Do THIS to Master Your Calendar Again

[@Jennifer.Boudreaux]

I use the red light, yellow light, green light. I am a supervisor and I have many meetings that I am invited to, but dont “have to attend” meetings I MUST attend, and work blocks that are just for me. Red = Must attend or High Priority. Yellow = Should attend or Medium Priority. Green = Blocked time for my work or Low Priority tasks. I also mark my time off in purple, and my staff PTO in grey. Works well for me.

[@themtoniraniremaxbroker2447]

Very Well Said, Many thanks for this!!

[@LeaDavid]

Thanks for sharing, Jennifer! Like your system :)

[@KarlWitsman]

I used this before I retired. It was very useful. As a computer trainer, I would always suggest that people add one color at a time, so each one had a real meaning to them. Then a week later, add another color. Often folks would just start color-coding willy-nilly and then their calendars would make no sense to them later.

[@LeaDavid]

Hi Karl, great addition - thanks for sharing! Best, Lea

[@lizbertram9489]

So sorry for the negativity! I love your mature, humble resposes. I have benefited from your suggestions on this and other videos. Thanks for sharing 😊

[@LeaDavid]

Hi Liz, many thanks for your kind words and feedback! Appreciate your support very much and glad you could learn something new through my videos! All the best, Lea

[@ivanhendricks]

thank you for the tip on challenging meetings. That three prong test is great for me because it helps communicate to others what constitutes a valid need for meeting. I have only watched two videos and have been greatly helped. Vielen Dank!

[@LeaDavid]

Hi Ivan, thank you so much for your feedback! It's great hearing that my content is of value for you. All the best, Lea

[@AZGATOR2002]

I could listen to you all day, I probably will. Thank you.

[@LeaDavid]

Thanks and have fun :)

[@RobShutt357]

I’ve been doing this for 10 years. It’s very helpful. I use your method for colors

[@LeaDavid]

That's great, thanks for sharing Rob!

[@jenshark4]

My work color scheme is: yellow for general daily work; red for urgent items; orange for training or learning; purple for reports. For personal appointments or lunch breaks they are not colored but I use the tentative indicator to get the dash marks to the left of the calendar item. The items are not really tentative but my eyes and brain like that the calendar item looks a little different. I have had co-workers that don’t rely on the calendar as much as I do to stay organized make comments that my calendar looks like a rainbow and it’s too busy of a look for them. But it works for me.

[@LeaDavid]

Hi, thanks for sharing! Again, a great example that if something works for you, you should keep it :)

[@bartomiejonak5013]

Real practice things. One presenting point. When showing something in apps, use fiull screen to focusing on them. Watching by phone detals are invisible. Thanks dor sharing your great knowledge.

[@LeaDavid]

Thanks for this very concrete feedback! Will definitely do so in the future. Best, Lea

[@selmaimene-schutt4538]

I am so happy to have discovered your Video

[@LeaDavid]

Thank you so much, glad you liked it!

[@SubtleForces]

I use Red/Blue following Marquet's use of red-work and blue-work which is reminiscent of Covey's (P/PC). Yellow is logistics, chores, etc. Green is fitness (which includes breaks). Purple are uplifting long term items including friends/concerts. For breaks between meetings, I use Outlook's option to terminate 5/10 minutes earlier depending on their duration.

[@themtoniraniremaxbroker2447]

Very Well Said, You have Nailed it for me!! Thank you.

[@LeaDavid]

Thanks! I really like your system and the fact you are using the option to terminate meetings earlier!

[@johnrayremonde8172]

thanks lea! This is very helpful. subscribed this gem channel

[@LeaDavid]

Thank you, John!

[@JohnJernigan770]

Thank you! I definitely plan on implementing these calendar tips! Thanks again!

[@LeaDavid]

Thanks, and good luck :)

[@juancarlossantos2239]

Hi Lea, is it possible to automate the synchronization so that it updates three days a week instead of immediately? Thank you!

[@rossheikkila6959]

I would be considered a baby when it comes to organization. I have used Microsoft for basics my whole life but never to any depth. At 65 I have the time to learn more. I am a blue collar type in Refrigeration. I see use in Access, and Excel, and wonder if you delve into these programs as well. Thank you for all your hard work in putting these tutorials together.

[@LeaDavid]

Hi Ross, thanks for commenting. I am not planning to cover Access but on Excel I hav one video on my channel and sure more to come. Thans and best, Lea

[@themtoniraniremaxbroker2447]

Very Well Laid Out, Many thanks for doing this... You gave me Plenty of ideas. Thank You.

[@LeaDavid]

Many thanks for your feedback and support!

[@garethjones2210]

Ive done this for a while. Works well!

[@LeaDavid]

Great to hear that :)

[@sagormohammad349]

Impressed

[@LeaDavid]

Thanks :)

[@jessejames4444]

I like the video, thank you!

