I was never good at following calendars and appointments. I found that I was really good at booking things, but really bad at checking to see if I had anything booked for the day. I’ve gotten much better.
There are 3 key components … well, 4 I suppose, that can make your life that much easier.
01. Google Calendar Account
02. Mozilla’s Sunbird or Portable Sunbird
03. Automatic Export
04. Provider for Google
05. Mobile Calendar Device (I use my iPod).
Let me first mention that because I use my iPod, I can’t make on-the-fly changes, but I always know what’s going on.
First things first, sign up for that Google calendar, download Sunbird, and download those extensions … … oh, and buy that iPod =p
The concept of a single calendar is pretty obsolete in my mind. I have separate calendars for work, gigs, teaching, travel, etc. The beauty of that is that I can automatically share certain calendars without giving my whole life away.
Underneath where your calendars are listed, there’s a link for ‘manage calendars’. Go to that. Click on one of your calendars, click ‘XML’ under ‘Private Address’ (or public if you’ve made it public). Copy that link. We’re done with Google.
Next, open Sunbird and install those extensions if you haven’t already. Go to your File menu and ‘Subscribe to Remote Calendar’. Click ‘On the Network’. Select Google Calendar (or XML … whichever is listed) and paste the address. Enter your username and password. DONE!
Now, as an added bonus, plug in your iPod, PDA, cell phone, whatever (as long as it comes up as a drive … (though in theory, you could probably map any device to a drive provided that it shows up on your computer either as a drive or with a folder – see my blog on mapping drives)). Use the Automatic Export extension to automatically export your calendar to your device.
Because you downloaded the Provider for Google extension, you can now edit your events using Sunbird alone … … or if you’re on the road – Google Calendar. GENIUS!
-D