You guys know that I’m all about a portable Comprehensive Calendar. And by portable, I mean it is ALWAYS with you, whether scribbled in an old-school Franklin Covey planner or stored totally digitally in the my-iPhone-6-is-glued-to-my-body kind of way. And every single event, deadline, or FYI is entered into this singular location!
But sometimes, just sometimes, you might find yourself needing a visual and analog calendar in your life for backup.
Option 1: Maybe, like this teacher (whose name I didn’t capture during a Memphis workshop, so sorry!), you are a visual person and you just want to see the high-level stuff that impacts you. You may also like the physicality of moving things around and crossing dates off in a way that digital calendars will never match.
Option 2: Maybe you are like me; you get caught up in the weeks and weeds of your detailed Comprehensive Calendar, so you need to see the big picture from time to time. I keep this old-fashioned desk-calendar-turned-wall-calendar plastered on my office wall. It’s got color-coded Post-its for work trips, personal events and coaching engagements. This at-a-glance helps me keep balanced. (PS if you are stalking me closely, yes, that is a triathlon date in August. Game on.)
Option 3: Perhaps you need a visual calendar to lead your team. Owen, a principal in Memphis, showed me the calendar he created with his leadership team; this one is color-coded by owner of event! Owen’s school will also share a digital calendar with teachers. However, this visual analog calendar is helpful to reference during leadership team meetings and to see how events layer on top of one another.
If you’ve found yourself itchy to create a big wall calendar, perhaps it is for one of the reasons listed above! There is no harm in it, as long as your Comprehensive Calendar remains portable and complete.
