Keeping A Calendar is a Waste of Time

I know many people swear by their calendar. Keeping what you're doing listed out in a timely fashion makes sense for plenty of people. For me, I want to be that type of person. Some would say, I aspire to be a calendar professional.

I've tried for many years to be the type of person who could keep a calendar filled with to-dos and appointments and whatnot. But it has just never been anything but a complete waste of time for me.

I spend more time setting up the calendar and filling in the info, than I do actually completing the things listed on the calendar. Some of that is my ADD acting up. Or tech ADD, if you will. I like to experiment with apps, and self-hosting, and all that. None of that leads to consistency when it comes to your calendar system. Transferring from one calendar app to another over and over again usually spells doom.

In addition to that, I also have no will power for doing things at certain times. I don't work with a schedule unless I'm forced to do so. For work, this is sometimes the case, but I'm lucky enough that I get to set that schedule most of the time. The rest of my work can be done any time of the day as long as the deadlines are met.

I work better from a list than I do from a calendar, I always have. I know the differences between a calendar and a to-do list are minimal, but it's a distinction that has always been important to me for some ineffable reason. I think it comes down to that calendar entries remain even after they're completed. You can still see the event on the calendar, even if the event is long since over. With to-do lists, you mark something as done, and it's gone. If you really need to see something you've already done, most apps allow that. But, the main experience is: Complete something, mark it done, and then have the satisfaction of seeing it off the list.

That satisfaction of seeing a task done and off the list is the primary way I've been able to remain productive since I left college back in 2010. Get up, do the first thing on my list, and get on with my day. Short sidebar, my first task is always the same: brush my teeth. I've found that by having something on the list every day that I know I'm going to do, allows me to get momentum for all the other things on my list.

Calendars aren't like this. They're all about the schedule and putting everything in its own time slot. That just isn't for me. I'm not that organized, nor do I have any interest in being so.

For people who work outside that structure, forcing yourself into it makes no sense. No matter the appeal of calendaring every little thing, you'll never be able to get into that workflow if that's now how you work best. This is mostly true for those of us who are mostly our own boss. Perhaps schedules are important for your job, in which case calendars make sense. But if they don't, forcing the issue is as likely to make you less productive as it is to make you more so.

So, yes. For me (and many others) calendars are a waste of time. Create a system of managing your tasks and time that works for you. Don't put yourself into a box, not if you don't have to.

This post is part of 30 in 30.