Digital vs. Paper?
From the archives…
Last year I waited too long to order my paper calendar/planner and it wasn’t available, so I was forced into the 21st century and began using Google Calendar. Then I met a woman who said she had a digital calendar for portability and paper one to see the visual picture. When my paper planner was back in stock I ordered it, intending to copy this woman. It didn’t work, I forgot to put things from my digital on my paper calendar and vice versa. Now I only use digital and pine for a paper calendar/planner. Whether you use a digital or paper calendar, one thing is the same— you need to have it organized. “From my own experience, the best way to achieve a directional balance to your work and life goals is to organize and maintain your calendar correctly.”— John Rampton, Linked In
Organizing your calendar may seem daunting but it is not. Start with color-coding different areas of your life. For me work is red, personal is lavender, my daughter is sage-green and my dog is grape (He once ate grapes which cause stomach problems for dogs), Then enter in all recurring events, meetings, etc. “We always tend to think we’ll have more time later. One reason is that we haven’t scheduled things far in advance. The calendar looks clear. One thing I like to do is to have recurrent events scheduled all year. That way I can see that while I have fewer appointments scheduled three months from now, my son still has drum lessons, my daughter still has gymnastics, and I still have to do the grocery shopping. I’m less likely to rest on my laurels like the hare and lose the race to completing my goal.” — Dr. Melanie Wilson, Pyschowith6.com Once you have done this, it is easy to add in meetings, events, calls, etc. in the proper color.
Now anyone who knows me well, knows that I proselytize about Time Blocking. Time blocking is the method by which you take chunks of time on your calendar or schedule and block them out for specific purposes like work, your hobby, reading, etc. “Ensure there is sufficient white space. Having uninterrupted blocks of time in your calendar is essential so you can deal with urgent or high-priority tasks that come up during the week. Also, even if your calendar is chock-a-block full, you still need to squeeze in moments to sit back and take a breath.” —HS Burney, Medium. You can time block time each day for emergencies that crop up on their own, or use a block that is labeled for something else if needed. I have allotted from 5-6 PM every weekday for reading and therefore can easily use this for emergencies or to continue work, because I used time earlier for an emergency.
Paper vs. Digital
It’s a personal choice. As I stated earlier, I tried to do both only to be terrible at it. Scientific research shows that writing things down leaves an impression on your memory, unlike typing words on a phone or computer. However, some paper calendars aren’t portable like a digital calendar. And then we get into which paper one or which digital one. Again, personal choice. For paper, I used the Action Day Planner, and for digital, Google, since it was easy and I could easily put the app on my phone .“For instance, you might use your digital planner for reminders, events, and day-to-day planning, while you might rely on a good old traditional planner for long-term planning and brainstorming. The latter might help you with memory retention, while the former might help you boost productivity. “ — Attotime.com
Now whatever you decide to use, your calendar is your life. As my Aunt says “My Filofax is my bible.”
Digital Calendars:
And the usual suspects, Apple, Google, and Outlook.
Paper Calendars: