Pre-Launch Bonus: You Need an Effing Calendar

by Taylor Vogel

Always late? Forgetting appointments? Two months have gone by and that important task still isn't done? You need an effing calendar. In this episode, Taylor will tell you how she keeps a calendar and three unexpected ways she uses hers. ​

TRANSCRIPT:

Hey, I’m Taylor Vogel and this is Now That I’m Not Your Teacher. [cue music] Each week we’ll explore an aspect of adulting that you might have missed in school. Since I used to be a teacher, I’ll structure it in ways that are proven to help you retain information. But since I’m not your teacher anymore, I can approach it in a way that’s honest and sometimes inappropriate for a classroom.
In this pre-release bonus episode, You Need an Effing Calendar, we’ll explore the benefits of keeping a calendar as we move into the new year.
Before we get to our episode, I want to invite you to be a part of Now That I’m Not Your Teacher’s Launch Team! A launch team is a group of people who share the good news of a new thing in the world. The NTINYT launch team will complete four tasks throughout the month of December leading up to the podcast launch of January 4, 2021. All four tasks take no more than an hour total, and you’ll have the chance to win coffee! Or tea. Basically, if you win, I’ll send you a cozy beverage by way of a gift card. To join the launch team, send me a message on Instagram or an email at nowthatimnotyourteacher@gmail.com and just say, “I want to join the launch team!” I’ll take it from there.
And now, our pre-release bonus episode, “You Need an Effing Calendar.”
I am not above saying that I have aggressively yelled at someone the words of this title. Not a student or anything, of course, but someone I used to be close to. I am, after all, an imperfect human. But the thing that drove me to yelling these words in my less than proudest moment was that this person forgot everything that had to be done, so nothing ever seemed to get done. It was absolutely maddening.
Now, I’m someone who has always loved a beautiful planner. I adore handwriting things and spending luxurious time doodling beautiful flowers on the pages of my notebooks. And for many years, I kept a paper planner. But about three years ago, I made the switch over to keeping a digital calendar through Google Calendar, and it’s been life-changing. I have forgotten fewer than five appointments in those years because it immediately goes onto my calendar when agreed upon. If I need to project plan? I can put the final date on my calendar, and then schedule in action steps to get me there. I can automate recurring events, like that Zoom meeting that is every single morning at ten a.m.
You probably know that you should mark things like doctors appointments, work events, and birthdays on a calendar. And if you don’t do this already, we’re about to start a new year, and it’s the perfect time to start. If you’re still not sold, I’m going to give you three reasons that you need a calendar that you might not have thought of yet.
Thing one: I meal plan on my digital calendar now. I might have tried every other meal planning system under the sun. But life has shifted and changed so many times that I need one place where I can see what is for dinner. So, if I think of a meal that sounds good, I put it on my calendar for the next upcoming weeks. I link the recipe in the notes (because I access almost all of my recipes online). If a particular recipe was a hit, I set it to recur every six weeks, so I have to make one less decision and I keep making food that I know we like. Keeping my meals on my digital calendar has been a game-changer for me.
Thing two: I budget on my calendar. I wrote a blog post on the website, notyourteacherpod.com, about how my financial coach moved me to this system. I had been stuck in a weird headspace about my bills being drawn on the same date every month, and my pay being every other Friday, and how THAT MEANS I NEVER PAY THE SAME AMOUNT IN BILLS PER PAY PERIOD. So, we spent one of my coaching sessions putting my bills on my calendar and setting them to recur. Now, when I go to do my 6-week budget, I just pull up my calendar, and I can see when the money needs to be in specific places. It has truly saved me money, and I hope it can for you, too.
Thing three: Sports! Now, I know that this has been weird this year in particular. Because pandemic. But in the past few years, I’ve started following sports via my calendar. You can subscribe to different teams’ calendars and get them automatically scheduled into yours! Now, I do not leave these calendars visible for my day in and day out because baseball schedules are ridiculous. However, if I am feeling a certain vibe to follow one of my teams more closely during a season, I’ll click that calendar on. I can see upcoming games and sometimes previous scores, right in my calendar. It’s awesome! I’m sure there are other amazing calendars to subscribe to as well.
 
These are three simple ways that you can make your calendar work for you. And no matter how you keep it, you need to effing keep a calendar in a way that shows others you value their time—you know, because you’re always on time--and that helps you live the life you want to live.
You can do it. I’m here to help.
 
How do you keep a calendar? Let us know on Instagram @nowthatimnotyourteacher. And don’t forget to let me know if you want to be on the launch team. I’d love to get to know you!
Finally, be sure you’re subscribed so you don’t miss out on any other pre-launch bonuses!
Credits | Now That I’m Not Your Teacher is a product of Cardigan Media Group. Music by Reed Mathis. All content is Copyright 2020.