3 Ways My Free Google Calendar Saved Me
I was a single mom with 2 kids, 4 years apart. I was always needing to be on opposite ends of the school district for sports at the same time, literally minutes after I was supposed to be home from my corporate job. My life was insanity.
Keeping track of EVERYTHING I had to do was nigh impossible.
Who needed what for school. What bills did I have to pay and when? When were all of the kids’ activities?! Wait, there was a birthday party too this Saturday?!
And, well, as a single mom, I had to account for every single incoming penny each paycheck.
Google Calendar was just coming out and wasn’t quite as user-friendly as it is today (10-12 years ago...crap am I THAT old?!), but it was available anywhere I had an internet connection.
Here are a few ways I made it work for me:
Finances - I put in an all-day event on my calendar for each bill that was due, 5 days before it was due, with a reminder 2 days before that. This allowed for me to shuffle money and make the payment on time every time, as they came due.
Kids’ Activities - I put EVERYTHING into my calendar. With each kid as a different color. I could see at a glance who had things to do, and I could check my calendar from home or work (hey, smartphones weren’t a thing yet!) Now I still use the same concept, but I just have my phone pull in the google calendar and sync automatically.
Meal Planning - Because of being on the run, recurring meal planning was REALLY helpful! It also helped with shopping and budgeting (bonus!). So I picked a few weeks worth of menus and put them into the calendar as recurring all day events. I didn’t have to have charts on the wall or chalkboards or any more clutter of papers hanging on my fridge! (Now I can pull this up in the store, but then I had to do more manual list making!)
What free tools do you have that you use in your life or business that have really helped you get things done?