How to use iCal to plan a healthy life
I don’t know about you, but it doesn’t matter how much I get done; my to-do list is always growing. Life is busy no matter what you do. Especially as women, we tend to think it is our duty to do everything, organizing our family as well as our own lives. Often trying to keep on top of everything can be overwhelming, and things that aren’t essential -i.e, working out and eating well get put off for another day. Trust me; I know how you feel, so today, I want to share with you how I use iCal to plan out my life and keep training every day, eating well, and getting all kinds of other things done, including spending quality time with my friends and family.
Firstly, I have set up different calendars for every aspect of my life. I have a work calendar, a fitness calendar, a personal calendar, a routines & regular tasks calendar, a finance calendar, a task list, a shared family calendar, an editorial calendar, a marketing calendar, a business planning calendar, and a misc calendar. Phew! That’s a lot of calendars which is why i LOVE iCal. You can use googlecal, which is also really great. I love the feel of a written pen and paper diary and calendar, but it just doesn’t work for me, and there really isn’t any point in using something that doesn’t work for you. If pen and paper are what you want, then go for it. As long as you use it, and it works!
My Dad always teased me when I was a kid because I color-coded everything! I still do this, and it’s what keeps me on track. On my iPad, I can see at a glance what appointments I have, what bills are due, what tasks I need to accomplish, and how much free time I have. By having everything in a different color, I can see at a glance what is happening and when. I can shuffle my schedule around easily if I need to, and I don’t forget about important jobs. Tasks that don’t need to be done on a regular basis can be scheduled months in advance. Work can be spread out so that I’m not surprised when a project is due, which stops overwhelm from setting in.
If it isn’t on the calendar, it doesn’t happen, so EVERYTHING goes on the calendar, from cleaning my house to writing blog posts and social events. I schedule my workouts and add notes after each workout so I can keep track of what I’ve been doing.
The other great thing about iCal is you can clearly see your white space. This is the time when you don’t have anything scheduled. You can see how much free time you actually have. It can be so easy to get overwhelmed because we don’t have time, but when everything is on the calendar, you can see EXACTLY how much time you have and move things around if you need to.
Okay, so now you know how I have my calendars set up, and you have started adding your stuff to your calendar; it’s not going to work if you don’t take action. You HAVE to look at your calendar and actually take action on what is scheduled for that day!! I look at my calendar first thing every morning and last thing at night. I also keep it accessible all day while I’m working, and I put appointments in right away as soon as they’re made. It is a constant working document that I’m constantly using. I also make a point to take some time on a Monday and Friday to plan ahead and review my week/month/quarter. This way, there are NO surprises! You need to know what is coming up as well as what is happening right now. It doesn’t have to take hours; just have a quick scan of what’s coming up, check that your tasks are in line with achieving your goals, and see if there are many things you need to do in advance on an event. If this is the case, I find it helps to set a reminder 10 days ahead so you can get organized.
Do you use googlecal or ical? How do you keep track of everything you have to do? Let me know in the comments below!
