Calendar Tasks

I made a point today to get some dates for NEXT school year on the calendar. I'm not trying to be a super organized friend, but it came to mind, and I decided I would just get it done. We even have dates coming home for the fall, primarily for band camp.

I checked the school website and next school's year calendar was available. I like to keep dates on an actual paper calendar that hangs on our wall near the kitchen. I'm probably living in the past by having a paper calendar. I don't use this for everything, but have found having some key dates on the wall calendar are easy to check if I'm on the phone and need to check for availability.

In addition to adding dates on the paper calendar, I also added the dates to my calendar on my email providers website. The beauty of this method, is that I can program the calendar to send an email to me reminding me of the event!

I use this digital method for more than just appointments or days off school too! I have it set three times a year to remind me to check one of our credit reports (for free). I have reminders of when to change the furnace filter, sometimes this is monthly or less frequently depending on the type of filter installed. The latest reminder I added to my calendar was to take in our winter coats for dry cleaning this summer. I thought of doing it in early April, but realized there could still be cold days so it was just too soon. Instead of hoping I would remember, I made a note on my calendar. Once I receive the email, I will plan one of my trips to drop off coats at the dry cleaner.

The email calendar method has saved me a few times, specifically when I need to bring treats or food to an event. It seems sign up for some of these things is far in advance. If I put it on the calendar and receive an email two days ahead of time, I will have time to get ingredients at the store and make the item.  This is a huge time saver.

Do you use a calendar to help you remember to do infrequent tasks? Is your method digital, paper or both? Is there are great app that would do something similar to what I already do? (I'm finally getting a smart phone, and want it to become a great tool.)

I'm linking this post to A Bowl Full of Lemons.