is a calendar management tool that effectively schedules your meetings. The tool lets you select a range of dates and send it over to numerous people at once. Every member fills in their choice of time, and this way, you will know which time is selected by all.
Consider printing your calendar.
The print is not entirely outdated. It is a proven fact that several schedulers prefer printed calendars over digital ones. A tangible calendar keeps reminding them of important dates. Keeping it in front of the desk ensures that you at least go through the scheduled dates once daily. Please mark your calendar as you like, and it helps to keep tangible reminders.
Colour code your calendar
Efficient techniques offer several benefits when it comes to managing your day for optimal success. It may sound silly to some, but color-coding helps keep the time balanced and mindful. You can easily identify and correct the loss of focus. Colour coding also helps to establish priorities and managing commitments.
Seek clarity for assigning colors to different events and tasks on your calendar. You should not just randomly represent a task with a color. You should know that different colors have different meanings. For instance, yellow represents warmth, optimism, etc. Hence, brands like Best Buy, McDonald’s use it. Orange represents Cheerful, friendly, etc. Blue represents Trustworthy, strong.
Integration with CMS or chat Platform
Instead of making your calendar stand-alone, try connecting them with other platforms. Consider integrating with platforms such as the content management system (CMS) or a chat app.
For instance, say you are one of the marketers who maintain a tight agenda for content marketing. Integration of your calendar with social media scheduling apps or CMS can serve as lifesavers. It tracks that your content projects are not aligned with other commitments or meetings. It also keeps track of your content operations.
Don’t consider one size for all your meeting lengths and regard adding notes.
When you have to plan your meetings, consider setting them arbitrarily for 30 minutes or half an hour. Moreover, benefits exist if you try to be specific while scheduling. Take some time to conclude how long your meeting would last. This tip is a lot helpful in saving evaluative time on the day of your session.
For example, if you are scheduling a skype meeting for 30 minutes, you know that your task will take only 15 minutes. Consider setting it for only 15 minutes. Keeping time frame in mind, hold yourself and your meeting partner to it. Use the extra 15 minutes to organize notes from the meeting or add some for your next appointment. Catch on emails or snack on something if hungry. In the end, every minute counts.
Reminders are great
Even if you have arranged your to-do list very well, it is difficult to get things done if they skip out of your mind. Hence, people search for reliable ways to remind themselves of what they have to do. Have you ever spent hours preparing your grocery list and end up forgetting to carry it to the store? Reminders are of great importance in such situations.
The reminder is one of the best ways to make sure that we check our lists often. They help you remember things you need to do and whether they are on your list or not—set reminders on your mobile phones for almost everything. Use reminders either through the built-in calendar or service that sends updates. This way, you can free yourself from the worries of forgetting urgent tasks.
Schedule time to plan
This might seem silly, but you need to plan for planning. It is a job in itself, and you need some free time and a relaxed mind to schedule the time for your meetings and appointments. It will help you save from headaches in the long run. If you follow a weekly calendar before the start of every week, look for the details of your entire week. Leave gaps in uncertain areas and consider rescheduling if needed at the beginning of some unfilled days.
You can consider creating your calendar with notes added on each day. Place it on your desk or wall and start filling in the tasks and appointments that will shape your week at work.
Reasons to maintain a calendar
Maintaining a calendar is one of the inexpensive ways to boost organizational productivity. It serves numerous purposes in professional as well as personal life. Let us know some benefits of managing a calendar.
Plan for everything on time – With so many things happening daily, it is difficult to know whether you have time to do extra tasks. The calendar helps to plan everything well in advance so that you can keep your chores managed.
Keeps you informed – You should stay informed of what is going on in your life. With the calendar, you will know the days that are fully packed and when important events are. The calendar will keep you and your team members on the same page.
Quickly check availability – You will not have to feel unfortunate when you receive an invite for a fun event. The calendar will help to check availability on a particular day. You can quickly check for commitments and see when you are free. It also helps you to plan social events easily.
Track Due Dates – After receiving a project, you may be overwhelmed that there is plenty of time available until the due date. However, planning for it is needed, and if you ignore it, the due date will come closer than expected. Hence, maintaining a calendar for due dates of essential assignments keeps reminding you of the completion date.
Final thoughts
Taking ownership to plan and manage your calendar well will make you productive. You will be happy to execute your plan for your days and weeks aptly. Ensure to make the most of your time and handle your calendar efficiently with the help of pro tips discussed.
You can now better equip yourself to manage a calendar. Seamlessly schedule your weeks and days ahead and stay worried free to run out of time or attend two important events simultaneously.
Author Bio
Sharon Winget, Staff Writer with GoodFirms, a review and rating platform of top IT companies & software. A tech geek at heart, I firmly believe technology can transform societies. I enjoy blogging about web design, email marketing, and content marketing.
