Another day. Another week. Another month has suddenly escaped me.
I had so many grand plans for the summer: Early morning bike rides to improve my daughter’s novice two-wheeling skills, lazy days at the pool, evening cookouts in our neighboring canyon and getting my garden into tip-top shape.
Some of it happened, some of it will still happen, its my summer mission.
There are two things I’m obsessed in discovering how others manage: what time they go to bed and what sort of calendaring system they use to keep themselves organized.
Before I had my daughter was such a good list-maker. I kept track of everything, knocking off to-do items like pro bowlers who hit strikes with ease.
But then I tried to make the conversion to online list making and calendaring. It worked part of the time, mostly when I was keeping track on my iPhone and discovering great new apps like Teux Deux, Google Calendar and the like. But no matter how hard I tried to adapt, I didin’t discover the app that worked for me. I felt like I was taking a step backward. I was always 2 days behind by the time I would log on and check my calender, to see what was in store for next week.
I needed to write it all down.
My scheduling lifeline wasn’t in front of my face like my trusty Franklin Covey month-at-a-glance calendar with its dog-eared scribbles, eraser marks and notations. And it all resulted in the past few years of me missing appointments, birthdays and just not hitting my own goals.
And. It. Drove. Me. Crazy.
So with my change in status, I made a change in record keeping. I’ve gone old-school. I’m going back to paper and pencil.
The jury is still out on how this will all work out, bridging my two universes: my digital world and old-school recored keeping. We’ll see how dependent I am and how this marriage will pan out.
To start off on the right foot, I finally found a nicely designed, sans scrapbookey/biziness-boring 16-month paper calendar at Target—totally cute design but sadly they aren’t carrying my favorite Franklin Covey 365 calendar anymore and I can’t find it anywhere online.
Regardless, I’ve made the adjustment to physically writing my schedule down. But that doesn’t mean that I’m not still workin’ my sched with iCal. I know! I’m crazy. And probably totally counterintuitive. But I can’t let go of one without knowing the other is going to work. So for now, I’m doing what’s best for me.
Which led me to figure I should create a calendar for all of my blog posts. And for all of the occasions that I might want to center a blog post around.
And that led me to figure, why should I keep these dates to myself?? Let’s share.
The images above is low-res, just for eye-candy. Download the original size below!
And so, with some help of my ever talented intern Elyse, I’ve created a free download for you to post as your computer desktop wallpaper or a higher res but smaller in stature version to download to your computer to print or save for reference.
Download the free desktop wallpaper August 2012 Food Blogger Calendar
Download the free 8 ½ X 11 printable version of the August 2012 Food Blogger Calendar
Look for these calendars in future months and to improve upon what works for you, please let me know what you think of it, if it’s helpful or not or if you have something notable that should be listed on it or a screen size that works best for you.
I also have some new freebies I’m creating that will only be available via my newsletter. Great tips, tricks and yums. Sign up so you won’t miss out!
And now for a few more Friday Faves:
1. In the spirit of sharing, Sneh shares 10 food sources to grow your food blog.
2. With the harvest season upon us, these tips could prove invaluable.
3. It’s one of my favorite conferences and registration is next week. Don’t miss it! I’ll even give you an insider’s personal tour of the city.
4. I loved the reflections Merry-Jennifer shared about Big Summer Potluck. Next year I am so there.
5. Sarah shared this video that made me grin from ear to ear and call Smudge in to watch thanks to the combo of two of my favorite topics in a new rendition of Call Me Maybe
6. Crushing on Martyna’s delicious looking AND FREE ebook with whole food recipes for summertime eats. Have you thought about creating an ebook yet? If you need help, contact me.
7. So I can eat even more of Rachel’s amazing 31 days of pancakes, I’m thrilled he featured some of her favorite bloggers and shares how you can throw a theme blog event too.
8. I’m obsessed with learning more about video— you’ll be seeing some of mine soon—so checking out Russel’s tutorial via Sylvie is a serious help.
9. We can never learn enough about photo processing and this is why I love Lightroom.
10. Thank goodness for the weekend. I’ll be rocking it out with my husband and his band for their big punk rock reunion show—as in it’s been YEARS since they’ve been together. Wait ’til you see what he’s sporting on stage. I’ll be sharing next week, ya’ll will be proud that he’s supporting foodies.
Until then, XO and happy weekend and happy cooking!
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Thanks for reading and please keep in touch. Subscribe to Foodie Crush and follow me onTwitter, Facebook and Pinterest and check out Foodie Crush magazine and Cookie Cravings cookbook.
Lana @ Never Enough Thyme
I’ve gone back and forth between electronic and paper calendars for years. And despite my most valiant efforts to use and enjoy electronic planning, I just cannot. Paper wins out every time. Thanks for a lovely example of a printed monthly planning calendar.
Meg
Thank you so much for this awesome calendar! I too had to revert to my old Franklin Covey planner. I get so much more done when I write it down rather than type it in. I thought that I was the only one.
Emily
This makes me wish I had a color printer! Going to make the visit to the local print shop so I can have it in color. :)
Laura (Tutti Dolci)
Great idea to create a calendar, thanks for sharing it with us! :)
Louisa [Living Lou]
Love this Heidi! I’ve been having the exact same dilemma in regards to my calendar and scheduling! I love my iCal but I need to have an actual tangible planner as well. (Gotta keep track of school assignments!) I’ve never been able to find one that I love and that fits my needs so I’ve taken to designing/creating my own…but like you I’m still using my iCal also haha!
