Calendars

With multi-scheduled households, sometimes it's all a family can do to find the time to have a meal together, much less keep track of who is going where and at what time. Calendars can provide a quick and systematic way to forecast the week, month, or even the year ahead. There are as many varieties of calendars to choose from as there are schedules to fill them with. Whether paper, desk, wallet, or computerized, calendars give everything from an at-a-glance view of the days to come to a detailed organization of an entire household.

Computer Calendars

Oftentimes a calendar will be a part of a program offered on a home computer and can be a convenient way to track family movements and activities. These same programs may allow for customized printable schedules as well as include family celebrations such as birthdays and anniversaries that are cemented annual events. Computer calendar programs might also include fun clip arts and colors in design. In addition, there are hand-held computer calendars that provide a stylus and mini key panel for entries that are popular for both executive and private use.

Other Calendar Scheduling

While some computer calendar programs will provide reminders and forecasts for family members and upcoming occasions, others may be customized to outline different events entirely. For example, one may modify a home calendar with the lunar cycle, fishing and tide projections, or perhaps a gardening plan. A calendar can be very beneficial in planting and gardening cycles as it can prepare and alert the gardener when to fertilize, plant, administer pest control, and dig up or rotate plantings. It can also be an excellent tool for those in the trade of fishing, or even for a weekend fisherman, to monitor the moon and the tides in order to track the best times and areas to catch fish.

Maintenance and Updates

Calendars don't have to be fancy, even a large dry erase board hung in the kitchen can provide detailed documentation of the family's week to come. However, one can own the most top of the line, state-of-the-art, electronic, hand-held, all-the-bells-and-whistles calendar and it will be entirely useless if not maintained accurately.

Get into the habit of documenting daily appointments and tasks for each family member, including appointed drivers to drop off and pick up, and make a family rule not to commit to plans until the family calendar has been consulted. If a hard copy or paper calendar is used, give every family member a different colored marker or pen to use, and include stickers for any younger non-readers in the house so that everyone is aware of what is coming up. Staying consistent with calendar updates will keep the entire family on the same page!

By Barbara Poelle