Calendars - we all have them; nowadays most of us use the phone or computer variety to keep our schedules organized. However, we often fail to update, organize and declutter our calendars which can end up with missed appointments, calls and dates. Simple mistakes like writing stuff down wrong or making a dictation mistake to ‘siri’ can cause us a lot of problems. It is so easy, especially on our phones and even more without reading glasses (LOL), to type things in wrong spaces and time slots. Another thing that can happen is that we may write things down in duplicate leading us to not know when and where we are supposed to be somewhere…”Is my dentist appointment next Tuesday or a week Friday??”
Decluttering our calendars is an important and crucial task to make sure that our lives run smoothly. Checking that upcoming events are all placed in the right day and time slot is important to make sure we get where we need to be when we need to be there. It is also important to make sure that we don’t have duplicate meetings or appointments marked down, and if you do find these duplicates, ensuring that we remove the incorrect one. There is nothing worse then having an office call you and say “Weren’t you supposed to be here today?” Meanwhile you have that appointment written down (incorrectly) for the following week.
What I find to be a good practice is to look a week ahead and make sure that everything is written down at the right space and time, and that you have no double or incorrect bookings. Giving yourself this time to check and double check will prevent anxiety and stress up the road. Also, look at your days - have you over extended yourself and now have too many upcoming things that might be difficult for you to manage? Make changes now and perhaps you need to change or reschedule some things to ensure your week runs smoothly. If you had thought it was a good idea to book an appointment at 11 am on Tuesday followed by a lunch date at noon, you may find yourself short on time, stressed, and late to get to that lunch. Some advance planning can eliminate this potential issue - change your lunch to 12:30 so you have ample time to get there, park, and be on time for your friend or associate.
An organized and decluttered calendar will help you not only keep your days running smooth, but will also keep stress and anxiety at bay. Ensure your days and weeks are clutter free!
