14 Reasons You May Still Want a Paper Calendar

— September 5, 2018

Lots of people these days use online calendars, me included. The reason is that they have many advantages over paper calendars that I love.

For instance, my calendar is in an app on my phone so that I can easily take it with me. Rather than carrying something bulky, it weighs nothing but goes everywhere my phone goes. That means less weight in my purse, which, by the way, already holds plenty.

But online calendars aren’t for everyone. In fact, there are some valid reasons you may still want a paper calendar.

1. Quick Visual Reminder

Although I use Google calendar to keep track of my personal and business schedules, I use a paper calendar also. It hangs over the desk in my office and serves as a quick visual reminder.

When I’m working on my computer I constantly have to schedule social media, meetings, and other events. I don’t want to stop and unlock my phone every time I need to look at the calendar. That would waste precious seconds I could use to do something else.

2. Remember Events Better

It’s been said the more times you see or write something the better recall of it you will have. Paper calendars, such as planners, can help with that.

When you have to write down meetings and other important appointments you’ll be more likely to remember them. It can also help bring to mind other significant details about your schedule.

3. Put Everything in One Place

You can save a lot of time using apps in your workplace or business. But that often means switching from one app to another to do everything you need to do.

At times, using a paper calendar is faster and easier than switching among several different applications. That’s another reason you may still want a paper calendar in your life.

4. Record Additional Details

Have you ever wanted to jot down notes in your online calendar? Sometimes a paper calendar is better for that kind of thing.

If you share calendars at work with more than one person you may not want them to know certain details. However, you may need to record extra information somewhere as well.

That’s where a paper calendar comes in handy. You can jot down notes or other details and keep them for your eyes only.

5. Prevent Calendar Hacking

There’s another great reason you may still want a paper calendar over an online one. Paper calendars can’t be hacked by other people who shouldn’t be accessing them.

Obviously they could still be looked at by other people who shouldn’t be looking at them. Yet, unless you are guarding some major secrets, that shouldn’t be a problem for most people. Additionally, if you keep them in a safe location, such as in a locked drawer, it should be fine.

6. Keep Calendars Accessible

Something I hate when I’m working is when my internet goes down. If I need to access my online calendar I can’t do it when I can’t get on the internet. The same thing happens when the app is not working for some reason.

However, when you use a paper calendar instead, this is never a problem. Paper calendars do not go down or suddenly become inaccessible. Of course, that is provided you always know where it is or have it with you.

7. Find Past Events Easier

Let’s say you need to look back in your calendar to find a certain event on a particular day. You may think an online calendar would make it easier to find past events. However, some calendar apps will delete old appointments and meetings after a certain length of time.

With shared office calendars that can be a problem if you have no control over the settings. You may not be able to look back far enough to find information you’re searching for.

Even though it could take time to find it on a paper calendar, it isn’t going to be deleted. As long as you keep the pages of your calendar you should find the entries you need.

8. Convenient Scheduling

When you’re talking on your cell phone and need to view your online calendar it’s not very convenient. Can it be done? Of course it can. But you might inadvertently hang up on the other party too.

Using a paper calendar prevents that from being a possibility. You can simply pull out your calendar and schedule as you need to.

9. Serve a Specific Purpose

If you run a small business you may not need a shared online calendar. Keeping an employee schedule might be just as easy using a paper calendar instead.

You can also place the calendar in a shared space, such as a break room, where everyone can see it. That way no employee has the excuse of not knowing what the schedule is.

10. Coordinate with Online Calendars

Keeping your work and personal calendars separate is ideal for some people. In that case, it might help to have an online calendar for work and a paper calendar for at home.

As an example, if you used shared calendars at work, you might be required to keep an online calendar. But if you prefer a paper calendar, you could use one for personal appointments and activities. That way you can make notes, keep track of birthdays and anniversaries, and more.

You can access either one from home or work allowing you to coordinate your calendars. At the same time, family doesn’t have access to work events, and work colleagues don’t see family stuff.

11. Planning Sessions

Another of the reasons to use a paper calendar is for planning sessions. It’s easy to jot notes, meetings, and appointments in your paper calendar when in a hurry. Highlight items of importance or use different colors to denote different recurring events.

Later, have a weekly planning session to iron out details and record things in your online calendar.

12. Tracking Family Activities

Family members without cell phones may still need to know what events are coming up. Therefore, you may still want a paper calendar at home so they can plan too.

In addition, if you have smaller children who are learning about the days of the week, calendars are helpful. You can also use them for toddlers who are potty training and older children with assigned chores.

13. Deciding on Meals

Do you ever have trouble remembering when you last served as a certain dish at meal times? You could use a paper calendar to track your meals. This way you don’t get stuck in a rut serving the same things week after week.

Involve other family members in the meal planning process using a paper calendar. Show them when foods were served and let them make choices for meals coming up. Record everything on your paper calendar to keep track.

14. Limit Your Electronic Notifications

At times it’s probably tiring to get constant electronic notifications on your phone. If you’re like me it goes off frequently. That could be another valid reason you may still want a paper calendar.

With a paper calendar, you are a little less, “plugged in”, so to speak. True, rather than receiving constant calendar events from others in a shared calendar group, you’d have to write appointments down. But the trade-off is that you’d also get fewer rings, beeps, and interruptions to your day.

While I still want a paper calendar in my life I admit I use it sparingly. And I probably won’t go back to using only a paper calendar anytime soon. But I think there are still a lot of reasons you may want a paper calendar in your life too.

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