Family Calendar: How To Effortlessly Organize Your Family Life

Are you constantly juggling multiple schedules and struggling to keep track of everyone’s activities? Do you feel overwhelmed and stressed out by the chaos of family life? What if I told you there was a tool that will help you stay organized and stress-free? Creating a family calendar is a simple, effective tool to organize your family’s schedule and create a more harmonious household. 

Let’s talk about the benefits of a family calendar, the types of calendars available, and how to create one of your own. Let’s dive in and get ready to reclaim our sanity and enjoy a more balanced and fulfilling family life.

Benefits Of Using A Family Calendar

Using a family calendar has numerous benefits that go beyond simply staying organized. Let’s look at just a few of the ways they can improve our lives.

Personal Benefits

1. Increases happiness: Keeping a calendar is one way moms enjoy motherhood. Family life is hectic, but organizing family activities in one place helps you keep track of activities and tasks. You will experience an increased sense of control over your time and energy. Read my article 20 Ways to Enjoy Motherhood and Become a Happy Mom to learn helpful tips to bring more happiness into your life.

2. Reduces stress: Having all your family’s activities in one place allows you to see what needs to be done. This will allow you to use your time more efficiently. Remembering all the appointments and activities for each family member can be overwhelming, but having everything in one place can reduce stress.

Family Benefits

3. Improves communication: A family calendar is a great way to manage communication between family members. Making it easier to coordinate schedules promotes effective communication and fosters a sense of unity within your family. This tool also helps you and your loved ones easily stay in touch. You will be able to know what activities are going on at any given time.

4. Teaches responsibility and time management: By involving your children in planning and tracking their schedules, they learn to prioritize their time and develop a sense of accountability. Your children will have increased independence and self-confidence, which are crucial for success in school and beyond.

5. Achieves work-life balance: By seeing all your commitments at a glance, you can prioritize your time and ensure you have enough of it for both work and family. Read my article on Useful Time Management Tips for Moms On How To Balance Life and Work to learn more tips for creating a balanced and fulfilling family life.

6. Increases motivation: Your family calendar is a visual representation of your plans, priorities, and goals. Being able to see your life visually can help your family stay focused and organized. By having a clear overview of your commitments, your family can focus on what is essential, leading to a greater sense of accomplishment.

Types of Family Calendars

When it comes to family calendars, there are several different types to choose from, each with its unique features and benefits. Here are some of the most common types available:

Wall calendars: Wall calendars can be helpful for families who prefer a visual reminder of upcoming events. These are some of my favorites!

1. Amy Knapp’s Big Grid Family Organizer Wall: With a large grid design, this wall calendar helps you keep track of family activities, weekly schedules, busy student agendas, and long-term planning. It also has fun color-coded stickers and helpful monthly reminders.

2. Sandra Boynton’s My Family Calendar: This seventeen-month calendar’s vertical columns help the family to quickly see each other’s appointments, academic events, and lessons.

3. Mom’s Family Wall Calendar: Organized with columns across the top, one for each family member, and the days of the month running down the left-hand side, this wall calendar has plenty of space for writing in soccer practices, doctors’ appointments, and school picture days.

In the Cloud

Digital calendars: Google, iCloud, and Outlook are online calendars your family can access from any device and are convenient for families who prefer a paperless option. They also have the added benefit of being able to set reminders and alerts. I live by my Google calendar and let it boss me around.

Family calendar apps: Family calendar apps allow you to have everything related to your schedule in one central spot. Below are some family organizer apps to help keep you and your family on schedule:

1. Cozi Especially beneficial for busy families, this app is easy for anyone to use. It consolidates your calendar, to-dos, and shopping lists in one place.

2. Family Wall This family calendar app lets you share schedules, plan dinners, and manage to-do lists. The free version allows you to use the basic features. The premium version provides the added benefit of real-time location services.

