How I Changed My Productivity Using Google Calendar

As you may know, I am a productivity and organization junkie. I am into all things planning, being productive, and organizing. My Pinterest boards are filled with ideas that I have either tried or will try.

Recently, I started using Google Calendar to change my productivity and the organization of my life. Most of my organization takes place in my #bulletjournal. Currently, I am using an A5 Leuchtturm1917 dotted journal for my #bujo. I enjoy bullet journaling so much, and it is very necessary to help me organize my thoughts, plan ahead, and stay on track. However, since it often contains personal information, I am not always comfortable taking it everywhere with me. So, I decided to use Google Calendar as my portable #bulletjournal.

What steps did I use to incorporate Google Calendar and transform my productivity?

I created a list of all the categories in my life that I want to add to my calendar. These list of categories can either be very broad or very narrow. Remember to attempt to cover every aspect of your life.

Next, I created different calendars for each category of my life. Each of the calendars were color-coded. I like color coding my #bulletjournal and calendar for numerous reasons. I like the aesthetics. A color-coded calendar is visually stimulating and pleasing.

*Tip: Use your to hover over the calendar/category of your choice. Click the three dots for a pop-up menu. The pop-up menu will provide the option to change the color.

Remember that as things change in your life, the categories and calendars will change. For example, I am not teaching this summer, so my flexibility this summer is very different than what it will be in the Fall Semester, when I return to teaching.

After this step, I plan my day by the hour. For me, hourly planning proves to maximize my productivity and efficiency. Also, I avoid wasting a lot of time, when my life is planned by the hour. I believe the easiest way to adjust to planning by the hour is to first plan your morning and evening routines.

*Tip: Make sure you add tasks from you Master To-do list and Daily To-do list to your calendars. Planning time to complete tasks ensures that you actually complete the tasks, instead of just migrating them to the next day or week.

By using Google Calendar, I have transformed my productivity. I sync my Calendy account to schedule meetings with my Google Calendar, too. Meeting scheduling is so much easier with Calendy being sync with my Google Calendar. I don’t have to worry about meetings overlapping with my plans.

Using Google Calendar helps me be accountable and accomplish more tasks and goals. I stay on schedule. I remember important dates, appointments, and meetings.

Sundays are usually when I plan my weeks. Planning my weeks on Sundays helps me to prepare for mentally for stressful events or tasks.