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The Calendar Trick That Changed How I Mark Maybes

A simple idea from Merlin Mann, a fight with Apple Calendar, and the double dashes I use today

Not a Medium member? This post can also be read on my blog.

This week I wrote about Merlin Mann’s Wisdom Project where the Father of 43-Folders shares life lessons he has learned — often through painful experience.

One of them is an intriguing tip for uncertain calendar events:

• Your calendar represents a portfolio of promises to your future self. Treat it that way.

• Thus: The only events allowed on a serious person’s calendar are commitments about time, location, and effort that will die if they are not successfully completed on a specific day. Full stop.

• Corollary: If you’re only tentatively committed to a calendar item — especially if the time of the event has not been mutually confirmed — title the event using Spanish-language questions marks. A future event like “¿Pick apples with Aunt Sue?” successfully blocks out the time while also affording a quickly scannable reminder about events that still need to either be formalized or deleted.