I was never the calendar type. I’d shake my head at people who lugged around their organizers (non-digital) stuffed with papers. From the time digital organizers came out I had one. It beeped to remind me what I needed to do, when, and made it easy to reschedule tasks.
I have, without much luck, tried to find an app that fits my author needs. I’m sorry to say I haven’t found an app for that, so I had to break down and get a calendar I could take with me. It took a little getting used to, but I have to admit I love it.
Here are 5 benefits I discovered.
1. Let’s you see all your events at a quick glance.
2. Makes it easy to schedule new events. You know what’s already there.
3. Helps with scheduling blog posts and hosting guests. Useful to know when to send out questions, request them, or setup a reminder to answer and email them back.
4. It’s portable (some people like to keep an annual calendar on their desk or office wall, not so great if you’re on the road and need to make a decision).
5. Helps with setting writing deadlines. (I learned this the hard way. I made writing deadlines not knowing other events and obligations on my schedule.)
Bonus: I use an electronic task list on my iPod to track daily and recurring tasks, however some people prefer to get a calendar that lets you add daily tasks. This helps with projects that have a lot of tasks to complete them.
Important point: Don’t get discourage when you fall behind, but make sure you get back on track as quickly as possible especially for those deadlines that interact with others. You don’t want to lose business or ruin relationships by coming off unprofessional.
It’s your time to share. How do you keep track of it all?