I have read about the importance of having one main date book or palm pilot or calendar and how it is important to keep the family schedule in one place. I can definitely see the advantages to making sure that everything is in one place but I have learned as a single parent that having two calendars works best–one that is stationary at home and one date book that goes to work (and everywhere else with me.) As a busy single parent, I need to know what is going on regardless of where I am.
I used to try to just keep my date book but the problem was that if I was away from home or out and about and my kids needed to know what was going on, they didn’t have a copy. We tried keeping the information on the computer for a while (and that can really work I think for technologically savvy families) but in the end, it came down to mom’s calendar and the one on the kitchen wall. I make sure that I put any appointments, events, birthdays, etc. into my personal calendar and then I take a little extra time to transfer them to the one on the wall in the kitchen. This way we all have access to the information and know what is going on.
As my kids are getting older and managing more of their own schedules, transportation, etc., my date book is not nearly as crammed as it used to be, but we still need to coordinate schedules. Having two calendars–one that stays at home and one I can access from anywhere has been the most workable solution that we have come up with. I know the day will come when I will be able to get by with just my own little calendar, but for the time being–one at home and one at work is how we keep it together.
See Also: Synchronize Calendars
A Family Calendar–a Year of Fun