Calendars are important for keeping your meetings, appointments, and tasks organized and tracked. However, if you are still using a physical calendar its age is likely showing. From pages getting ripped, running out of room for your events, and simply not being able to take it everywhere, your physical calendar is likely more of a hindrance than a help.
In this article, we will share reasons to ditch your desk calendar, alongside the many benefits you can reap with its digital counterpart. Upgrading to a digital solution has more than a singular benefit and solves many of the common problems associated with a paper calendar.
1. It Doesn’t Work For You
Filling in each meeting, each event, it might feel like you work for your calendar. Why not make it work for you? With a meeting scheduler, you can turn your desk calendar into a workhorse, automating basic tasks, helping you schedule meetings, and lightening your load. Even doing something as simple as setting up a recurring meeting cuts the time needed to write down a weekly meeting every week.
Setting up your weekly availability allows others to schedule times to meet with you, reducing the amount of needed emails. Similarly, any group meetings you schedule are now a single click instead of multiple emails. Compared to your physical calendar, your digital one is getting tasks done so you can focus on the really important work.
2. It’s not Portable
Unless you carry your physical calendar in your back pocket, you likely don’t always have immediate access to it. This means that if you need to reference, change it, or add something, you have to set a reminder to do so the next chance you have. That means you’re more likely to forget something or not know what’s on your schedule when you really need it. And if you do carry it on you, you risk losing it!
A digital calendar is always available, always at your fingertips, and accessible even on devices that aren’t yours. No amount of wear and tear can make an important contact fade, keeping your schedule safe and sound. It’s also incredibly useful to have access to it on a mobile device, enabling you to check it whenever needed and make changes while on the go. No matter where you are, your calendar will always be ready and up to date!
3. It Wastes Paper
Did you know that paper accounts for 26% of waste in landfills? That’s a lot of waste, and your desk calendar is contributing. While it might not sound like a lot, an annual calendar every year creates a noticeable and problematic amount of waste. Make sure your physical calendar ends up in the recycle bin as you switch over to a digital calendar to reduce paper waste.
It also ends up saving you money. Many digital calendars have free options, allowing you to save 100% of the money that went toward your annual physical calendar. If you apply this to other items in your office – such as daily reports, employee onboarding documentation, and other paper products – you can end up saving a hefty sum. Swapping over to a digital solution is helpful not only environmentally but also financially.
4. Your Schedule Changes Regularly
In the world of business, meetings come and go. Sometimes they get suddenly moved up; other times, they get canceled and rescheduled. This is commonplace, but it absolutely wreaks havoc on a desk calendar and your trusty eraser. Nothing is worse than having to erase the same meeting over and over, rewrite it, and have to go back again and again. It’s frustrating, and your calendar ends up damaged and ugly.
For a digital calendar, changes are no big deal. Often meetings can be seamlessly swapped over to a different time without the need to manually recreate the event. With an automation setup, you might not even need to bother touching your calendar at all, as it automatically updates with the new times or items. Having this hands-off solution in your arsenal will reduce the daily upkeep and help you keep your eraser firmly on your desk.
5. There’s Not Enough Space
Tiny Calendars fill up fast, and big calendars are a pain to store and examine. With a busy schedule, this can amount to quite the predicament. Either you sacrifice wall or desk space or you simply can’t get every single event onto your calendar. A digital solution offers the best of both worlds.
A digital calendar has essentially unlimited space, so no matter how busy a week gets, it’s going to make it onto your schedule. Unlike large physical calendars, it also stays organized no matter how full it becomes. Many digital calendars offer organization functions that allow you to sort events, see only a specific kind, or collapse large blurbs into more manageable blocks. This works to keep your calendar visually informative even if you are using it for work, your personal life, and anything else you might want to keep track of.
A Digital Workplace Is The Future
With hybrid and remote working positions growing across all sectors, it’s vital to adapt to the changing market ahead of time. Being accustomed to digital tools that can improve your workflow and productivity not only helps you in your current job, it also makes you a viable candidate for a job requiring more digital components. So don’t just switch to a digital calendar for you, do it for future you.