[@LeaDavid]

Thanks, Jesse!

[@sophbee90]

Thank you ❤

[@LeaDavid]

You are welcome 😊

[@sunildalal2789]

I prefer using purple for personal events such as birthdays.

[@LeaDavid]

Thanks for sharing, Sunil!

[@pandren]

Love the video. Good ideas and suggestions. I’m also curious where you find that background you got on your computer?

[@LeaDavid]

Thank you so much! I can recommend going to www.pexels.com/ where you can find free stock fotos and videos, incl. beautiful pictures that you can also use as desktop backgrounds. Have fun and all the best, Lea

[@VideoAndrega]

I use yellow for TELCOs, porple for Home office, a dedicated color for for each of the 6 offices/Region where I intervene physically. Dark gray for personal time (private meetings or private time), finally brown is for commuting time, were I can receive calls but not watching a screen.

[@LeaDavid]

Hi, thanks for sharing. Sounds like you have a good overview with this color code!

[@greensahuaro2834]

You are good!!!!

[@LeaDavid]

Thanks!

[@greensahuaro2834]

Du machst sehr gut arbeit!

[@ericinnocentseboulet7347]

Thank you for sharing this video, amizing! Working 100% remotely, I always accept meetings within new project teams, not always because of my expertise, but to build relationship and trust with others. It is indispible in big global virtual remote cross-functional teams.

[@LeaDavid]

Hi Eric, agree. It's a new and different challenge when everyone is working remotely and even more important to protect / manage your time and calendar.

[@Rodrigo-ty3go]

Very good advices! Thank you, thank you!

[@LeaDavid]

Thanks, Rodrigo! My pleasure! Best, Lea

[@arthurmarek8418]

I appreciate your tips and channel, I colour code but it is titally random. I have discovered many of your tips for mysekf over time.

[@LeaDavid]

Thank you, Arthur!

[@darkstar_448]

It's interesting you have a different view of out of office, but probably is from a different industry. To me, I find it creates panic with customers/clients (I'm heavily customer facing) then increases stress on my peers when away for a day. Emails aren't instant messaging (I also have a lot of notifications off to minimise distractions), so if I'm working on other tasks, I may not respond to the email until the next day or two anyhow. With an OOO set, generally peers will get a phone call or an extra email to process/handle which they really don't need. Extended periods of time I do agree with though, but always best to advise customers/clients in advance where possible. ps I've just subscribed. I know the algorithm hasn't been randomly recommending your videos though, you're doing something right ;)

[@LeaDavid]

Hi! Thanks for sharing your personal experiences here and for subscribing :) As you mentioned, I believe it goes back to expectation management. If your customers know what to expect (or maybe not) in advance, it's easier to handle them. Of course, that's not often as straightforward as we would all like it to be, but I have made very good experiences with clearly communicating and aligning way of working (and responding to emails) upfront. All the best, Lea

[@darrellsharrock3859]

It took me a while to realise , the calendar between my ears was perfectly clear 👌

[@jenshark4]

You are lucky, mine is not, it’s a jumbly mess between my ears 😂

[@darrellsharrock3859]

@@jenshark4 I just Needed to say , Hello Beautiful . Not the creepy kind i promise .

[@darrellsharrock3859]

Seems i need to catch up. It comes from sleeping too long , now i can follow your lead.

[@darrellsharrock3859]

@@jenshark4 I typed Leeds and Got Lead . Yawn out loud

[@LeaDavid]

Haha, sounds good!

[@itsruben]

Privat Events? Also in the same Calendar or a good App to sync Outlook with iCloud or Google Kalendar?

[@LeaDavid]

Hi Ruben, you can categorize private events as private and lock them, so only you can see the content or title.

[@Larsbor]

Does this colorblocking work over work and private, and if you have or get a kid that goes to School and Karate or something …

[@LeaDavid]

Sure, it works for both. If you have a combined work/private calendar just choose different colors, for example darker colors for work, lighter ones for private things.

[@henrikforsman2530]

I have picked a color for meetings where I need to be on site where the meeting cannot be done via MS Teams.

[@LeaDavid]

Hi Henrik, thanks for sharing. That's a great idea as well!

[@strangelman]

She is gorgeous!

[@LeaDavid]

Thanks!

[@jesusmariavegaforero6644]

Seria excelente estos contenidos de la pagina en idioma español gran utilidad para los que no hblamos ingles

[@LeaDavid]

Hi Jesus, unfortunately, my Spanish is not that good to make the videos in Spanish but hope the English subtitles help. All the best, Lea

[@kc123photo123]

Red is work, Green is client facing, Yellow is team meetings/work meetings, Gray is projects, blue personal

[@LeaDavid]

Thanks for sharing!

[@jenshark4]

I like your color scheme, it is simple and not overly complicated

[@sarahk4830]

Your calendar looks diff. Is it on excel?

