Get Organized With A Master Calendar

By Author: Jesse Whitehead
Total Articles: 130
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For many families with kids, there are so many events and things to do throughout the week that it's hard to keep track of it all. After-school sports, music lessons, karate lessons, homework, volunteering at school, work schedules, social activities and so forth -- with so much going on it's easy to miss something important. If your family schedule is in disarray, and you find yourself rushing about or even forgetting things, perhaps it's time for you to set up a master calendar for your family.

A master calendar is a great way to organize all of your family's activities and keep track of everyone's schedule at a glance. Set up a large poster sized calendar that displays a full year. Place the calendar in a common area that is used by all members of the family. Write down all important family dates, i.e. birthdays, anniversaries, special events, holidays, etc on the calendar. Enter new appointments and events on the calendar as they are made throughout the year so everyone in your family can stay apprised of the schedule.

Next, buy every family member a small calendar or notebook that they can keep with them ...
... at all times. In lieu of a paper calendar, family members can use the calendar function of a PDA or smart phone if they prefer. The important point is that everyone has a medium to write down the important dates from the master calendar.

Schedule a time at the beginning of each week for all family members to gather and review upcoming dates on the master calendar. Saturday evening or Sunday would be a good time to do this. If necessary, discuss details about upcoming dates for the next week and add new dates to the calendar as needed. This gives the family an overview of the week and will help prevent misunderstandings, missed events, and frantic last-minute rushes to get things done. After you have thoroughly gone over the week schedule, have family members transfer the dates from the master calendar to their personal calendars.

Remind family members not to over-complicate their calendars by listing items that are part of normal routines. Routine tasks are better listed in a separate to-do list or action list. It is also important for family members to keep their calendars with them wherever they go. Forgetting a calendar is a sure way to forget an important event.
Jesse Whitehead lives in the Central Valley of California where he enjoys writing articles on a variety of different subjects. His latest interest is in Orbita Watch Winders. Come visit his latest website at AutomaticWatchWinders.org which provides more information about automatic watch winders.