Business Makeover: Taking Control of My Calendar Schedule

Have you found that you are forgetting appointments or important events because you forgot it was on your schedule? Maybe you have been so busy that you don’t even have a calendar schedule. Then I want to encourage you to break the bad habit of having a calendar schedule out of control and take charge of your schedule.

When I have allowed my calendar schedule to be out of control, I have noticed that it affected my ability to run my business effectively. Missed appointment or networking events can make or break your business. So I decided a long time ago that when I make an appointment that I would immediately add it to my calendar.

To help me stay organized and on top of my calendar, I setup a system that has been very effective for me. This system works to keep me informed about my upcoming events and appointment. Even if you don’t use the system that I do, I strongly suggest that you setup a calendar system that works for you. Here’s what I have put in place:

• I add the appointment to my Google Calendar (which allows me to invite others to join me for the appointment if I need to). I make sure to add three reminders (SMS-text to phone, Email & pop-up) at different time intervals. I really don’t want to forget.
• Since I have Google sync installed, it automatically updates my Outlook calendar (this is a two-way process in case I add an appointment to Outlook first).
• Finally, my Outlook calendar updates my cell phone calendar when I connect my cell phone to my computer to recharge it. Or you can have Google Calendar sync up with your cell phone calendar automatically.

With this system, I only have to add the appointment in one place it gets updated through out all of my calendars. This may seem a lot for some but because I am so busy, I have to make sure that I’m covered regardless if I at my computer or not.

What system do you have in place for managing your calendar? Please share your calendar managing experience. If you need more details on using Google Calendar Sync, click here.