Lorie Kram, MA, JD
Founder of BLUBERYL, which provides strengths-based coaching and consulting services for competitive students and professionals.

Coaches, parents, teachers, college advisors—everyone tells students to use calendars. And, yes, students should use calendars! Commitments need to be met, work needs to be completed, and deadlines cannot be missed. Successful calendaring can also reduce anxiety for both students and parents. 

Most importantly, though, calendars must serve the user. Many adults know how they use a calendar but struggle to help their children adopt calendaring for their own lives. The best calendaring system for a student is one that makes sense to them and can be easily configured and maintained. Some students benefit from one calendar whether electronic or paper, some students benefit from color-coded calendars, and others respond well to multi-layered color-coded calendars that integrate into one visual calendar (such as the Google calendar system).

Whatever calendar system you choose, remember these A, B, Cs

A: ACCESSIBLE — make the system accessible and easy to use (in their pocket, on their computer, on the wall, or in their backpack) 

B: BUILDING BLOCKS — think of a calendar as building blocks that you add over time. (Including all of the student’s activities and assignments on a new calendar to start risks overload.) Start with just one block (maybe the first calendar entries are social/fun/entertaining… fun events that pertain to the calendar user). Next, add appointments or chores or commitments. After the calendar has gained traction for those two blocks, add commitments such as volunteer activities or components of college application essay writing. 

C: CLEAR — make sure the calendar is easy to read, maintain, and modify. Maintain inherent organization in how calendar entries are written, keep them in the correct calendar/color, and restrict unnecessary events that pertain to others. A family calendar is a great idea but should be separate from the student’s calendar to prevent information overload. 

Final Thoughts

It’s important to remember that what works for one person might not work for another and calendaring systems abound. Don’t give up! This is a lifelong skill that takes time to build and refine. We wish you all the best as you integrate calendaring into your student’s life.