David Allen calls the calendar your “hard landscape”. There is a reason for that, primarily because your calendar is the foundation of your productivity practice. The raw data you put into your calendar determines the information that comes out. This is the “landscape” that you are going to traverse on any given day.

What goes in your Calendar

Three types of raw data go into your calendar:

1. Time-specific actions - This is jargon-speak for meetings and appointments, some will be with other people and some will be for yourself. Make a habit of scheduling your Most Important Tasks for the day.
2. Day-specific actions - Less-structured than a meeting or appointment, this type of entry is for an action that needs to get done on a particular day, but any time is fine. I suggest that you use this category carefully, as your calendar should not become a to-do list. Your 3-5 Most Important Tasks will often fall in this category.
3. Day-specific information - This category of entry is for data like telephone numbers, directions, or specific information about a person you are meeting or the agenda for that meeting. If this category gets too bulky/takes up too much space, consider just writing a note in the calendar as to exactly where you can find that information.

Your Calendar is a Tool,

…not your taskmaster. Work toward the habit of limiting your calendar entries. To paraphrase Albert Einstein, keep the entry as simple as possible, (but not too simple) for you to be able to make the most of the information. A cluttered or messy calendar leads to a day of frustration!

Remember: the appointments that you make with yourself for your most important tasks are just as binding as appointments that you make with other people.

If you aren’t able to trust yourself to show up, how can you trust your system?

Where is your to-do list

I’d love to know what kind of information you are getting from your calendar, or what kind of assistance you are not getting.

(Click the links below to learn more about the specific questions)

• Does your to-do list migrate into your calendar?
• Do you use a pencil for your entries, so you do not have to cross things out when there are changes?
• Is your calendar format the right one to maximize your way of working?

Leave a comment, perhaps we can work together on a solution.

Alik at Practice This has an interesting post about the design and implementation of:

Your Life Projects

Define your life projects you want to develop yourself and achieve results. Mine are customers, family, finances, professional development, soft skill development, blogging, and few more. Everything that falls beyond these categories (life projects) does not deserve your attention, energy, and time.

Read the whole thing, as he describes how to use Outlook 2007 to manage these projects.

Today’s post is from Mike St. Pierre of The Daily Saint.

When I was first introduced to GTD some five years ago, I was immediately drawn to David Allen’s appreciation of “the right tool”.  It was as if someone out there was as quirky as me, caring about such little things as the kind of pencil you used or the way in which you organized your PDA.  Amazing!

Since then, I’ve been mindful of a number of good articles on GTD-related tools.  These include:

• 5 Simple and Effective GTD Tools
• List of GTD Tools
• Top 5 GTD Computer Tools

I recently discovered a phenomenon called “tool boredom” and you’ll probably know what I’m talking about.  Your cell phone was so cool and then you saw the new iPhone 3G ad on TV.  As a result, your tool looks tired and so ordinary.  Yet, you can’t just jump ship and go out and sign up for another cellular carrier’s two year contract.  What to do?

I use a Blackberry 8830 which I find to be very utilitarian.  No camera, no fancy ads on TV.  It just works but occasionally, I admit that it feels ordinary and un-iPhony.  I’m not in a position where I can just pay an early termination fee to drop Verizon and head over to AT&T. Instead, I do the following:

1. Discover new things that the tool is capable of.  I recently learned how to watch TV shows on my Blackberry- very cool!
2. Dress it up.  A silicone skin costs less than two cups of coffee at Dunkin Donuts so head over to Ebay and make a purchase.
3. Entertain the fantasy of trading. On CraigsList there are countless people in your area who are looking to trade productivity tools.  People want planners.  They are interested in gadgets.  Joe from the next town over is looking for an audio recorder, etc.  Check it out and find out who is willing to trade what.  If nothing else, it will jog your creativity about tech tools and who knows?  Your unsexy gadget just might look new after all.

All of the calendar products for the Do-It-Yourself-ers that I have developed are available for 50% off for the rest of the month. Go to the sales page at e-junkie.com and pick up a DIY Calendar for $3.00!

Let me know what you would like to see in a calendar, and I will be hapy to design something for you, that we can put out to the rest of the world and make lives richer and more satisfying.

Please leave a suggestion in the Comments!