this post was submitted on 16 Jun 2024
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Self Improvement
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I can go into more detail if needed, but in summary, I started seriously using a calendar and putting things on it. I have spent most of my life with a mental calendar but it’s way too hard to keep up with everything.
It’s one of those things that feels silly because it is so obvious, but I really only used calendars to remember holidays and birthdays. Not for planning mundane things like when I’m planning to do laundry.
Using a calendar for everything (ok within reason, I don’t need to schedule my shits) is more useful the more consistent you are with it.
The other thing about calendars is they inhibit procrastination. It is a problem for me. I believe one of the reasons people procrastinate is that they don’t have the tools to hold themselves accountable. If you say, “I’m going to work out in the morning,” you get that little dopamine rush for completing the task without actually doing it. Then when it’s time to pay, there feels like no reward. Instead, adding a calendar event that will remind you to keep your promise is a better approach. There is something about seeing a block on a calendar that makes an idea feel more solidified and real.
This has been big for reducing stress. I had grown accustomed to a baseline worry that I was forgetting something important like filing taxes or buying someone a birthday gift. No longer flying by the seat of my pants. Feels great.
Next step, after I get through a backlog, I’m going to start planning fun trips and activities. Again, sounds obvious but I’m used to being spontaneous about those things.
That sounds like a really nice way to be. Do you do time blocking for scheduling activities, or is it more of a checklist for the day?
I block my calendar if I have committed a specific time to something. If I signed up to use the laundry room, I put that time in my phone calendar with a 1 hour reminder.
I have a few weekly recurring events, like 2 hours on Sunday for chores, 1 hour for my partner and me to check-in with each other. This latter part is important. After ~3 months of check-ins, I think our relationship has benefited and we feel better mentally and emotionally.
I separately started recording my tasks. I use Google Tasks since it integrates into Calendar if you set due dates. If I have an obligation with no specific time to do it, it is a task. So one example is I have a weekly task to schedule my weekly laundry. Once I book the laundry room, I have an actual time I can block in my calendar. Then once the calendar event is created, I mark the task completed.
Splitting my single calendar into multiple has also helped. For example:
Each of these calendars can have its own color and have display toggled on/off.
Finally, on top of blocking time, I use the location field and the notes field to jot down extraneous details like URLs, or if I’m getting a haircut, the name of the stylist I selected. Just trying to transfer all these random facts out of my brain and into something more structured than a free-format notebook.