3. FabFam Developed by a husband-and-wife team, FabFam includes a shared family calendar, a to-do list, and a meal planner. Features that set this app apart from the rest include recipe sharing, birthday reminders, and membership card management.

Choosing The Right Calendar For Your Family

Now that we’ve explored the different types of family calendars available, it’s time to consider which one best fits our family’s needs. Let’s discuss some key points to consider when choosing a family calendar:

1. Accessibility: Consider how and where you want to access your family calendar. Wall calendars offer a tangible and visual representation of your family’s schedule. If your family prefers a tactile and low-tech approach to organization, a wall calendar would be the best option. If you and your family want the convenience of accessing your calendar from anywhere, a digital calendar or app would be more suitable.

2. Family size: A digital calendar may be the best option if you have a large family with multiple schedules to manage. Family members without cell phones may still need to know what events are coming up. Having a wall calendar at home will help them stay organized, as well.

3. Customization options: Wall calendars often come in monthly or weekly formats, allowing you to see the entire month or week at a glance. These can be customized with different colors and stickers to help you visually distinguish between family members and types of activities. Digital calendars offer the convenience of multiple views and an endless array of other customization options.

4. Ease of use: A family calendar should be easy for everyone to use. Consider different calendars’ user interfaces and features to ensure they match your family’s needs and technical proficiency.

5. Syncing capabilities: For digital options, ensure the calendar allows easy syncing across devices and supports multiple user accounts.

Setting Up Your Family Calendar

Once you’ve chosen the right calendar type for your family, it’s time to start setting it up. By following these setup tips, you can create a functional and user-friendly family calendar that will help you stay organized:

1. Choose a central location: Whether you have a paper or digital calendar, choose a central location where your whole family can easily access it. The area could be a prominent spot on the wall for a paper calendar or a shared folder or app on everyone’s devices for a digital calendar.

2. Color-code family members: By assigning a color to each family member, it will help everyone quickly identify their commitments and avoid confusion.

3. Add important dates/events: Add all birthdays, anniversaries, school breaks, family vacations, and other significant events to your family calendar.

4. Schedule weekly or monthly activities: Identify regular weekly or monthly events such as sports practices, music lessons, or family game nights. For digital calendars, set them as recurring events to save time.

5. Set reminders: Use the reminder features for digital calendars to make family members aware of upcoming events/appointments. Reminders are helpful as it allows for preparation and reduces stress.

Maintaining A Family Calendar

Setting up the calendar is a great starting point; maintaining it is equally important. Keeping your family calendar organized and updated requires ongoing effort and commitment. Here are some tips to help you maintain an updated calendar:

1. Touch Base Daily: Try to connect daily with your spouse to discuss the next day’s schedule. A time that usually works well to do this is right after the kids go to bed so that you can talk things through before falling asleep.

2. Schedule weekly family check-ins: Set aside regular time to review the family calendar, discuss upcoming events, and make necessary changes. Keep it simple. This discussion could happen after Sunday dinner. Weekly check-ins encourage communication and model the importance of family organization.

3. Delegate calendar responsibilities: Depending on the age and capabilities of your children, consider delegating calendar responsibilities to them. Encourage your family to add their commitments as soon as they know them. When an event is canceled or rescheduled, updating the calendar will help prevent last-minute surprises and ensure the calendar is accurate.

4. Be patient and flexible: Life is unpredictable, and plans can change at a moment’s notice. Be prepared to make adjustments to the calendar when necessary. Beginning is always the most challenging part; perfection isn’t the goal. Just get started and be patient with everyone’s learning curves.

Time to Get Started

End the juggling act of multiple schedules and start managing family life by creating a family calendar. There are different types of family calendars, but what is important is what works for your family. By choosing the right type of calendar for your family, you’ll be on your way to effortlessly organizing your family’s schedule and a happier you!

Your Action Step

Maybe organization isn’t your superpower, but you FOR SURE have one! Take this 2-minute free quiz to find out your secret superpower.

And remember: You’re doing great!