Google Calendar is one of the most popular calendar apps, allowing users to efficiently organize their schedules. With Google Calendar, you can color code events into different categories to help visually differentiate the various parts of your day. Implementing a color scheme can optimize productivity, reduce stress, and help you focus on priorities. The right colors make all the difference. So how do you develop an effective color coding system? This article will explore tips on using Google Calendar color schemes to neatly organize your professional and personal life.
The Productivity Power of Color Schemes
Color is processed first by our brains, even before we peripherally read words on a page or screen. Capitalizing on this neuroscience, a strategic Google Calendar color scheme helps your brain rapidly differentiate the meaning behind each event. For example, work meetings automatically coded blue might signify productivity and focus. Social outings highlighted yellow may represent fun and relationships. Appointments labeled red could denote urgent priorities.
With a quick glance at your calendar, color elevates comprehension of your upcoming schedule. This boosts efficiency by rapidly communicating meaning, helping you prep your mindset before appointments. Studies show workers are up to 31% more productive when utilizing calendar color coding to shift mindsets between back-to-back meetings requiring different cognitive focuses.
Reduce Stress with Color Categories
Context switching between disparate tasks spikes cortisol and mental fatigue. Visually separating obligations on your calendar eases transitions, reducing anxiety.
Categorizing work, family, exercise, social commitments or any other priorities into separate color schemes clouds on your Google Calendar decreases stress. This lets you fully immerse in the present moment rather than worrying about overlapping obligations.
For example, blocking off work hours blue and private events gray clearly delineates professional versus personal time. Seeing these visually separated color categories creates psychological boundaries, helping you disconnect from distracting responsibilities.
Focusing on One Priority Color at a Time
Limiting your gaze to one color during any given calendar appointment enhances attention and engagement. Suppose you’re in back-to-back meetings - one colored red denoting urgent priority and another colored blue signifying an standard weekly stand up.
Glancing only at the red meeting 30 minutes before start time prompts preparation by aligning your mindset and objectives. During the actual red coded gathering, tuning into solely that event reduces distraction so you can focus completely.
Then, quickly shift attention to the less critical blue meeting when that appointment begins. Using color categories as blinders before and during events helps align the correct levels of attention and energy.
Sample Color Schemes
Now that the productivity power of Google Calendar color codes is clear, here are some sample color schemes to optimize your life:
Work: Blue - Designating work appointments blue elicits feelings of stability, productivity and focus - perfect for professional endeavors.
Health: Green - Categorizing exercise, doctor visits and nutrition related events green brings a sense of growth, nature and rejuvenation.
Family: Yellow - Highlighting kid activities, date nights and family commitments yellow sparks joy and relationships.
Priority: Red - Marking mission-critical deadlines and urgent tasks red commands attention and action. Use this high energy color sparingly.
Personal: Gray - Sectioning off personal time gray sets healthy boundaries and elicits introspection.
Of course, you can customize color schemes in endless ways across professional and personal realms tailored to your objectives. Be creative with colors and notices how this visually optimizes your calendar.
Integrating Supernormal for Frictionless Productivity
In addition to implementing color schemes, there are other surefire ways to use your calendar more productively - like implementing Supernormal. Supernormal seamlessly integrates with your Google Calendar, to join your meetings and take detailed notes. And with Supernormal's Zapier integration, it can connect to your Google calendar to pin your meeting notes directly inside the corresponding meeting invite. This creates a meeting repository with all the data that comes out of your meetings right in your calendar.
In summary, implementing color schemes in your Google Calendar boosts comprehension of your schedule, aligns energy levels for appointments and sets mental boundaries across life’s demands. Experiment with color coding work, family, health, personal time and any other priority events. See how this visually optimizes your calendar into an intuitive tool. Then integrate Supernormal to effortlessly take notes and store them in your calendar.
When applied together, Google Calendar color codes and Supernormal offer life-changing productivity superpowers, helping you make the most of every moment. Explore calendar colors and take back control of your precious time!