You can be on time and never miss an appointment again. Don’t struggle with your calendar. It’s a simple tool to help you get through your day.

pen point to friday on planner page

A small amount of discipline when using your calendar will help you get through your day on time. 

I’ve seen people miss appointments or be late for meeting simply because they don’t have a good calendar system. You need to think about your calendar as a system and you want that system to be running smoothly. If a breakdown occurs in your system you will miss appointments.

This is where you need discipline. Honestly there is no magic to it but I can give you the systems and some tips to keep you on track.

There are two major pieces to the calendar puzzle. Some do one or the other but to be effective you need to do both.

• Entering Process  – You must enter appointment right away. Yes right away! It has to be done at that moment. You can’t trust any other system then stopping what you are doing and marking it on the calendar. An entry should have a time/date/place/person/reason for meeting.
• Review process – This is the key to the system. You entered your appointment now you need to look at your calendar. Get in the habit of looking it over first thing in the morning. Then look at it throughout the day. And look at it one more time before the day is over.

Digital or Paper Planner? I prefer digital but use what works for you. My only question for paper calendar is do you have it with all the time. I’m near a computer during the work week or will have my phone on me most of the time. Can you say that about your paper calendar?

Here are some other things to help you:

• Write down an agenda on the notes section of the calendar entry.
• Write down directions to the place.
• Write down a topic to discuss, maybe it’s a personal topic that this person mentioned before.

Be persistent with using your calendar. Enter and review are the keys to maintaining a good calendar system. Want to read a few more tips about using a calendar click here!
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