How to Make Desk Calendars

Desk calendars are a functional space for professionals or home organizers to keep track of appointments and special events in a neat and easy to update location. Usually large enough to quickly skim for a week's event, the desk calendar is frequently just a bit smaller than the work space and often discovered at the bottom of a pile of other stuff. Making your own desk calendar can save you money and allow you to put a creative flair to your functional tool. A great desk calendar will make you want to keep your workspace neat and tidy.

Instructions

1. 

   Decide what style desk calendar you want. You can choose a weekly desk calendar or a monthly desk calendar dependent upon your schedule and needs. Monthly calendars give you less space for appointments. Therefore, someone with a very intense schedule may need a weekly desk calendar.

2. Open your word processing or desktop publishing program. Open a calendar template by selecting the style and background from available templates. If your word processing software does not have a calendar template, you can usually find one online from the manufacturer.

3. 

   Select the calendar set up you prefer. Weekly or monthly calendars work best for a desk calendar so that you can plan ahead and see what appointments you have coming up.

4. 

   Select the months that you want to have on hand. I suggest printing out the next six months so that you can write appointments in immediately on your new desk calendar. Type in your current appointments and then simply write the new ones in.

5. 

   Add some graphics. Mark any birthday or holiday by inserting clip art into your desk calendar; for example, you might add a birthday cake or gift for birthdays and a shamrock for St. Patrick's Day.

6. Print out your calendars. Print calendars from your home or office color printer so that important dates stand out as you intended in your software. Print on a high quality setting so that your calendar is easy to read for months.

7. Place your calendar under a clear plastic desk mat. Clear plastic desk protectors work great to keep your calendars clean and crisp, and still accessible. You can fit up to four months on your desk if you choose, or keep the upcoming months under the current month for an easy change-out.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep an electronic calendar updated on your computer to make quick references easy and updatable.

• Don't run out of ink. Always check ink levels before printing out your calendars so that your calendars are dark enough to be functional.

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish
• freedownloadscenter.com
• calendarhome.com