When January 1st rolls, around many people have brand new calendars and every intention of using them to reduce planning stress. Often, though, that practice falls by the wayside after a couple weeks or months. Why not get back on the bandwagon in the middle of the summer? Updating a calendar can seriously help you prevent missed appointments and overall be more relaxed about your personal and professional life. Here are some tips to help you get back to using your calendar mid-year:

Double-up
Many people hear of an upcoming event and immediately enter it in their phone calendar. While that’s helpful, it’s also useful to write the information down as this can better solidify the details in your head. The next time something pops up that you should put in your calendar, add it your phone and your paper version. This way you’ll have backup in case your phone dies or you lose the device or paper calendar. Add the date and time as well as where the event takes place and if you need to bring anything or prepare ahead of time.

Bring your calendar with you everywhere so you can easily update it.

Bring your calendar with you
You can’t keep your calendar updated if you don’t have it with you! Going just one day without this important document can quickly snowball into a month and suddenly it’s time to order a new calendar for next year. Don’t let this happen. Stash your calendar in your purse or backpack that you bring with you at all times. This way you can easily reach it to jot down something important.

Keep your calendar organized
Writing down events isn’t the only part of managing a calendar. You can turn this simple tool into a seriously helpful way to keep track of your life. Start with color coding. Pick certain hues for particular occasions, like red for work stuff and blue for fun stuff. Or, if you’re using a calendar for your entire family, designate specific colors for each person. That way you can easily see who needs to be picked up from squash and when it’s your next turn to carpool to bowling. You can turn a regular calendar into a fun, easy way to ensure everyone gets where they’re going on time with the help of just a few markers. Also consider adding tabs to easily flip from one page to the next. Don’t hesitate to pencil things in for far in the future as it’s super helpful to have even events that are months away written down.

Use a reward system
It may sound silly, but reward systems aren’t just for kids. Consider creating a small incentive to help you stay on track with using your calendar. Set time increments and rewards to go along with them for when you hit a week, month and three month markers of consistently using your calendar. You can even use fun stationary, greeting cards or cool stickers as a reward as they will heighten the entertainment factors of using a calendar. Plus, you’ll easily remember to order Christmas cards and send thank-yous when you’ve worked for them!