Last blog post I wrote about how to use an agenda and a planner. This week I want to share how and why I also use digital calendars. There are a few digital calendars to choose from and each one has it’s own set of features.
Here are a few to consider
Any do – calendar app for staying organize (Android – ios – web)
Apple Calendar – best for storing data on apple devices (ios – mac os – web)
Cozi – best for managing family schedules (Android – ios – web – windows)
Curago – Good for big families (ios)
Fantastic 2 – (ios – mac os)
FamCal – features 10 different languages (ios)
Google Calendar – best free calendar app for all-purpose use (Android – ios – web)
Microsoft Outlook Calendar – best for business purpose (Android – ios – mac os – windows)
My Study Life – best for students and educators (Android – ios – web)
Thunderbird Lightning Calendar – best personal calendar for combining with email and task (Linux – mac os – windows)
Time Page by Moleskin – (ios)
Time Tree – (Android – ios – web)
What I choose to use for myself
I use Google Calendar for both my personal-family schedule and for my husband’s law office. The reason that I use it at the office is that Google Calendar works with nearly everything else on the market. It allows me to create multiple calendars in one place. Color coding individual calendars allows me to give each attorney and each courthouse its own color making it easy to view all schedules at a glance. Google Calendar also allows you to give others access to your calendar which in my opinion, is one of the best features it has. We deal with staff working from a few different office locations and we all need access to see what is on the calendar in order to keep track of everyone’s schedule. The days of having one person in charge of the whole office schedule and of only being able to set an appointment with a specific person are gone. Google Calendar allows everyone in the office to see the schedule at all times from any digital device be it a Phone, Computer, Pads, Notebooks, etc. It allows anyone from anywhere to modify the schedule as needed. I find that this feature also works for families, allowing everyone to share and edit a single calendar. At home, I use it to keep the family and myself on track with our tasks, to-do lists, and our schedules. I created a calendar for each family member and for each task, this allows me to use my block schedule system so that I can see everything going on in our day to day life at a glance including the office schedule. This makes it easier to spot and avoid conflicts. Google Calendar is free to use and it ports your calendar entries to nearly any other online calendar you want to use. I use this feature to port my calendar to Cozi.
why I choose to use a second digital calendar
The reason that I use a second digital calendar is that it offers me additional functions. Cozi is more than a calendar, it is a family Organizer. It is simple to use and the one that I like the best. I do not have to manually input my schedule. I just have my Google Calendar set up to automatically port all my entries to my Cozi account. This way my Google Calendar and my Cozi calendar are always synced. Cozi Features include a recipe box and shopping list, great for meal planning. It also offers a few other features like a journal and a to-do list. The way it works is you set up each family member through email account and each member gets their own color to identify them and you can customize emails sent to each family member. This is one of the features that I like the best. My family members tend to only look at their own schedules on their calendars. But since I got Cozi I set it up so that each morning they get an email with the whole family’s schedule. This way everyone knows what is going on for the day. You can also share to-do lists and shopping lists if needed. Cozi is free with ads or you can get it ad-free for a membership fee.
Conclusion
I have found that by using both Google Calendar and Cozi I am able to manage everyone’s schedule much more efficiently. Whether you choose to use one, two, or any combination of planners, agendas, family organizing app, or digital calenders the key is to find what works best for you so that you stick with it.
Happy Planning!
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