Fantastic idea about the food bloggers calendar, going to put this on my desktop. I might have to add something like this to my planner! Any resources you recommend?
Anna @ hiddenponies
Wow, thanks so much for sharing this!! I wish I was this organized on my own but am not too proud to confess I need major help :)
Stacey
Thank you sooo much! I’ve failed at online calendar-keeping, so this is wonderful. Love all the great tips, too.
Sneh | Cook Republic
I am such a sucker for calendars. I have them dotting my workspace in different sizes and froms .. always half finished, abandoned :-(. And then they are on my iPad and iPhone too. lol. I love yours, so vibrant. Thanks for the shout out Heidi!
Nikki @Pennies on a Platter
I looooove this! Thanks, Heidi! I just spent my toddler’s whole nap time visiting (and using) all of the sites you listed. ha! Printing the calendar and pinning it up in my new workspace. What a great tool!
Nikki @Pennies on a Platter
PS – You missed listing my birthday on the 25th. And, if it’s not asking too much, I’d love to see the calendars available maybe 2 weeks before the start of the month as you move forward with this… :)
What was I thinking to miss listing your birthday? Of course I will rectify ASAP :)
Karista
Love the calendar Heidi! Great idea and I’m keeping mine on my desktop. :) Thanks and Happy Weekend!
PSwye
You are such a kind, sharing, creative and overall adorable lady! And a fantastic cook too ;)
Thank you for this fun and colorful calender, I’ll be watching to see what September brings!
I saved my copy then changed the size before printing. It fits perfectly over my regular calender that had already been filled with my huge family’s birthdays and other events – then attached it on top with a pretty red, cherry shaped paper clip, sort of like a cover sheet.
Voila! Now there’s plenty space for everything
Thanks again!
Cee
Amanda
Fun! I already had all these written down, but you had several I missed completely! It’s so fun too ;) I had Lasagna Day as last week though. I found conflicting dates on the internet, wish they were more consistent sometimes :-P
Jenny (vintagesugarcube)
Just found your site! Holy Toledo, I’ve been missing out. It’s all kinds of wonderful, the articles, photos, and tips. Kudos to you. And I plan to finally make it to ALT Summit in Jan.
Rebecca
What a great and helpful post! I’m the same way with calendars. I know that online will be there no matter where I am and no matter what device I use to access it… and still… it just doesn’t stick. So now I’m an organizational mess and had been thinking I just need to go back to my trusty little Moleskine weekly planner. Your printable calendar is beautiful and full of great information and inspiration. Keep up the terrific work!
Cassie
Love this post Heidi. Thanks for the calendar, too, I have been needing something like that for so long, fabulous idea!
Maria
Love the calendar! You know I keep mine handy:) Will have to print yours!
Krista
I’m so glad you’ve had the same problem with lists and online organization too! I just can’t get a handle on it. I hope the pencil and paper work out!
I absolutely love this calendar! As soon as I’m on my computer I’ll download it…so fun!
Marie (Food Nouveau)
Hey Heidi, I think this is a fantastic idea! I like that it provides info about events and conferences but also cute reminders such as “Promote a younger-than-you food blogger’s site today”. It’s clever, useful and beautifully designed! My only comment, from a graphic designer perspective, would be that you could totally afford to save it in a higher quality so that your design and type doesn’t look so “compressed”. Since you don’t have color-heavy pictures on there, the filesize would still be small but it would serve your design much better.
I’m printing it out and I look forward to the months to come!
Thanks for the suggestion Marie! I’ve just updated the file to a larger size and created a downloadable 8.5 X 11 print version too. So check it out and let me know if those work better!
Marie (Food Nouveau)
The downloadable version is perfect. I just printed it out and it looks great! You could also try high-res PDF format for the printable, I believe it would allow you to produce a smaller file with the same quality level. Thanks again :)
Jen @ Savory Simple
This calendar is fantastic. Thanks for putting it together!
Averie @ Averie Cooks
awesome calendar- wow! In all your spare time you just whipped that up….amazing!
Love your links & tips. Potluck. I vaguely remember seeing mention of it about 6 mos ago but dismissed it and now, of course, like every other conference, I wish I hadn’t.
Erin
Uh- I am totally the same. I bought the iPad with the main goal of going digital and I failed. I need the act of writing things down and being able to cross them off. So, I went back to my moleskin notebook and use my iPad for notes and reminders.
merry jennifer
Thank you for including me in your list today!
You know, I’ve fluctuated back and forth between my online calendar and paper for years, it seems. I’ve decided that I can’t do without paper. It’s a duplication of effort, I’m sure, but I now keep both calendars.
Well, in truth, I keep many calendars. I’m fairly addicted to paper calendars, if you must know.
Jana
Hey :)
I totally love your calendar – I would never have known about Julia Child’s birthday. I like the idea of all of your “National Days” for nearly everything, I don’t know if we have anything similar here in Germany. So could you maybe include some food blog related “International Days” for your non-US readers? Have a nice weekend ;)
Martyna@WholesomeCook
I love this calendar! Like you I’ve gone back to pen, paper and a giant 1 year view calendar, but the month to view is great too! Thanks for the mention, too, Heidi. :-) have a great weekend!
Kathryn
I arrive in LA on the 16th August and so I will be enthusiastically participating in National Rum Day! And I love the idea of sending 5 bloggers emails rather than comments, it just seems so much more personal. Thank you (and your lovely intern) for putting together this calendar; it’s given me so much inspiration already!
Thanks Kathryn, maybe we can get an e-mail blogcrush movement going! So jealous you’ll be in LA, have a great time!