Got Calendar?

Community Manager — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 14:57:00 GMT

We're well into January. What do you mean you still need a calendar? Relax, we're here to help. Calendar and day planner options have exploded in recent years. The more we have to organize and schedule, the more ways there are to do it. Paper or digital? Planners for an individual or a family? Whatever your needs, we have an array of options, and while no one list is exhaustive, we've found all these tools to be personally useful.

iPad

The hot holiday gift of 2011, the iPad is for more than killing time with the addictive Angry Birds. Make your tablet a calendar/task manager with Pocket Informant.

iPhone

iPhone devotees love its killer apps; maximize its productivity to track your daily tasks and events with the 15 Best Calendar Apps for iPhone.

Android Smartphones

Haven't jumped on the iBandwagon? No worries, Android smartphone users have plenty of great calendar apps as well and in fact, Android provides better syncing with Goggle Calendar than the iPhone.

Google Calendar

Google Calendar has much to recommend it: its free, easy to use and allows for publishing and sharing of calendars so it's a natural for keeping track of a family's schedule or members of a club or work team. For a more complete overview read here.

iCal

Apple's calendar, that runs on the Mac operating system. Like Google calendar, it's free and fairly simple to use.

Outlook

Probably best known as Microsoft's personal information manager and mainly used as an email application, Outlook also includes a calendar, task manager and contact manager.

Paper Day Planners

Standard-bearers such as FranklinCovey, Day-Timer, DayRunner and At-a-Glance all offer user friendly paper planners. Two other brands that are less well known also offer truly unique organization options worth considering. WeekDate, has a cleverly constructed calendar allowing standing appointments to be written only once, yet remain in view week-to-week, while other one-time-only events are penciled in. The Planner Pad organizes events by priority: on a two-page spread it lays outs high priority tasks and daily activities within a visual "funnel" making it crystal clear what's the best use of your time.

Calendars for Moms

Moms are busy people: not only do they manage their schedule but those of their off-spring and occasionally, if they are extra nice, their husband's. Multitasking moms will appreciate calendars designed for keeping track of multiple schedules. Out of the many options that exist, we like two in particular, the Mom Agenda, which offers a suite of products including a paper day planner and an iPhone app and the Oprah -must-have the WhoMi, which comes in compact, purse-friendly sizes.

Wall Calendars

Don't underestimate the value of the traditional wall calendar which generally occupies a place of honor on the kitchen fridge or wall. No mere relic of yesterday, a wall calendar can deliver both beauty and information. What could be more au courant? For gorgeous examples, check out iVillage's list of the top calendar of 2011.

What is your favorite calendar or organizer? Share your thoughts here by posting a comment.

by Candie Harris

Beyond Folders : Organization tools, calendar

Got Calendar?