10 hacks to get more out of your family calendar

While the mere thought of it may sound tedious at first, you’d be amazed how a family organization calendar can increase quality family time, make your life easier and, yes, even reduce stress!

Whether you’re the type that likes an old-school planner, a yoga-dog wall calendar, a big whiteboard or an email calendar —these can each play a role in keeping everyone on the same page when it comes to appointments, important events, family time and even (deep breath) relaxation time.

Use these 10 easy hacks for creating a shared family calendar and before you know it, you’ll be spending more time enjoying what’s on the agenda—rather than stressing about what isn’t:

1. Gather your tribe.

A shared family calendar only works if everyone buys in and pitches in! It may seem daunting to start a shared family calendar but once everyone adds their information—it will become much easier.

One parent should be the “owner” of the calendar. This person will take the first steps of gathering the information in one place and adding every known personal event, birthday and holiday to the calendar the first time. They will also then invite the rest of the family to the calendar.

Be sure to get the kids involved. Letting children add in their soccer practice or music lessons helps give them a sense of ownership and control and makes them feel like they are contributing to the family.

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 2.Colors aren’t just for crayons.

No one likes looking at calendar overrun with black and white text. That can be overwhelming. No matter the format you are using for a family organization calendar, using different colors for each family member helps draw the eye and make everything look less confusing.

Allow everyone to pick a color to represent them. When they see it, they’ll know it’s for them. You can also assign a color to family events like holidays, religious observances, vacations, etc. If you use an online calendar, choose one that lets you also sort by color, which makes it quick and easy to see what each specific person is doing and when.

3. Keep it real (real time, that is).

Ever been at the dentist office making your six-month follow-up only to get home and find that those dates are the same as your upcoming vacation? With a digital family calendar, you’ll instantly be able to see events as far out as you schedule them—years if you want!

Not only that, you’ll also see immediately when someone else adds another event or appointment to the calendar. If your daughter’s soccer game is moved up because of bad weather, you’ll receive notification of the change and your calendar is updated. And you didn’t need to do a thing!

And the best thing about an online calendar app? No matter what type of mobile device you’re using, they work across all platforms. So every iPhone and Android user can download and use the same calendar.

4. Deja vu all over again.

Recurring events don’t have to be perplexing. By setting them up ahead of time (for instance, every third Tuesday at 6 p.m. is dad’s poker night) you can add it once and forget it. Even better? The rest of the family won’t forget either. A good online calendar should make it easy to add a new appointment and then give you the option to make it recurring.

5. Don’t kick this habit.

A digital calendar is only as good as the data entered. Remember the old saying “Garbage in, garbage out?” The same holds true for a family organization calendar. If only one person is making a habit of entering events or appointments in the calendar or paying attention to it—it won’t work. Everyone has to look at this as a way to respect other family members and their time.

6. Keep landfills empty.

While a paper calendar is pretty and a whiteboard is hanging there before your eyes—a digital family calendar is portable, reusable and eco-friendly. One click on your phone or mobile device and everyone in the household can see the calendar—no paper or plastic required.

Gone are the days of forgetting your planner in the car—as are the barrage of lame excuses (“I forgot!”). Now, anyone who has access to the calendar knows tonight’s the night we pickup grandpa from the airport. It also gives adult children the chance to pitch in and take responsibility. For example, you can 
assign them a task with specific instructions: “Pick up grandpa at 5 p.m. at Terminal 4 of the airport, Gate 12, Flight 243.”

7. Be onalert.

Sometimes brain fog just creeps in—so you know appointments alone won’t due. You need a reminder on your phone, too. Pretty much all family calendar apps will let you set reminders from minutes to days in advance of an event. You can also create a task or to-do list right into the calendar. Need to get that updated grocery list to your spouse? Add the honey-do list to the calendar so they don’t forget the butter this time.

8. Make Alexa your new best friend.

If you have a digital assistant like Alexa (or Google), you can connect your family calendar to the device so it can give you an alert to an appointment! Just open your Alexa or Google app and follow the instructions to connect with your calendar. Now, no one can say they didn’t know about the event!

9.  Share and share alike.

Once you set up a shared family calendar, you’ll also be able to share other content as well. Many digital calendar apps allow you to share files, photos and more —anytime, anywhere.

10. Don’t space on big events.

A good digital calendar will allow you to import or subscribe to calendars belonging to your other groups (think sports teams, dog-park meetups, hiking clubs). Now, those events show up in your family calendar so you never have to miss the fun stuff.

 In addition, you should be able to modify your calendar to include national and even international holidays, astronomical events and more. No more missed meteor showers or National Taco Days again. Now, that’s a useful family calendar!

No matter what kind of shared family calendar works for you—paper, plastic or online—you’ll soon find that you have more family time, more down time and a lot less worry and stress.