Dear Friends,

One of the biggest tools that you can have in your journey to PEACE is a calendar. It doesn’t matter what kind, it can be a FlyLady calendar, a planner, whatever as long as you have one.

One of the first things that we tell you to do when starting our system is to establish routines and a basic weekly plan.  A calendar is the next step towards FLYing. A calendar should be a tool that keeps you and your family informed as to what is going on in your lives. If you are using a personal planner, I still recommend that you have a family calendar that is located in a central location of your home so that all family members can see what is going on. This is what will save you from forgotten games, events, appointments and…disappointments!!! Your family counts on you to keep them going; using a calendar will help not only you, but all of your family as well.

Once you have established routines and a basic weekly plan, you know that you are to sit down once a week to plan the next week; we call this desk day. This is the day that you look at your calendar to see what is happening the following week for your family.

The kicker is that if you don’t have a calendar, then you have to rely on your memory to tell you what is going on for next week. Well, I think we all know how well that works! LOL!

So how do you use a calendar?

Take the time to sit down and fill in birthdays and general information that is consistent for your family. This will save you from never forgetting a birthday or anniversary ever again! This is where you look at your calendar on desk day to see if there any cards or packages that you need to buy and/or mail.

When you receive a schedule of events from anything that a family member participates in, FILL IT IN ON YOUR CALENDAR IMMEDIATELY!! Examples are: school calendars, sports schedules, boy scouts, dance classes, church schedules, etc. When you get them, write them down!  Don’t leave those schedules in a hotspot or the car! If you absolutely can’t write them down that minute, then take a paper clip and clip it to your calendar to pull out and enter the information on the calendar when desk day comes around. This will allow you to know what events you can and cannot attend because you will be able to see if you have a schedule issue.

Invitations: When you receive an invitation in the mail, DON’T throw it in a hotspot or a pile of mail.  First, ask yourself if you want to go to the event. If you do, then go to your calendar and see if the date is a good one for you or the person that has been invited. If you have looked at your calendar and know that you can attend, you write it down immediately! If the invitation requires an RSVP, then take care of that right away. (By the way, if you don’t want to go to the event or it is something that doesn’t work into your schedule, then RSVP if required or throw the invitation away!)

Appointments:  When you schedule an appointment for Doctors, dentists, barbers, whatever, look at your calendar FIRST! Then after you have scheduled them, WRITE the appointment down so that you will not schedule yourself into a conflict. When you are using a basic weekly plan, you will have a day that is more convenient for running around. Try to set up most of your appointments on your errand day; you can make this decision.

Some calendars and planners come with stickers that save time and space by having them with pictures and/or words that you can help use to schedule things. If you have those, USE them. They are little tools to assist you in your planning.  If you have a sticker that says Dentist, then use it so you only have to write in the name of the person who is going to the dentist and the time. The sticker will tell you that it is a dentist appointment. Visual aids that will help you!!!! Colored pens, stickers, hi-lighters. Be creative!

Ask any Born Organized person that you know, they use calendars, planners and even the electronic date keepers. If you want to really FLY, using a calendar is a must!  As I said before, it can be whatever calendar you choose: The FlyLady calendar, a pocket planner, a desktop calendar, it does not matter as long as you use it!!!!

We want you to FLY! We promise that using a calendar will help you to FLY! Be consistent and dedicated about this and it will work for all of you!

Happy Planning!

FlyLady

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