Time is money friend. I know you’re juggling multiple projects (work, life & play), so timing is everything. If you have a tough time keeping track of all your To Dos, Google Calendar can really save you.
This post will show you how to use Google Calendar to best utilize your time and make sure you get everything done.
Life is Messy, Tell Me More…
Your life is a series of events. By breaking them down into blocks of time, you can better manage how you spend them. This leads to desired outcomes, reaching your goals and beating your own expectations. All by leading you to concentrate on the right to dos.
Have You Brain Dumped Recently?
This isn’t as gross as it sounds. A brain dump is the act of taking some time to write everything down that is in your head. The key is to write things down as you think of them, and not as it should fall into your to schedule/do list. When you feel you’ve exhausted your brain, then organize it. Learn more about brain dumping (including techniques I use) via this great article by LifeHacker.
The Art of Scheduling Your Time
Schedule each event of your day into a virtual calendar like Google Calendar. Whether you’re a Fortune 500 executive or a head cashier at McDonald’s, your schedule probably looks a lot like this:
- Wake up time
- Breakfast
- Work start time
- Lunch
- Work end time
- Dinner
- Sleep
Yes, I’m psychic.
This is a good place to start with your to dos. This is what adding an event to Google Calendar looks like in action:
Write down all the important details so you don’t have to remember them, like:
- Name of what you need to get done
- Time it happens (& if it repeats)
- Where it is happening (which links to a map)
- Which of your calendars it relates to (work, personal, family etc)
- Custom description (copy and paste emails, Skype messages etc)
- Related attachments (images, files etc)
- How other people are involved (which invites them to the event)
- Color coat events (“Event colour”), so personal items look different from work
How to Set an Alert
Google Calendar also has handy email and pop up alerts (“Reminders”) to help keep you on track. Simply pick which alert type you want and when you want it to alert you.
If you sync your calendar between your devices, you’ll be alerted no matter which screen you’re looking at. This is a great way to stay nimble and ninja at timing.
Double Rainbow!!
This is what your weekly calendar should look like in action. You can also view it by “Day” or “Month” but I find this view the most effective. You can see the scope of work ahead, without it being a daunting amount of information.
This is your life. Kinda cool, right?
When you first start using a calendar system, you’ll notice you can do more or less than you expected. Either way it is a positive. Now you know exactly how long things take, so you can allocate your time more wisely. Say it with me now, “NO”. Ah, feels good doesn’t it?
Gmail? Pshhhhh
It doesn’t matter which system or app you use. The important part is you can add, edit and complete tasks whether you’re on your computer or on the fly via your phone. I personally use Gmail because it works for how I like to work; everything in one place (email, tasks, calendar, documents). There are tons of paid and free services like Wunderlist, Kalendi and Outlook.
Now go on and get…..things done.