[@LeaDavid]

No, maybe you are using the new outlook?

[@stevereaver]

Google Calendar has 'Focus Time', if you block out some focus time it will automatically decline any meeting requests that are sent at that time.

[@LeaDavid]

Thanks, Steven, for sharing with the Community!

[@yuriitiunov8803]

It is not possible to coloring apple calendar. It least I haven’t found Dow to do it.

[@LeaDavid]

Hi, thanks for asking. I am not an Apple user any more but I cannot imagine that you wouldn't be able to color code in iCal. Maybe someone else can help out here?

[@kevinfarrell523]

One day a video tutorial will be understandable.

[@LeaDavid]

Hi Kevin, as mentioned earlier, maybe you can rewatch the video and pause whenever you need time to digest or follow along.

[@thepovertyagenda]

I use the tried and tested RED, GREEN, YELLOW (traffic lights) and BLUE. It get's more difficult when you need to block specific time slots within a block...

[@LeaDavid]

Thanks for sharing, Akhil!

[@hermask815]

It’s interesting on a societal level how little other people DON’T respect your time that they essentially see it as their “free estate” and you have to block it in advance. At least that’s what I’ve experienced.

[@LeaDavid]

Thank you so much for sharing. Fully agree that one should be a lot more mindful about your own and others time.

[@cniastilleros43987]

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@LeaDavid]

Hi Brenda, thanks for watching - glad you liked this as well!

[@TroyKnox]

Colour scheme: Each project is given a colour so I can see how much meeting time they require Red - Urgent Yellow - Time for action / Follow up Green - BAU attend mandatory Orange - BAU attend optional Purple - Social / Personal

[@LeaDavid]

Nice - thanks for sharing, Troy!

[@kevingard2468]

Hi, I just label a to z and1 file called (misalaneius

[@kevingard2468]

Very helpful presentation 😅

[@LeaDavid]

Thanks, Kevin!

[@aledmb]

00:00 you mean going from having lunch only 2x a week to 4x? yes, please.

[@LeaDavid]

Not sure to which comment you refer to but having lunch everyday is even better than 2 or 4 times a week :P

[@loveyourself620]

Hi, where r u from ? What is ur profession?

[@LeaDavid]

If you read my newsletter, you would know... ;)

[@Reykja]

@LeaDavid do you know how to sync outlook calendar in google calendar so it updates in real time? It seems that I need to use MS Power Automate and not just ICS. Here is a video but the opposite: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jmWqemB4ar2VpqMsi=nkeOIwlS06iX17aV and not fully covered.

[@LeaDavid]

Hi Reykja, I have not yet done this myself but just googling this question gives me this result: Go to the Outlook App Settings, click on the Account Info for your MS Email account and enable the option "Sync Calendars". You'll be prompted to "Allow" Outlook access to your phone's calendars, and should then be able to view and manage your Outlook calendars directly from the Google Calendar App. Hope this helps, Lea

[@ricdonato4328]

Good information. Suggestion, your time segments show a number, not helpful. When hovering over a time segment it would be better seeing a title popup not a number.

[@LeaDavid]

Hi Ric, thanks for your feedback! Just changed the time segments now with proper labels :) All the best, Lea

[@stephaneenglish4661]

Here’s a colour scheme: Bright colours for appointments which need to stand out because i need to take an action related to them: Red - appointments which still need to be organised (eg not all participants have confirmed attendance, or date needs to be confirmed). Orange - appointments which need preparation or follow up (eg minutes to be issued, actions to be taken) Yellow - errands or travel time Pale orange - tasks on my computer I remove the bright colour after the related action has been completed. Less bright colours used to identify appointments by location: Green - appointments at home (ie “The Green, Green grass of home”) Blue - appointments in my office Purple - appointments at my client, on a site or other venues Grey - reminders about activities being done by others, delegated or “waiting for” (in GTD terminology) What do you think of that, @Lea David?

[@LeaDavid]

Hi Stephan, thanks for sharing! Glad this works for you but I see that you include a second level of complexity with the bright/pale colors. If this works for you, it's great, but be mindful of not making it too complex and tedious to keep track of. All the best, Lea

[@stephaneenglish4661]

@@LeaDavid you’re right, it needs to be as simple as possible. For me, though, this is the right level of compromise - using bright colours for things which need my attention in advance to make sure I’m prepared, or which need me to follow up and close out. It’s very quick to remove the colour (with shortcuts for categories in Outlook) once I’ve finished with an item in my calendar. I appreciate your feedback, though, and the very important warning against too much complexity.

[@HAPPY.DRAGON]

lea David how to us reminders

[@LeaDavid]

Thanks, will try to incorporate that in another video.

