How a Calendar Changed my Life

            We’ve all said it, I’m so busy! As a mom of an 11, 13, and 15 year old, furr mom to 2 babies, wife to a hard working but accident prone man, and trying to manage two jobs, there doesn’t seem to be much free time. Add to that taking care of myself, crafting, volunteering at the church, my friends and extended family and my life can seem overwhelming. Even though it’s hard work and I am beyond exhausted most days I love to see my schedule full. It gives me a sense of security and reassurance that I’m doing the best I can, giving my all, and never giving up.

            I’ve tried everything to manage all the different comings and goings of my life. I started with the simple calendar on my phone. Too many things to keep track of and it was a jumbled mess. Then I tried a planner. Found myself with three by the end of the month trying to separate family, work, and personal lives. This lead to a bigger purse, forgetting one calendar at home, and tons of erase marks when obligations changed. I set up a home manage center with a large calendar on the wall. We spent a few hours using a different marker for each person and added all of our appointments, school stuff, work schedules, and family days. It looked amazing on the wall. That was until PTO meeting got moved to Tuesday, last minute birthday party was written over a work day, and my calendar went from neat to messy quick! I was using enough white out to keep BIC in business. I had had enough and was determined to find something that would work on my phone.

            That’s when I found this amazing app called Business Calendar on the Play Store. You can get it HERE for free but I highly suggest paying for the premium version.

                            

             As you can see, I have a lot of different calendars. The great thing about this app is that I can color coordinate each area of my life. Areas include the kids, my son’s band, my husband’s work, church, my two jobs, personal, family, and more. They also have an add-on app you can download for Tasks. I don’t use it as much. I’ve added screenshots from my phone to show you just how amazing it is. You can view monthly, weekly, or daily. And if I would like I can turn off one or more of the calendars. For example, my husband is off work for the foreseeable future so I turned off his schedule.

       

            Another great feature is it coordinates with Google calendars. My husband and kids each have this app so if I add a family event like “family night” it syncs to their calendars as well. I love this because no one can say they didn’t know and I don’t get 5 calls a day asking “Do we have plans on Fri night?” I also put on the schedule mundane chores like reminders to back up my laptop drive or check the oil on the car. For added security, my husband has access to my work schedule which usually consist of me cleaning a house or photographing a family. I add the address so if there is an emergency and he can’t get a hold of me, he can come get me!

            If you’re like me I encourage you to download this app and try it out for yourself. I still have the big calendar on the wall at home but this is our number one home management app. Once you see how awesome it is share it with your family. What are some of your tips for organizing your life? What apps do you use? I’m always looking for ways to keep life simple and manageable. Leave me a comment below!