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Kids: Calendar Skills
 Knowing how to plan and use a calendar is a lifelong skill. Kids can learn and develop good calendar habits from a young age.
From middle school on, most students are provided with a planner that shows a week at a time. This is the perfect opportunity to teach your child some basic planning skills.
1. Activities - Have your child input all after school and weekend activities. This will help your child to develop a better sense of his or her free time.
2. Study Time - Have your child plan blocks of study time as if they are scheduled activities. This will reduce their stress once they see that they will have enough time to get everything done.
3. Plan Ahead - Encourage your child to aim to complete projects and studying a day or two early. This allows for unexpected events and provides a cushion since tasks often take longer than expected.
Helping your children develop solid planning skills will enable them to better manage their time for the rest of their lives.
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Time: Family Calendars
 It is often a challenge to keep track of everyone's schedule in a family. Whether you use a paper or digital planner, color coding can help.
1. Pick a color - Select a color for each family member. Be sure the color is available to use (buy pens or confirm that your computer has that color option.)
2. Print - Print the calendar (or photocopy it). This enables the family to work off of one calendar. Leave it in a central location (maybe a bulletin board in the kitchen) where everyone can see it.
3. Update - Be sure to update your calendar frequently. Print or copy the upcoming week every Sunday so your family knows what to expect.
If you only manage your own calendar, color coding can help you separate different areas of your life (work and family). There are also on-line options that enable family members to access a common calendar.
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Home & Office: Consistency
 Most people maintain both paper and electronic files. Creating consistent systems makes it easier to find documents.
1. Paper - Divide paper files into categories (health, home, kids, car, investments, etc.) Within each category, create sub-categories. For example, within health you might have a file for each family member, one for forms, and one for submissions.
2. Electronic - Create the same filing categories and sub-categories on your computer for electronic documents. Use Windows Explorer or Mac Finder to set up the structure of folders and sub-folders. Create a folder when you need to file a document. 3. File Names - Be consistent in naming your paper and electronic files. Names should be memorable but brief. We waste hours each week searching for papers. Setting up files in a logical and consistent manner can save you hundreds of hours each year.
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