I’m old school when it comes to calendars. Probably because I’m a list-maker, I find the more traditional calendar with large squares for each day works for me. I turn each daily task into a handwritten list I can check off then throw away. My calendar helps me remember where I’ve been and what’s coming up within my writing career. I sometimes use different colored pens or a pencil for things. I even write reminders in the blank squares of things due to the next month. It is messy, but I’m happy.

Phone calendar

The calendar on my phone is for doctor’s appointments, etc. I don’t like to work on my phone because of the keyboard size. However, those who love their phone will find that feature valuable. You can sync it with other online calendars.

Online calendars

Google calendars can be shared. Great if you are working on a project with someone. It makes co-authoring a book less confusing. There are more complex online calendars, like Airtable. You can create a year’s worth of social media ideas and then mark them as done once you’ve posted for the day. Airtable has a free version and a paid version that helps get other aspects of your writing life organized. You can also download printable calendars from the internet and create your own daily, or monthly calendar.

Chunky Calendar

A calendar I find useful for novel writing is the Chunky Method Calendar. Allie Pfeifer author of The Chunky Method created it. She teaches you how to determine your writing chunk. The chunk of words you can write before your creativity dies. For example if you can write 500 words a day then you can use the calendar to calculate what day you will complete your novel, this includes adding in time for edits and rewrite. Knowing the endgame makes writing so much easier.

Dot and Bullet journals

Then there are the dot journals. Each page you can add your own dates and use colored markers to organize your events and daily goals. Some come with stickers or you can purchase them separately. You can draw your own backgrounds or just doodle. For those who are artsy or love neat, colorful calendars, these are for you.

Your choice is the right choice

Whether you prefer a simple block calendar, ,an artistic or an online choice than that’s the perfect one for you. And if you have no idea, take the time to explore all of these options. Use a block calendar and color code it. Try google calendar at the same time. It won’t take you long to figure out which option is best for you.

The goal as writers is to get things done on time. A calendar is only one of the tools in your writing career to help you reach that goal.

What is your favorite calendar to use, and why?