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Create Your Own: Washi Tape + Whiteboard Calendar

Create Your Own: Washi Tape + Whiteboard Calendar

I don't usually post a lot of DIY projects or tutorials in this space, but I've been spending a lot of time trying to get my world a bit more organized as of late. So, I thought I'd share!

This whiteboard calendar is super simple to create and—I'm telling you—it has made juggling multiple freelance projects and editorial calendars much more manageable! 

Create Your Own: Washi Tape + Whiteboard Calendar

Materials:

  • Whiteboard (I bought a board similar to this one)
  • Washi tape (I used 5/8" tape like this)
  • Ruler (to measure out your columns and rows)
  • White board pen (it comes with the whiteboard)
  • Post-it notes (I use three different colors) to manage your different deadlines and events
Create Your Own: Washi Tape + Whiteboard Calendar
Create Your Own: Washi Tape + Whiteboard Calendar

The first step is deciding how many weeks you want to display and whether or not you want to display the month. If you plan to have more than one whiteboard, you may want to build in a small area to note the month as it will help you see everything with a quick glance.

Since I knew I'd only have room for one large whiteboard calendar, I decided to leave out the month and add in extra spaces so I could show the first week or so of the following month. So, I broke the board into seven rows—one tiny row to display the days of the week at the top and six larger rows to account for each week I wanted to display—and seven equally-sized columns for each day of the week.

Once you've decided, just get to measuring and taping! Many whiteboards come with a warning against using adhesives (like tape and post-its) on the surface, but I knew I'd be using the whiteboard specifically for this purpose and didn't see an issue with it.

You will want to follow the hanging instructions that come with the whiteboard, however. You don't want all of your hard work to come tumbling down!

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And there you have it!

I've been using this system in conjunction with my google calendar (I've decided that I'm no good at using paper monthly planners) to manage my crazy list of deadlines, meetings, appointments, travel schedules and editorial calendars for the last several months and it's been great. I will say it can be overwhelming to have this bird's-eye view of 30-40 days worth of stuff, but overall it's been working for me.

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So, what type of organization system do you use to stay on task and on schedule?