Many families seem to struggle with finding moments to spend time with each other as a complete family: our busy lifestyles tend to limit this kind of experience, to the detriment of both parents and their children alike. It is a sad fact that we tend to have a hard time planning this kind of thing ahead of time and that our own wellbeing and that shared quality time with our family has often shifted to the bottom of the list of priorities.

So why not create an activities calendar for the family? I find this kind of thing is very useful in multiple ways: not only does it allow for planning ahead and follow up, it is a good teaching tool for kids to learn following appointments. Besides that, it ensures that the whole family gets to spend time together and forms memories to take away with them for the future.

This is why I have decided to bring to your attention that a fellow professional organiser from Italy – Alessandra Noseda – has just published the template for her successful activities calendar for download. It is based on the needs of her own family, with three columns, but this should not be too much of a problem to adapt for a larger group of people…

Even better: you can download it, in fact, and assemble it for yourself! I've created an English version of Alessandra's Italian original, just in case. I do recommend you use the Italian version, though: think of it as a little infusion of the sunshine into your home.

Assembly instructions

• Download the 2018 Family Calendar on your computer.
• Printing on A4 sheets (better than 120 gr for the months and 200 gr for the cover and the bottom) using the duplex function.
• Bind the calendar with a spiral on the short side at the top and add a ring hook.
  [ClutterMeister: you may fall back on hole-punching it and adding a piece of string, of course!]
• Hang the calendar and use it!

Instructions for Use

• Fill in the respective names in the column headers to get started.
• Immediately mark activities with a fixed annual, monthly and weekly deadlines.
• Add birthdays, anniversaries , parties and holidays.
• Every month marks in a note what you would like to do with your family (visit an exhibition, walk in the woods, learn a new game).
• Every week you mark your commitments and check those of others, to have an eye on the situation.

Hopefully, making plans ahead of time will increase the time you are able to spend with your family.

If you have some basic knowledge of Italian, please visit Alessandra's page for further inspiration.