[@siweklu]

I disagree with last concept. If someone invites you on a meeting it is probably you are needed there. It is popular to think "oh, email would be sufficient instead this meeting" but it is not true. People like to think if the meeting does not apply to their project they don't have to attend. But later they are surprised that someone's else project interfere with theirs. Then they complain: "why nobody inform me?" Well answer is simple: you were not on a meeting where it was discussed.

[@LeaDavid]

Hi, thanks for sharing. I believe (and know from experience) oftentimes, (especially virtual) meetings are quite overcrowded. Many people are invited even though they might not be required. So it's up to the organizer to think about the required and optional people and in case they are not sure, to clarify in advance with the respective people such that everyone's time is respected and best utilized. Best, Lea

[@juancampos1164]

If you’re calendar is always full of meetings, then you are in the wrong industry of what your organization does and should switch job role to a “Meetings Professional”

[@LeaDavid]

Having a full calender does not mean each and every blocker is an actual appointment. The key is to manage your calendar and your time properly so you can work most efficiently :)

[@noobyproduction]

This goes way too deep for 8k views lmao. Nicely done.

[@LeaDavid]

Thank you so much for your feedback! Cheers, Lea

[@chhotuchhotul2972]

Hi

[@LeaDavid]

Hi :)

[@firesurfer]

You assume everyone is using Windows, not Apple, not Linux, not a Chromebook. Different os's have different structures. I don't see the purpose in the numbering system. It has no relationship to content. This makes it impossible to relate to the normal associative structure of the human mind. Numbers should only be used in folder titles when there is no alternative because of the nature of the content of that folder. Most of the time, the alphabet should be used for organizing. There is nothing wrong with the explorer structure itself, it's just that it's not perfectly associated relative to people's needs. Photographers have different needs, depending on the os, and whether they are commercial or personal. Many professionals have huge complex file structures. Numbering files for them would be a nightmare and counter-productive.

[@LeaDavid]

Hi there, thanks for sharing your view. Indeed, every professional has their own needs and also needs to work with the OS' restrictions that are put in place. I am just sharing some best practices that are still universally applicable if you adapt them to the OS.

[@janiegonzales6734]

Need to show how to do a calendar be better

[@LeaDavid]

I tried but you are right, there are so many other ways to improve ones calendar... will gradually add more tips over time in future videos.

[@cathycai]

So you have to remind yourself that you have to eat ?

[@jenshark4]

Yes, in todays corporate structure, they will unknowingly work you straight through your lunch everyday. Most people working in an office job today are doing the work of more than just 1 persons job responsibilities. Companies have become greedy and are trying to put more and more work on people with out hiring enough staff. So we are sometimes doing the work of 2 or even 3 people. There are never ending deadlines too. You have to protect your time. This how things are currently in the US, they may be different in other countries.

[@LeaDavid]

Thanks, @jenshark4, for sharing your opinion! Fully agree. In today's world, where well-being and work-life-balance is crucial, you need to be mindful and protect your time. That's why I usually block my lunch breaks so noone else can overbook it.

[@dgcushma]

Arranging your life based on the parameters you've mentioned seems quite shallow. You give great importance to issues that in two decades will be meaningless. Maybe that is why mature leaders very seldom put people of your age and experience in charge nothing more important than buying supplies. You don't yet realize that in just five years the folks at Microsoft, Apple and Google, if there is still a Microsoft, Apple and Google, will have changed your computer organizing tools so much that everything you mention will be of little or no use. In addition to making your carefully made plans and tools unusable, they will have charged you twice or three times for the new tools they have invented. If you happen to have the time to look back on today's tools you will likely notice, like I have, that the newer more expensive tools do pretty much what the original tools did but they are rearranged and up to date. As a person retired from the "rat race", here is what I would recommend. Keep a paper notebook containing today's Important Stuff. Keep another notebook for a journal. You will only pay for it once or twice. Use the tools you mention here for unimportant timely things like meetings and calendars. In the Important Things notebook, set off an area of 30 pages for things you think are important and give them a score from 1 to 10. Set off another area for things you believe in and score that. Here we are talking about politics, God, your nation's long lasting documents, personal principles. Then make an area for people you trust or don't trust and score them. Keep the journal in free form but always dated. In the journal refer to your "Book of Importance". Keep all of this a carefully guarded secret else you will pay dearly. People of importance throughout history have kept journals. Please do this beginning now. Don't wait.

[@LeaDavid]

Hi there, many thanks for sharing. I really like your view and the way you organize your daily business, topics and thoughts. I believe this works very well especially if you say you have retired from the "rat race", assuming you are not working in a corporate environment any more. For the latter, however, I still believe being on top of your calendar (be it in whatever shape or form) is crucial. All the best, Lea

[@lookinbad2day64]

Can you please share the wallpaper?

[@LeaDavid]

Hi, I believe I got it from Pexels.com, so freel free to check out their wallpapers. Best, Lea