3 Calendar Tips to Simplify Scheduling at Home
 

The calendar is one of the best "organizing tools" invented.  It helps us keep track of all of our appointments as well as prioritizing those "to dos" that everyone is always trying to get done.

In this edition of our newsletter, I want to share with you two fabulous "calendar tools" I've discovered as well as a tip on calendar usage if you use Microsoft Outlook.
 

Tip #1- Doodle

How many times have you tried to plan a dinner with a group of friends using email - only to receive so many different responses that by the time you select a day and respond to everyone that now someone can't attend?  Maybe at work you find yourself trying to schedule a conference call with individuals a multiple companies across multiple time zones?

Doodle is the solution to these and several other scheduling challenges.

Doodle is a free service (just set up an account that will take you less than a minute) and in no time at all, you will be able create "events" that you can invite others to.  For those that you invite to attend your "event" - they will click on a link to participate and will be able to enter their name and select the times that they are availalble.  Anyone participating in the event will be able to instantly see which days and times when the most people can participate - this is all represented by color, so it's very easy to see which times and days are the best options.

Tip #2 - Cozi

Cozi is the solution to every busy familiy's scheduling needs.  One of the biggest challenges I see with our clients is the ability for all family members to be on the same page (or is that the same calendar?) with all family members - when it comes to scheduling the kid's activiites, travel, work committments, and so on. 

With Cozi - you can:

• Access your calendar from any phone, PDA or computer with an Internet connection
• Color code activities by family member
• View the calendar by the indiviual or the entire family
• Print the calendar by week or month
• Sync your Cozi calendar to Microsoft Outlook

Additionally, Cozi also gives you the tools to:

• Create a family journal
• Create shopping lists
• Create a photo collage screen saver

Click here to see a brief demo.

Click here to sign up for a free account.

Tip #3 - Expand Your Week View in Microsoft Outlook

My favorite calendar view in Microsoft Outlook is the "week" view.  But for some of us, our work week is not Monday - Friday.  You can change your week view to display the days you want to see, or display all seven days in this view.  This works in both the 2003 and 2007 versions of Outlook.

Here are the steps to change the view: 

1.  From the Tools menu, select Options.

2.  From the Preferences tab, click the Calendar Options button.

3.  Place check marks in the boxes next to the days of the week that you want your calendar to display.

4.  Click OK twice. 

I hope these calendar tips help you eliminate future scheduling headaches.  If you are looking for more tips on how to maximize Microsoft Outlook - check out my book, Organizing & Customizing with Microsoft Outlook 2003