Color Code Your Calendar
Do you ever feel like it’s all too much? Every Thursday, I share one action, habit, or project you may want to undertake in order to improve your health, happiness, and sense of well-being.
PROJECT OF THE WEEK
Calendar hack: Color Code your Appointments by Category
I know what you’re thinking; we spend a lot of time talking about calendar hacks. But let’s be realistic, our calendars make or break our time management.
The key to being successful with managing your time is being able to see your time. Your calendar is like a puzzle. You should be able to see where each piece fits, so it's clear when and where you are going to take each action. If an action takes longer than anticipated, as they often do, you can easily see where space is open. This allows you to move tasks and actions as needed. Remember, there are only 24 hours in a day and the vast majority of us need 7 to 9 hours of sleep.
Getting Started
I highly recommend an electronic calendar. One advantage is the ability to color code all of your appointments by category. This will allow your brain to see what type of action is listed, before you even read what the appointment says.
Additional benefits to using an electronic calendar.
You can create recurring appointments.
You can see how well your time is balanced.
It's easy to move appointments around as your time shifts.
You can keep all related info in the appointment, such as location of meeting, Zoom link and whose attending.
You can accept others’ calendar invites.
You can easily create appointments, by clicking a link, after registering for an event or making a reservation.
For this to be successful, you need to make a color key that designates the color for each category.
I would recommend having this key handy when updating your calendar for the first few weeks. One option would be to list the color and category on a post-in note and keep it on your computer. It will take a little time for your brain to learn the meaning behind each color.
How does color-coding work in real life?
The first step is to spend a few minutes looking at your calendar and determining what types of categories your appointments fall into. Note: for this blog post, appointments are simply the time slot on your calendar. Appointments include meetings, tasks, doctors appointments, birthday reminders, etc.
Below are some examples:
Client / Revenue Generating Appointments
Marketing / Networking Appointments
Administrative Tasks
Growth / Business Development Appointments
Personal / Family / Fun Appointments
Birthday Reminders
The next step is to designate a color for each category.
The final step is to create a physical key, that is within your line of vision while updating your calendar, for you to reference while you implement this strategy.
Our goal here is good enough, not perfect. As you and your life grow and change, you can always update your categories and the corresponding colors. This is an easy and relatively simple strategy to implement, that can have a profound impact on managing your time.
Additional Resources
I highly recommend the book, "Time Management from the Inside Out," by Julie Morgenstern
Happy Spaces’ Tips & Tricks
I recommend using both “All Day Appointments” and “Time-Based Appointments”.
How to use "All Day Appointments"
“All Day appointments” do not block off your calendar. They sit at the top of your day.
Below are examples of how to use "All Day Appointments".
Birthday Reminders
Tasks that have to happen on a certain day, but are not time specific and should take fifteen minutes or less.
For example: Make a doctor's appointment, schedule a call with your accountant, or buy a birthday present.
If you implement this strategy, it is important that you have time designated (open) on your calendar to do these daily tasks each day.
Actions that you need to take on a repeated basis, but are not time specific and will take longer than fifteen minutes.
For example, if you pay your bills once a month between the 15th and the 25th, you may want to have a reoccurring "All Day Appointment" each month on the 15th.
When you check your calendar on the week of the 15th, I would recommend creating a “Time-Based Appointment” to set a specific time within your week.
Feeling Overwhelmed?
We understand how challenging and scary it can be to start something new. If you feel excited about implementing this strategy, but worry that it’s just too much to start on your own, the It’s All in the Planning Started Pak was designed for you!
A Note from Happy Spaces
The goal is to add value to your life. If you think this project will add value:
Estimate how long you think it will take. I would recommend doubling the time you estimate.
Look at your calendar over the next week and pick a date and time to get started.
Make an appointment on your calendar for the estimated time.
If you estimate that completing this project will take longer than one hour, I recommend doing it over multiple days. This will support you in getting started!
Prior to starting this project, take a few minutes to make a step-by-step list of EVERY action you need to take to complete this project.
It's not all or nothing. You can choose to implement only the parts of this project that add value to your life.
An Accountability Partner can be a great support in following through on your goals and commitments.
Creating a life you don't need a vacation from! ®
Sincerely,
Sarah Weingarten
Meet Sarah
Growing up as the oldest of nine siblings in Upstate New York, I learned to use organization to create sanity among the chaos. Today, I work together with individuals, families, and small businesses to create habits, systems, and spaces that support their needs, goals, and dreams. Clients often refer to our work together as "life-changing" and "better than decades of therapy". What I love most about my work is the lasting impact it has on real people's lives. Nothing makes me happier than hearing the many success stories of clients I have worked with.