Keep everyone’s summer organized with shared calendars

Why do you need a shared summer calendar?

When summertime arrives, our schedules often fill up with various activities, such as vacations, family gatherings, weddings, and more. It’s easy to overcommit yourself, or to find that you’ve agreed to be in two places at once, which makes managing your plans a necessity. To do this effectively, rely on a well-organized calendar. An effectively outlined summer schedule provides structure and awareness, helping you to avoid feeling burnt out and overwhelmed. Additionally, with multiple family members having different schedules, knowing everyone’s whereabouts and weekly plans helps prevent scheduling conflicts and ensures that everyone attends their activities. To get started with a shared summer calendar, try the following:

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1. Select a digital platform

Although a physical calendar can outline activities, a digital calendar is ideal for a synchronous, actively managed, and shared summer schedule. When you create a schedule on a digital application, it can be shared, viewed, and edited anywhere. For example, if your son finds out about a soccer game this weekend, he can add the event to your shared calendar from his phone.

So, as a first step, choose a calendar that works best for your family. For example, Microsoft Outlook provides an accessible platform that allows you to create appointments, events, and meetings that can be shared with your loved ones.

2. Set up a master calendar

Once you’ve chosen a platform, set up your calendar. Choose an appropriate name like “Johnson Family Summer Calendar,” so it’s easy to find and access. This calendar should include everyone’s work schedules, extracurricular activities, vacations, and social events.

3. Add family members

Once you’ve set up your calendar, share the calendar with your family members and ensure that they have access to edit its contents and add relevant updates. You can even color code each family member’s schedule, so its easily distinguishable on your summer calendar. This can be especially helpful if one child has a baseball game in a nearby town and the other has a local swim meet at the same time.

4. Set reminders

The point of the calendar is to keep everyone appraised of important events; set reminders so everyone remembers what’s going on and where they need to be. You can add reminders and adjust their frequency from your family calendar. If your family members need additional reminders, they can set their own personal reminders from their devices.

5. Provide regular updates and communicate changes

Summer schedules are flexible and prone to change, so make sure you update the calendar regularly. Any cancelled or new events should be reflected in the summer calendar. Additionally, make sure to communicate any changes directly to your family members just in case they overlook them or miss a notification.

A shared summer calendar is your partner for creating an organized summer. With a well-detailed schedule, you can ensure your family makes it to every soccer game, wedding, and activity this summer. For other ways to organize your calendar and events this summer, explore more organization tips.