Many of my clients will ask – should I use an electronic or digital calendar?  My answer – I don’t care, just use one!

 

Early in my career as a time strategy visionary, I felt to be consistent with the image I was trying to project, I needed to use a digital calendar.  I allowed myself 3 months to learn the new technology and fully embrace the options that were now available to me that weren’t available using a paper calendar.

 

However, what I found was I became frustrated with the process.  

 

My primary processing modality is tactile.  This means I learn best when I can write, touch, and feel.  To think, I must have a pencil in my hand.  (Not just any pencil – but a Bic #2 mechanical pencil with .7 mm lead!)  Without the ability to physically cross items off my to-do list, write down appointments, and tangibly block off units of time . . . I was less efficient.

Plus – I do much of my scheduling while I’m on the phone – and how can I schedule on the phone and talk on the phone at the same time?

Then I remembered, “The road to success is always under construction.” ~Lily Tomlin.  So, I switched back to a paper calendar.  Personally, I like the Planner Pad calendars.

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Regardless of which type of calendar you use, I recommend looking for one with the following components:

  • Month at a glance –  This allows you to see if you’ve overscheduled yourself and where open blocks of time are available to schedule tasks and appointments.  Personally, I limit my evening presentations and appointments to 2 each week.  I also use a 6 hour block of time each week to create new products and presentations.  This is much easier to implement when I can view the entire month at once.

 

  • Day at a glance – Having the hours of the day already written into your planner makes it easier to schedule tasks at specific times.    Blocking activities together by type is much simpler when you can see the open slots of time in your day.

 

  • To-do list – For simplicity it’s useful to have your to-do list built into your calendar.  You can identify your top priorities for the day, week, and month – then schedule these priorities immediately into your calendar.

 

What criteria do you use when choosing a calendar?  What type of calendar do you use?  What’s your favorite “The road to success is always under construction” story?  Please post below!