Section 6.1. How to Use Your Calendar

6.1. How to Use Your Calendar

The Cycle uses the calendar part of your organizer for three primary purposes. First, to block out time for events and meetings that are further in the future than today's schedule. Second, to list any reminders or milestones such as birthdays and anniversaries. Finally, if you use a PAA, the calendar is where you can record to do items that are further in the future than your current daily filler paper permits. Here are descriptions of calendar items in more detail:

• Appointments and meetings. Any time you agree to an appointment or meeting, record it in the calendar. Use the calendar to block out future responsibilities. This also helps you to prevent conflicts.

• Milestones. Record birthdays, anniversaries, and other important dates in the calendarfor example, company holidays and when coworkers are going to be on vacation.

• Future to do items. Finally, if you use a PAA, you can use your calendar to record to do items that are far in the future. For example, chances are that only the next month's worth of per-day to do list sheets fit in your PAA. If you have to do maintenance on a fancy color printer two months after it is installed, you can mark that to do item on your calendar two months after installation and transfer it to your daily to do list when that day arrives.

It's rather simple: always record everything, and always use your calendar to guide your day.

When you take 10 minutes to plan your day, start by reviewing what you've recorded in the calendar entry for today. It points out meetings and appointments that you've committed to; use this information to make your day's schedule. To do items noted in your calendar are transferred onto today's to do list. Milestones and deadlines may translate into additional to do items.

The calendar squares on my PAA are fairly large. I like that. It gives me enough room to use the different parts of the square for different purposes. At the very top I write in birthdays and anniversaries. Slighty lower I mark vacations and anything that will last multiple days. I use the very bottom to list my nighttime activity. Since I usually only have one such activity, I reserve the last line for that. The middle I fill in proportionally with the commitments of the day. Lunch in the center, morning appointments above, and afternoon appointments below. See Figure 6-1 for an example.

The difficult part is developing the habit of recording everything. The remaining parts of this section give tips and tricks that will help you do that.

Figure 6-1. Sample square from my calendar

6.1.1. Never Miss a Meeting or Event

Are you the kind of person who misses meetings and appointments? Do you find yourself apologizing to people at work because you've agreed to meet with them about an issue, but then you didn't show up? You had an excellent reason; there was something else you were working on, and you forgot. The bad news is that "I forgot" is not a good excuse.

Nothing hurts your reputation more than being a no-show for a meeting with a customer. The first step to being seen as reliable is to always be there when you say you will be. Of course, missing the fun and/or beneficial events in life isn't good for you either.

Being on time demonstrates responsibility and projects an image of reliability to the people you work with. It shows respect for other people's meetings when you attend them on time, and then they reciprocate when they attend your meetings.

The key to never missing a meeting is this: always use your calendar. Write down all your appointments; don't commit to an appointment until you've checked your calendar for conflicts.

And, most importantly, don't rely on your brain. An organizer is the right tool for recording dates; your brain isn't. I've said this several times already, and it's only Chapter 6. You'll hear me say this again: save your brain for higher-level thinking. Use your organizer for storing information. Don't trust your brain.

I have a little confession. I used to miss appointments all the time. Worse yet, I would double-book myself. When making appointments, I'd agree to a date without checking my calendar. It was arrogant, but I would think to myself, "Hmm...June 4th. That date sounds familiar, but I can't remember anything on that date, so it must be free." Of course, the reason it was such a familiar date was because I had something scheduled then!

It was embarrassing. Calling someone to reschedule wastes time and creates work for the other person. The time I've spent fixing double bookings in my life is time I'll never get back. Luckily, that is a thing of the past for me because I'm tenacious about recording everything in my calendar.

OK, another confession. The excuse I made to myself for not checking my calendar was that I was too embarrassed to say to someone, "Please wait a moment while I get my calendar." I had an irrational fear that asking people to wait for me was a huge burden on them. Of course, it wasn't, and the hassle of asking someone to reschedule was an even bigger burden for them. I know it's silly, but I had developed a very bad habit. (Others have shared with me that they fear it will make them sound pompous and self-important: "Look at me! I'm so in-demand that I have a calendar to track all my appointments. I'll pencil you in.")

Finally, I decided that I had to break this bad habit. I remember the fear I felt the first time I asked someone to wait while I check my calendar. I made a big production out of it. "OK, that sounds good. Would you hold on while I get my calendar to make sure I'm available?" I then waited for her to respond as if I had asked her something crazy such as whether I could borrow money, or for her to name the capitol of Wisconsin. I think I broke into a sweat. Finally, she responded: yes, it was OK with her. Moments later, I returned with my calendar. She wasn't upset that I had made her wait. She understood my need to get my calendar. Heck, she did it herself. My rush-rush personality wasn't crushed by the delay. The world hadn't ended.

I hope that learning that about me will make you feel like your insecurities aren't so bad. If I can survive that, you can, too.

So, take a moment right now and start using your calendar. Pick an event and write it down (if you don't have any, make an appointment with yourself to have lunch tomorrow).

The first time you do something is always the most difficult. Maybe you've never used that part of your PDA, or you may have to run to the stationery store to buy filler paper for your PAA.

I'll wait (even if you have to run to the store).

OK, are you back? Did you record your appointment?

There, that wasn't so bad, was it?

Always Call If You Are Going to Be Late or Miss an Appointment

It is better to call someone when the meeting is supposed to be starting than to leave him wondering where you are. Even if your lateness is embarrassing, in this age of ubiquitous cell phones, there's no excuse for not calling. In an office environment, it can be useful to have a list of phone extensions in the various meeting rooms so that you can quickly get ahold of anyone.

A brief statement, such as "I'm calling because I'm going to be late ," is a lot better than a rambling five-minute apology after you have already arrived late.

Of course, never lie. Telling the truth is better because then you don't have to remember who you've lied to or what lie you told. That's a lot of extra work for your brain, which we want to reserve for what's important.