6 Ways to Use a Shared Family Calendar
No one ever tells you how stressful it can be to create a seamless family life when you’re a forgetful person.
It goes double if your children or partner also tend to forget things, like important events, or when sports practice starts. However, what if I told you there was a way to keep everything organized without having to rely solely on your memory or handwritten notes?
With a shared family calendar, that’s now a possibility. Everyone in your household can utilize this centralized hub to stay organized and informed with ease. So, how can you use it?
Let’s take a look at the top ways!
Simplifying Family Logistics
This one alone for me, is worth downloading a shared family calendar app. It’s the “little things” that can sometimes make daily life so challenging, like remembering to pick up ingredients for dinner at the grocery store, picking the kid up from soccer practice, or remembering your aunt’s birthday party on the weekend.
By adding these “to-do’s” to the calendar, you can rest easy knowing that you and your family members aren’t overlooked or double-booked. The shared family calendar can also be used to set reminders for important deadlines, payments, or upcoming events. This simplifies the coordination of family logistics and reduces the chances of missing tasks or appointments - no matter how big or small.
This powerful tool is perfect for streamlining and simplifying the complexities of family life. I think it’s really important to make sure no one feels forgotten about, and this is a great way to ensure that never happens. Everyone’s activities and events are just as important as the next person’s.
2. Remembering Your Own Plans
As parents, it can be easy to put our needs on the back burner or forget them more easily. Shared family calendars don’t have to always be for family planning - you can use them to keep your own stuff organized as well!
What I was doing before was using a physical planner and a note app on my phone, but I’d oftentimes forget to put appointments or events in one or the other. This only left with me being more confused and flustered, as I felt I was making a good effort in staying organized.
With a shared family calendar app, I now have everything in one, centralized location: both for my family and for myself. I can set events, notes, and reminders only for myself, which means I’m no longer switching back and forth between apps and worrying about potentially forgetting or overlapping plans.
3. School and Extracurricular Activities
From the time our kids were young, they already had activities we needed to keep track of. Play dates, doctors’ appointments, and so on were already a part of their lives as babies and toddlers. However, once they get to school age, that amount of commitment really ramps up!
You now are dealing with classes, sports practices, games, rehearsals, club meetings, assemblies, performances, and more! All of them require careful coordination, and if you have more than one child, even more so. No more juggling and hoping everyone gets there on time, thanks to apps like Family Daily. Offering a centralized view of everyone’s schedules, managing any potential conflicts is super simple.
4. Family Time
Family time isn’t always something that kids look forward to - especially if they’re teenagers. However, it really is important when it comes to creating strong bonds with each other, giving them a family they can rely on, and forming memories that you’ll all cherish forever. Many families rely on the whole, “Oh, well, we’ll have family time when it just so happens we all are at home and free”.
Instead, try being proactive in scheduling your family time. This lets your kids know that you really value being with them and sharing time together. Even if they don’t love it as much as hanging out with their friends right now, at least an hour or so a week will have a positive impact on them (and you!).
5. Creating Responsibility
It can be easy feeling like you have to take on the role of the family alarm clock, reminding everyone that family dinner is at 7pm this Friday, that the garbage needs to be taken out Tuesday morning, and asking if the cat and dog have been fed yet. However, when your kids are older, they’re not going to have you around to do that. Heck, you probably don’t want to take that role on, now!
Instead, encourage your children to take on more responsibility by giving them an effective planning tool. You can assign and track tasks like chores, homework, and other commitments they must follow through on. By putting the ball in their court, they’ll have no excuse to not have them finished accordingly. You’ll even be able to track which chores they’ve done in real-time, so you don’t have to go and bug them about it.
6. Promoting Healthy Communication
Communication is a skill that will get everyone further in life. A virtual hub like a shared family calendar allows for improved communication and collaboration. You’re not only seeing what everyone has planned for the day, week, and month, but you can all leave notes, reminders, or important updates within the app.
This way, if there are any changes to said plans, everyone is updated at the same time. It also creates a sense of teamwork and shared responsibility within the household, that everyone will enjoy.
A shared family calendar app is an incredibly powerful tool and one that I think is probably underused! By embracing this digital lifesaver, you’ll be able to enjoy more harmony, organization, and efficiency to everyone in your family. Try Family Daily for free today.
