My favorite {Calendar Chaos} story is when my Hubby and I were newly married and realized WE BOTH invited a couple over for dinner ON THE SAME NIGHT. Oh No…Oh Yes! I quickly contacted both couples explaining our “calendar mishap” and arranged hosting wine and hors d’oeuvres with the 1st couple and sit down dinner and dessert with the 2nd . It all worked out, however that evening we had a Calendar Intervention and agreed that ONLY ONE PERSON will be in control of the Family/Social Calendar and that person was going to be me.
Fast Forward 17 years. Our systems have changed from Paper Calendar to Palm Pilot to a shared icloud Calendar on our iphones. The key is having One Calendar System so all parties are “in the loop”. Remember that YOU CONTROL YOUR CALENDAR and it DOES NOT CONTROL YOU….unless you have wayyyyy over committed your personal and family life which is a totally separate Teachable Newsletter…Sorry! Hope this weeks’ Teachable Tip helps you with your {Calendar Chaos}…YOU CAN BE IN CONTROL!!!!
Select Your Calendar System – Whether you use a Paper Organizer or Smart Phone, elect to keep and maintain dates on ONE CALENDAR vs. investing time and energy to update MULTIPLE calendars. I had a Client Session with a Realtor who was maintaining 7 different calendars. We laughed together saying…no wonder you are exhausted!
Family Command Center –This is only a good option if you are a stay at home parent or working from home and prefer NOT to use a more mobile option. The other family members don’t look at it, but instead rely on mom or dad to constantly update them. When you allow a mature family member to maintain their OWN CALENDAR then they are being taught good calendar keeping skills and responsibility vs. enabling them and burdening yourself.
Digital Calendar Control – There are so many options out there but here are the (2) most popular I see clients enjoy using…
Shared Family Calendar – My hubby and I both have iphones so I ADDED a NEW Family Calendar, then INVITED Phil to JOIN. When an event is entered it shows on BOTH our Calendars. From Date Night to our Boys Soccer Games and location. If you don’t have compatible devices then Calendar Events can be added via the Computer or thru Microsoft Outlook.
Cozi – Manage the chaos of family life with a shared calendar, chores or shopping lists via FREE app or website — all in one place. The whole family can access anytime, anywhere. I personally haven’t used Cozi, but my clients state it has helped them immensely keep their family’s schedules and communication seamless. www.cozi.com
Hope you gain control of your family’s calendar this Fall season so your time together can be more intentional!
