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Productivity. As students, we hear this word a lot. It can seem daunting and kind of fantastical as an unreachable goal. Often, the people talking about it seem like they’re on another level of life -- one that you definitely can’t reach. But today, LEAPers, I’m here to talk to you as a friend struggling through the exact same level of this game we call life.
When I joined high school, I felt underwhelmed. You’re telling me that I only have 4 courses at a time instead of the 8 I used to have back in middle school? That’s light work. I managed to get good grades in early high school, but every assignment was the same. I put it off until the night before and stumbled my way to my ideal grades. One day, I realized that there had to be a better way of doing things; a way that would allow me to be productive with my time past just getting good grades.
Everything I looked up gave me comprehensive plans and organizational systems. But they all seemed so complicated to me (a novice planner.) It was definitely intimidating, but I decided to take some of their main ideas. I realized that the best tool for me was a schedule that was editable, streamlined all my tasks, and was accessible from anywhere. Get ready for your life to change with Google Calendar.
Easy-to-Use
Google Calendar, like many other Google apps, is extremely simple. When you pull it up, you only have to complete a few steps to fill up your schedule:
1. Click the “Create” button in the top left that can create an event, task, or reminder.
An event is something that takes place over an extended period of time (1 hour, half a day, a week, etc). It can be a birthday, a club meeting, or anything else!
A task serves as a list item on your “to-do list.” You can even put a description or specific notes!
A reminder can be set for a specific time and date and be set as repeating!
2. Click “Save” and you’re done!
Organization to the MAX
The most important function for me is all the way at the bottom of the “create event” screen. You can add it to a specific calendar. This means that you can create individual calendars for specific aspects of your daily life (e.g. school, clubs, sports, etc.). You can even attach a unique colour to each calendar to make your month-at-a-glance colour-coded and organized!
So, here’s how to create calendars:
On your left toolbar, you’ll see a drop-down menu titled “My calendars” and “Other calendars.”
Next to the “other” category, you should see a + button where you can create new calendars.
Once you’ve created it, you can give it a description, title, and colour.
This is an absolute godsend because you can also see what activities you’re prioritizing in a week and if anything should change! You can even generate a Google Meet conference within the screen. It’s such a time saver and really helpful. Plus, you can immediately add people to the event and they’ll get an invitation.
U N I V E R S A L
One of my favourite things about Google apps, including their calendar, is how universal it is! Since it’s not connected to a specific device, you can access it from anywhere. It doesn’t matter if you need to check your schedule at school, work, or on vacation -- you can. Plus, you can sync it to whatever calendar your phone uses. Being able to sync my Google calendar with my phone is so helpful to see all my information in one place!
All in all,
Google calendar has been a staple for me this year! So far, my last year of high school has been the most organized I’ve ever been. Seriously, even the smallest steps in your organization system can completely change your life!
About the Author
Samantha D’Souza is currently a Brand Ambassador for LEAP! She joined the team halfway through 2021 and helps create LEAP content for high schoolers! Samantha is in her last year of high school in the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board. She loves getting involved in the community and is excited to start studying business in fall 2022!