Where is John Wilson?

by John Wilson

When I started traveling frequently for my job, it became difficult for my wife and I to keep all of our activities straight. Between my business travel and the countless events she manages, it wasn’t effective enough for her to keep a calendar in her purse and for me to keep my Outlook calendar.

We tried a printable calendar for each month, but the dates changed too frequently and it was inaccessible if you weren’t standing in front of the fridge.

We tried a large whiteboard style yearly calendar but the dates were too small and it was as inaccessible as the printed calendars. When Parker (our son) came into the mix, it was obvious that we needed a digital solution to keep everyone going in the right direction.

Enter – Google Calendar.

Amanda didn’t have a Google Account (a requirement for entry) but it was easy enough to set one up for her. The benefits of an online, browser-based calendar are innumerable. Here are a few of the benefits we’ve experienced over the past year:

• We can each have our own personal calendar and share them to coordinate schedules (easier than it sounds)
• Each of our accounts is color coordinated to make it obvious who entered what event
• Event entry is simple, click, enter a description, save
• We can plan years in advance, especially for vacationing (which my wife loves)
• It’s easy to block off walls of time for family coming to visit – sort of like a reservation system
• I created a third account, colored it green, and put in when all of the monthly bills come out of the checking account
• Amanda’s work schedule is flexible, so she can see when I am at home, and schedule herself accordingly
• Recurring events make it easy to capture birthdays that will remind you every year, forever
• You never need to miss another sports event – importing college or professional sports calendars is two clicks away

These are just a few of the uses of a shared Google Calendar. I highly suggest it for anyone who travels, has a ever-changing schedule or needs to keep track of one or multiple children, or just needs a reminder from time to time about an upcoming sporting event, movie release, etc.

You can start using the calendar by clicking “calendar” at the top of your Gmail account. Don’t have a Gmail account? Click here to get started. Let me know if you have any questions and leave any tips or tricks in the comments below.

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