Do you always install your air conditioner on a sweltering summer day, or rush to do your taxes in mid-April? For absolutely necessary tasks like these, a to-do list isn’t always enough. You need to block out time on your calendar, and treat these tasks like actual appointments. We’ve listed all the best to-do items to turn into calendar items.
Chores
Infrequent chores: Flipping the mattress and couch cushions, getting your car inspected, using your annual free credit report, cleaning the pool, clipping pet nails, and replacing toothbrushes, razors, smoke detector batteries, air fresheners, and water filters
Frequent chores that you forget or put off, like laundry, garbage day, haircuts, moving your car, donating blood, watering your plants, cleaning up (and backing up) your computer, and changing the sheets
Doing your taxes (and paying your quarterly estimates if you freelance)
Bills that don’t autopay
Winterizing your home: Finding air leaks, removing the A/C, checking your furnace, and running your ceiling fans clockwise
Travel bookings, several weeks ahead of trips
Doctor, dentist, and vet visits: Set a recurring event, two months from the appointment date
Use your calendar as a diary for doctor visits: log results (like your blood pressure and weight) in the visit’s calendar event. Also log any recurring symptoms so you can accurately report them at your next visit.
Shopping
Warranty expiration dates: As soon as you buy something, set a reminder for a few weeks before the warranty expires, says Redditor vaidab. “You may find it has (accumulated) some issues that are covered in the warranty.”
Cancellation dates for free trials and subscriptions
Expiration dates of coupons, gift certificates, and discount codes
Return dates, especially for online shopping
Life events
Birthdays: Enable Google or Facebook’s automated birthday calendar, then add 30-day notices to buy gifts or send cards
Election days, especially less publicized local elections
Make a “baby book” calendar to record your child’s milestones, suggests Lifehacker reader jeff.c.taylor
Advance notice for Christmas and anniversary gifts
Fun events like Girl Scout cookie season, holiday sales, meteor showers, or seasonal attraction openings
Neglected daily needs like sleep, lunch, and breaks
Use this list wisely, and only calendarize items that have a deadline. If you add too many, or leave the dates too vague, you’ll start ignoring them, and your to-do calendar will become mere mental clutter.
Once you’ve built your calendar, look for ways to automate the actual task, just like automatic bill payment. Set up Amazon Subscribe & Save; sign up to receive mail-in ballots; ask your doctor to book your next three check-ups in one go. After all, it’s not the to that matters, it’s the do.