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| A digital calendar has many advantages over a paper calendar. |
If
you still use a paper calendar
instead of a digital calendar you are missing out. There are quite a few ways that having a
digital calendar especially in today’s world where more and more people have
smartphones is better than a paper calendar.
For
me perhaps the biggest one is being able to share my calendar with my wife and
vice-versa. She can see my schedule at a glance and I can see hers. If I need
to schedule something I can look at my wife’s calendar to see if there is a
conflict. I don’t have to tell someone that I need to check if my wife planned
something since I can already see her schedule. I also allow my son who lives with us to see
whether or not I have an appointment without him seeing the details of it.
I
also can refer to past events quickly wherever I am. Most people do not keep
paper calendars for years unless they have to for business reasons and/or tax
purposes. They may have to search to remember where they put their paper
calendar. Further if a paper calendar is lost then what? I may miss a scheduled appointment or have to
call and reconfirm an appointment that I wasn’t sure of. With a digital
calendar I can go to a computer, smartphone,
etc. With a digital calendar you can go back years unless you erase an event
after it occurs. I do not recommend that you do this and I do not erase events
after they occur. A digital calendar hardly takes up space on a smartphone, iPad, etc. and you can access it offline
as well. This is great for when travelling.
If I am in a foreign country, I do not have to worry about incurring
roaming charges for accessing it. I also do not have to worry about being somewhere
without internet access. While I do not have events that go back that far, my Google Calendar allows
me to go back to 1980 to see dates on my digital calendar. A paper calendar
does not give me anywhere near this flexibility.
If
I have an event that occurs the same time on a weekly, monthly, or yearly basis
I only need to enter it once and provide the recurring information. It is
automatically added for the recurring dates. If I need to reschedule or cancel
a date, I can do it for just that date. The recurring pattern is maintained for
the other dates. Talk about a timesaver.
Further if I need to change of cancel an appointment on a paper calendar
a pencil can erase it but what if you only have a pen? Cross it out and if
changed reenter it. It can get sloppy either way. With a digital calendar you can delete or move
it as needed. You also have a limited amount of space to write information on a
paper calendar. On my Google Calendar I
have never gotten to the limit but I know there is a much higher limit. I can add website links if need be. I also
can attach a file that I need the same way I can attach a file to an email
message.
With
a digital calendar, I can change my view whenever I need to. My default is daily but I can instantly
change to a weekly, monthly or custom view. If I have a “week at a glance” or
“month at a glance” calendar I am stuck with that view.
Now
this is not a generational thing. My
sons who are 19 & 21 both use a paper calendar. My wife and I use our
digital calendar which is Google Calendar.
Yes
there are advantages to using a paper calendar. Should there be a syncing
problem between devices you could forget an appointment or if there is a power
failure you could have issues accessing it but the advantages of a digital
calendar greatly outweigh the disadvantages.
So do
you use a paper calendar or a digital calendar?
If you currently use a paper calendar will you at least consider trying
a digital calendar such as Google Calendar?
If
you want to know more about how you can digitalize your calendar I am available
for that and to help you better use your technology. I can be contacted at (917) 572-3468 or email
me at mike@computerconciergeny.com .
Feel free to join the conversation and post comments and
questions on my Facebook page at Computer Concierge NY LLC . There also are tips there to better use your
computer, smartphone, iPad and other technology you may have or are thinking of buying.
Computer Concierge NY LLC provides expert computer
and technology services in the Queens, NY area. This includes Albertson, Bayside, Bayside Hills, Bay Terrace, Bellerose, College Point, Douglaston, Floral Park, Flushing, Forest Hills, Great Neck, Jamaica Estates, Kew Gardens, Kings Point, Lake
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