The Startups.co Guide : Get The Most From Your Calendar (Part 6/6)

CHAPTER SIX: Make Your Calendar Thoughtful

In This Chapter:

–How to hack your calendar to be more thoughtful
–How to never forget your moms birthday

Your calendar can keep you smart about meetings—But, what if we told you it can also make you a bit more thoughtful?

You may have a handful of important dates like your spouse or kids’ birthdays or perhaps some holidays sprinkled in your calendar.  But what about all the other “mini anniversaries” and holidays that may be important to others that may not be easy to remember?

A great way to keep you looking 10x more thoughtful than you could ever be is to populate your calendar with a cross section of “events” that you’d love to respond to when they come up.  Can’t think of any?  Well, friend, that’s why we’re here.

• Birthdays.  This sounds obvious, but other than a few key birthdays you probably don’t have many people’s birthdays loaded into your calendar.  That’s what Facebook is for right?  Yes!  That and baby pictures.  So, so many baby pictures.  A clever move, assuming you don’t live by Facebook, is to add as many birthdays as possible to your calendar so you can respond with a quick email or text.
• Catch Up Anniversaries.  After a meeting with someone on your A-List, why not schedule a note to catch up again in 6 months?  In an era of social media we quickly forget that we haven’t actually “seen” someone in years as an endless wall of updates keeps us separate.  A simple calendar reminder can put a “hold” on a date every six months to remind you to connect in person.
• Gifting Events.  Ahead of certain holidays it may be important to prep for gifting.  Whether it’s National Teacher’s Day or Hannukah, there’s always an event every month where someone, somewhere deserves a nice little gift.  Usually the act of gifting isn’t the challenge as much as just remembering to do it.  A quick calendar invite a week ahead of those dates makes you oh so thoughtful.

Key Takeaway:
Have your calendar work for you and make yourself more thoughtful by adding important dates, not just meetings, to your calendar

Scheduling It All In

It goes without saying that the six things we shared are our favorite, and most effective tips and tricks to get the most out of your calendar.

While, it might be easier to just send a vague meeting invite, or just “wing it” when meeting someone new—realize that by putting an extra 2-3 minutes into being more thoughtful about when, where and how you schedule meetings, you will be able to have a more predictable and productive day.

If you decide that one or two of these tips aren’t exactly working for you—feel free to mix it up! If you do, please reach out and let us know—we love to hear how others have made work for you—let us know. Do whatever you can to make sure that you are owning your day—not the other way around.

All chapters:

• • Chapter #1: Optimize Meeting Duration
  • Chapter #2: Control the Venue
  • Chapter #3: Start With the Outcome
  • Chapter #4: Block Out Time Proactively
  • Chapter #5: Prep Beautifully