How to Get into the Habit of Updating Your Calendar

Friday, November 25, 2022

It can be difficult to avoid the constant reminders we receive about healthy or positive habits we should adopt or the negative ones we should avoid. Everyone from moms to social media influencers tells us to drink more water or get in more steps.  

Technology has spoiled us with the luxury of digital alerts on our watches, smartphones, and laptops reinforcing those prompts to encourage good habits. 

We are a society that thrives on improvement.    

But how many times do you have to do something before it becomes a habit? The answer to this question is a meta solution with the most basic premise- maintain a monthly calendar, especially a laminated wall calendar that is easy to update.   

Calendar Maintenance 101: The What, Where, When & How 

You might continue to question why calendar advice is needed, but like other habits, you just might need a couple of reminders to stay on the right path. 

Forming good habits and, in turn, breaking the bad ones takes some time and discipline which can be difficult for many of us. Staying up to date on personal and professional calendars can often seem so daunting that the task gets ignored. A few best practices, even with something as logical as maintaining a calendar, can have a direct and immediate impact on our time management.  

• Decide on the kind of calendar you will use, not just the kinds available. Digital calendars, either on your computer or smartphone, might appear to be the most efficient, but only if you use them consistently. Wall calendars, on the other hand, present a visual picture that can reinforce what we need to commit to memory. Think of them as a panoramic view as opposed to a small snapshot.

• Now that you have the “what” you must decide on the “where.” Place your calendar in a place where it will be seen and used. At home, this could be in your kitchen or study. Do you hang your car keys near the door to enter your garage? You must grab your keys every day therefore placing your calendar in this spot might prove to be the most effective, especially if every family member has to see it before leaving the house.

• The same criteria apply to where you place your wall calendar in your office. Find a place where the calendar will be in your line of vision. A laminated wall calendar might fit on the wall behind you but will not do you much good if you do not receive the visual reinforcement that translates into updating your tasks and projects.

• And this leads to the next point- when should you update? To make updating your calendar a habit that helps with time management think about a time that produces results or even multiple times. Do you need to look at your month as a whole or maybe you need to break it down into bite-size pieces like days or weeks? Does every Monday morning work? Or maybe Sunday night to look at the week ahead? Again, this customization should reflect what is the easiest route to take, which is the most effective means to building the habit.

• How to update is the fun part. It cannot be stressed enough that many of us are visual learners, therefore eye-catching updates can help with those effective time management habits we want to form. Color coding is often a favorite method to differentiate our important categories. Select distinct color palettes for family, work, birthdays, medical appointments, vacations, and other events. Use differently colored markers or sticky notes. And if the calendar is one that is shared by the family, make sure all members know the meaning of each color category.

Making a List and Checking it Twice 

When it comes to staying organized and accomplishing goals, lists are the gold standard accompaniment to calendar updates. Shopping lists, project lists, supply lists- they all have an important place when prioritizing responsibilities related to our calendar. And who doesn’t love crossing off each item one by one to enjoy the powerful feeling of accomplishment? 

Wall calendars and paper planners are not archaic as we might erroneously think with all of their digital counterparts that can be easily accessed.  In fact, they are as popular as ever because manual updates combined with this effective visual component leads to cementing a daily, weekly, or monthly habit that keeps one or more schedules running smoothly and efficiently, especially as we encounter more and more demands on our time. 

Do you need to form some better habits in organization and time management? Creating a plan to update your wall calendar is a great place to start. Check out the calendars for sale at House of Doolittle and start enjoying your next good habit. And drink your water and get in your steps.