One problem we face as home office warriors is the effective control of our time. It is easy to get distracted from the task at hand when we work out of a home office. I know for me, I enjoy working at home and enjoy the benefits of working at home. And those distractions are for me some of the best benefits. Especially having lunch each and every day with my wife.

However, we have to keep on task and we have to “get things done.” I use multiple tools to keep track of my calendar and those things that need to be done. First and foremost is my computer based calendar, iCal. Next, I sync my iCal calendar with Google Calendar. I do that for two main reasons. First, as a backup to my computer based calendar. And, second to give my virtual assistant access to my calendar.

My next calendar tool is my iPhone and its built in calendar feature. I am able to keep the two calendars sync’d with each other too.

The problem is, not one of these tools will work or help if you don’t use them effectively. To that end, I was pleased to see a post on one of my favorite blogs, life Sutra titled, 6 Tips For Using Your Calendar Effectively. Brick provides 6 great tips for using your calendar effectively and best of all, it appears he is a Mac and iPhone user too.

Here they are:

You can go to the actually POST to see a great explanation of each of the above tips. What I was pleased to see was I am actually using the tips and they do work great. The one I do need to try, which I have not done and can see the benefit of using is the “block your golden time.” This might help me control my weakness of letting myself get distracted.