The Twenty Minute Day

Taking time to get ahead of my scheduling

For years, I relied on Facebook to tell me when my friends birthday’s were. For years this process worked really well for me.

These days I find myself on the platform less and less and often go specifically just to check on upcoming birthday’s to make sure I don’t miss them.

To reclaim this time, and proactively get ahead of gifts, cards or whichever form of appreciation makes sense, I have transferred the birthday’s over to my everyday phone calendar.

While many of you may have made this switch years ago, for me, it marked a significant evolution in my time management and is transforming me into a more attentive friend. Now, I actively reach out early to suggest a birthday coffee or dinner. While I will still participate in the brief Facebook messages that have become commonplace, I know that when it matters, that other plans are already in place.

How long does this take to do?

It’s something that can easily be done in an evening or two (depending on how extensive your list is).

And what surprised me was how much I enjoyed transferring the information over.

It was like going through a time capsule. There are many people in my Facebook connections that I haven’t seen in years. Seeing their birthday’s often brought a smile to my face.

How to start:

I started by clicking the last birthday reminder that Facebook sent me under notifications. It took me to a page of Birthdays.

Under Birthdays I was able to then see any Birthday’s Today, Recent and Upcoming.

As mentioned, I enjoyed scrolling through the list and adding in the birthday’s to my phone’s calendar. This also allowed me to be selective in who I added.

Let’s face it; while there are many people we’d like to wish a happy birthday to, some contacts have long drifted out of our circles. I’m happy to keep seeing them on Facebook, but they don’t all make it onto my new birthday tracker.

This small trick makes me feel more organized, saves me time when it comes to running around for last minute plans and hopefully makes me a better friend!