Today is a Tuesday, right? I'm supposed to do something on Tuesdays....

June 26, 2012 8:48 AM

I want to be able to stick to a calendar and I'd like to do it on my phone. Any tips?

I've never been able to reliably use an agenda or calendar! I'm tired of thinking "June 26...hmm...I know I have something today...." or apologizing to friends for having to be constantly reminded of upcoming events. How can I get better at this? I have a terrible internal clock.

I think the best way to do this would be something on my phone. I want to be able to add events really quickly, be able to look at weekly or monthy schedules, and receive notifications for upcoming plans. Is there a good app for this? It is an iphone.

Of course, any general tips or suggestions would be greatly appreciated as well. Thank you!

posted by troika to Technology (15 answers total)

I live by Calvetica for both work and personal appointments. Add quickly, good agenda view for the week and great monthly view that handles multiple events per day much better than the built-in calendar (which is basically awful for indicating anything beyond "I have something today," and plenty of notification options.
posted by Tomorrowful at 8:51 AM on June 26, 2012

I can't stick to one calendar. I keep track of my events and appointments by adding it to the calendar closest to me, so if I'm out I use my phone, if I'm at work I have my Outlook calendar, at home I compile notes onto postits that I stick in my purse if I'm too lazy to find my phone and add the events. I make sure all my calendars sync so my Outlook calendar syncs with my iPhone's calendar etc and daily I check my purse for any postit notes I need to add to my calendar. This is what works for me. Obviously after a while you'll find a routine that works for you, but just to give you an idea that perhaps one route isn't the best you just have to make sure to sync it all together!

Good Luck!
posted by xicana63 at 8:58 AM on June 26, 2012

Uhm. iOS ships with the Reminders and Calendar apps, I'm sure you know. They are well integrated with mail etc. and do their job. Add the thing to the calendar when you arrange for it, and then set the alert for when you need to be reminded. It's... pretty simple
posted by MangyCarface at 9:03 AM on June 26, 2012

If you just want to keep to a calendar, the iPhone's built-in calendar app works really well for me, and I have it sync to my Outlook through iCloud.

If you want a more dedicated task-management app, Lifehacker always has good productivity reccomendations. Their preffered task-management app is Orchestra, and you can read their review of the app and its competition here
posted by nickhb at 9:05 AM on June 26, 2012

I've never been able to use an agenda or calendar, either... until, yes, getting an iPhone. I love it love it love it. I'm really pleased to have my calendar attached to something I already use obsessively. So if you're looking for words of hope, I am here to tell you that it can be done.

I just use the plain old Calendar app. Works well. Are you looking for something more specific?
posted by Madamina at 9:05 AM on June 26, 2012 [1 favorite]

Dear lord I can't spell. Sorry, that was on my phone
posted by nickhb at 9:05 AM on June 26, 2012

Add my name to the chorus of those who finds using the Calendar app on the iPhone way better than any other solution I'd tried up until that point.

I use the Google Calendar as my central calendar and everything (iPhone, Thunderbird) syncs to the Google Calendar. That was the only free option a few years ago when I was first looking to set up a (online, synced) calendar on my phone, but I imagine iCloud might work well now.
posted by Betelgeuse at 9:10 AM on June 26, 2012 [3 favorites]

Best answer: I love Week Cal so much more than the standard iPhone calendar app.

As implied by the name, it features a weekly view of your schedule (in addition to daily or monthly views). I prefer the weekly setting. It also is very easy to customize alerts and rolling events.

I have it synched to both my Outlook (work) calendar and my Google (personal) calendar.
posted by Kriesa at 9:24 AM on June 26, 2012

I use Google calendar with the Touch Calendar app on my Android phone. It is seriously awesome. Google calendar lets you have different calendars if need be, with color coding and other customizable features, and Touch Calendar is probably the best app I have ever paid for.
posted by biscotti at 9:36 AM on June 26, 2012

Response by poster: MangyCarface, what is pretty simple for you isn't all that simple for me, which is why I asked this question!

I really need it to be as simple as humanly possible. I just downloaded WeekCal and I like that it basically holds my hand through the event addition process and has an immediately intuitive weekly view.

Thanks, everyone!
posted by troika at 10:06 AM on June 26, 2012

Google Cal works for me. I can access it via my phone or browser at work and I keep all my personal appointments in it.
posted by zombieApoc at 10:17 AM on June 26, 2012

In case Week Cal doesn't work out for you, I'll second Calvetica for both iPhone and iPad. It syncs to any CalDAV server (google's calendar, apple's me.com, one you run yourself, etc.) and I find it invaluable. Plus iCal on the Mac for when I'm actually at my computer. Plus, most of the hosted CalDAV services also offer a web interface, in the event you're at a computer that isn't yours and don't want to use an iPhone/iPad.
posted by Brian Puccio at 10:21 AM on June 26, 2012

Question about Calvetica, or other non-Calendar apps for the iPhone: how easy is it to repeat events? I have a number of events that recur with slight differences: every night for a week, or every other Friday for six months (e.g., choir rehearsals, hockey games, etc.). The one thing that bugs me about Calendar is that it's all or nothing -- you either have to re-enter every single instance, or you can have it repeat "every Friday" which isn't actually accurate. Oracle Calendar, which I'd used at work, actually does that beautifully.

Anyone?
posted by Madamina at 11:56 AM on June 26, 2012

Best answer: WeekCal has excellent customizable repeat options. You can set it for every 3rd Monday, or whatever interval you need, until completion.

Alternately, if you already have a calendar that you like otherwise, you could use a task manager app like Astrid to set up your repeats and use its "add to calendar" setting.
posted by Kriesa at 12:06 PM on June 26, 2012

Response by poster: I've been using WeekCal for a month now. It has changed my life.
posted by troika at 12:44 PM on July 26, 2012