Simple hacks for your calendar

A calendar is the best life management tool you could ever use, but don’t let it get out of control, it could easily leave you in a spin.

Any type of calendar, the free one you get from the drugstore, the pocket planner, the pda, or something on your computer or cellphone. It doesn’t matter; just find a system that works for you, so it’s okay to experiment. My self I have a relatively simple set up, but it works for me:

1. I use Outlook on my computer while I’m offline.

2. Online I sync with Plaxo, an online calendar and contact manager.

3. My cellphone with internet.

Outlook is an interface that I’m comfortable with and you could substitute any scheduling program you’re more comfortable with, such as iCalendar or one of the many personal info managers available. I’ll input all my contacts, my tasks and todo info and my appointments, plus any other time defined information then I’ll sync with Plaxo .

Now that I’ve done that, the information is available online, so I can get it on my cellphone or at an available computer with an internet connection. This also works in reverse; anything I input to Plaxo on my phone can be synced to my home computer when I get back home.

Some people use an even more simple system, a calendar with space for making notes, marking when bills are due, and maybe, a notation of a special event that occurred on that date. Then, near the end of one year and the beginning of another they’ll go through and record pertinent information from the old calendar to the new one. Thus, they have a record of last year and already know when something is coming up in the New Year.