Juggling June
Join our Project Coordinator, Chris Nusbaum, and our Director, Carlton Walker, as we dive into the “soft skills” we need in order to avoid a HARD landing!
- June 4: Prioritization
- June 11: Task Time Budgeting
- June 18: Managing Calendars
- June 25: Travel Time Budgeting
In this third blog for Juggling June, we put our prioritization and task time budgeting skills to work as we discuss managing calendars. We explore both reasons to use and the mechanics of using a tool that helps us keep our juggling balls in the air: Calendars!
What Kind of Calendar?
There are many, many types of calendars and calendaring systems available. The choice as to which to use is a very personal one, and many people use more than one single system.
Digital calendaring tools
Most popular digital calendaring systems are free and can be integrated into other tools, including email clients. The most popular of these, Outlook, Google, and Apple Calendar, are accessible with screen reading software, such as JAWS (or VoiceOver, for Apple Calendar). We discuss this more, below.
Additionally, many personal digital assistants (notetakers) and refreshable braille displays (stand-alone displays) contain internal calendars. These internal calendars can usually be synchronized (synced) with mainstream services, like Outlook, Google, and Apple Calendars. However, some individuals simply use their refreshable braille displays as input devices for calendaring information and bypass internal device calendars altogether.
Paper-based calendaring systems
When we think of paper-based calendars, we might say: “Oh, how 1990 of you!” Bridges Director Carlton Walker remembers these calendars, and she still holds nostalgia for them – but not enough nostalgia to go back to using them!
While there are accessible paper-based calendaring tools (including enlarged print, index card filing systems, etc., most individuals who have access to digital calendaring tools do NOT use paper-based calendaring systems – regardless of their level of vision.
For those without consistent and reliable access to digital calendaring tools, paper-based calendaring systems are the way to go. All individuals can use an index card calendaring method by entering important calendar entries on index cards (in braille or print) and keeping those index cards in an index card holder in order of occurrence (first in front). A similar, but potentially less organized, method is using scraps of paper or Post-it notes for each calendar entry. Individuals who can efficiently and effectively use enlarged print may choose a Large Print desk or wall calendar or a Large Print planner with pages by date, week, or month.
Bottom line
The choice of calendar type is far less important than the way it is used. Even a slap-dash calendaring system that is used effectively beats a beautiful, intricate calendar that isn’t used well (or at all).
How to Set Up A Calendar?
Personal choice
Regardless of the calendaring method (or methods) we use, the calendar is only useful when we enter information into it. Each individual will make decisions on what to include in calendar entries, but here are a few common categories:
Anatomy of a calendar entry
For each of these, the individual will determine how to shape the entry.
Other calendar entry ideas
Some individuals have found entering non-meeting information as calendar entries to be helpful.
For example, if a project is due six months from now, it might be helpful to insert information to serve as “reminders” – so that the project isn’t forgotten until the last minute. While most digital calendars have “reminder” and/or “task” entry options available, some people choose to simply make all of these calendar events.
Also, calendar reminders about annual events that must be tended to can help – like calendar entries in January and February to get to work on income taxes! Again, these could be reminders or tasks; the decision belongs to the developer and user of the calendar.
Sharing Your Calendar
A major benefit of calendaring information is to have that information easily available to improve efficiency. Digital calendars make this even easier!
Both Outlook ad Google calendars allow individuals to share their calendars with others – both within and between the two calendar clients. In other words, we can share our calendars with co-workers so that they will know when we have free time and when we are busy.
While sharing information can be efficient, we might not want others to know EXACTLY what we are doing. No problem! Both Outlook and Google allow us to share our availability without sharing details of our “not available” time blocks. Tip: To make this even more effective, make sure to calendar travel time, meeting preparation time, etc. This gives you room to shift from one task to the next while remaining available during unblocked periods of time.
Mechanics of Online Digital Calendars
As mentioned above, many braille “notetakers” and refreshable braille displays have built-in calendars. Please contact the Bridges Helpdesk for any assistance you need in getting those calendars up and running.
The three most-popular mainstream calendar applications, Outlook, Google, and Apple (iOS), integrate with the email functions of each. Please find below some details for each.
Outlook Calendar
Check out these great resources from Freedom Scientific, the maker of JAWS screen reading software:
In many respects, the NVDA screen reading software operates similarly to JAWS. For specific questions, please reach out to us at the Bridges Helpdesk.
Find more information about Outlook email functions, please check out the Bridges Resource Library’s Looking Out for Outlook Email entry.
Google Calendar
Check out these great resources from Freedom Scientific, the maker of JAWS screen reading software:
In many respects, the NVDA screen reading software operates similarly to JAWS. For specific questions, please reach out to us at the Bridges Helpdesk.
Find more information about Google email functions, please check out the Bridges Resource Library’s It’s a Website, It’s an App, It’s an Email Provider… It’s Gmail entry.
Apple (iOS) Calendar
A major roadblock with iOS Calendar is that it does NOT communicate with the iOS Reminders app. For this reason, many have used their Calendar entries as reminders. However, that will change when the iOS 18 is released. On June 10, 2024, Apple announced that, with the iOS 18 update: “Calendar becomes even more helpful by showing both events and tasks from Reminders. Users can create, edit, and complete reminders right from Calendar, and the updated month view provides an overview of events and tasks at a glance.” on its iOS 18 makes iPhone more personal, capable, and intelligent than ever announcement.
There is not yet a release date for iOS 18, but release is expected in July 2024. Given that there are often accessibility bugs associated with updates, please reach out to us at the Bridges Helpdesk for information about the update and its accessibility.
Find more information about iOS email functions, please check out the Bridges Resource Library’s Email on the Go with iOS Mail entry.
Please check out the Bridges Technical Assistance Center Resource Library today!
Contact us
Follow the Bridges Helpdesk Facebook page for more transition tips, and please contact the Bridges Technical Assistance Center’s Free Helpdesk for Maryland Blind/Low Vision Transition Students, Families, and Educators anytime using:
- Our Accessible web form
- Email: Helpdesk@IMAGEmd.org
- Text or Leave a Voice mail message: (410) 357-1546
- Bridges Helpdesk Facebook page or Facebook Messenger
This unique project is being coordinated through The IMAGE Center of Maryland, a center for independent living in Towson, and it is funded by a grant from the Maryland Department of Education Division of Special Education/Early Intervention Services.