There are a few additional steps I take that extend my calendar’s usefulness into other contexts, too: • I often add events retroactively, i.e. events that have already occurred (which is useless to a calendar user who only uses it to prepare for future events). • I add events for personal “events” as well as external ones. For example, I have events for chores, work tasks, sleep, showers, and weekend projects.
One question I always get is “how do you have the discipline to enter everything, especially retroactively?!”. One answer is that I don’t. I often forget! And that’s fine.* The purpose of my calendar diary is not to be a perfect record of how I spend my time. It’s a map of the territory, and the purpose is to trigger useful and interesting memories, reminders, and ambitions that don’t fit as well in other mediums (including my own mind).
