The Calendar App That Saved Our Marriage!
TimeTree: A Free App In a Not-So-Free World
Okay, so this title might be a bit exaggerated, but I can’t exaggerate enough how great this calendar app truly is. When my wife and I were in our pre-marriage counseling, the pastor told us that as we got more established and had kids our schedule would get crazy. He was the first person to recommend a shared calendar. He recommended an app called TimeTree. There are several reasons why this calendar app is amazing. One, it’s free with no needed subscriptions. In our world, this is unheard of, am I right? This was especially important when we were newlyweds because we didn’t have much extra to spend, especially on a calendar.
The Basics
Let's go ahead and knock out what this calendar does well. For starters, the app has an intuitive design that makes navigating your calendar very easy. You can even create multiple calendars to separate work and personal life; there is also a “masterview” to see all of your calendars at once. There is a nice color coding option for when you are adding events (my wife and I have a very simple code: pink are her things, and blue are my things). Also, when you are scheduling an event, you can easily add comments or a description.
Furthermore, you can add as many people as you would like to each calendar. And when you add something, everyone gets a notification. Each night, you receive a “glance at tomorrow” reminder; every morning, you get a “this is what your day looks like” reminder. This feature has saved my butt more than a few times!
Lastly, for each event, you can “invite” others on the calendar as an extra reminder. You can even attach pictures to events. I haven’t found a good use for this feature, but you may have the perfect one in mind. (If you do, please comment at the end of the article and let me know.)
More Than Just A Calendar
There are a lot of free calendar apps. You may be asking, why is this the best option? If you asked that question, 1) great question and 2) I have the answer for you! TimeTree is more than just a calendar app, so much more. Where this app levels up is the extra features.
Let's start with memos. In its primal form, this is just a shared, note-taking section. But it’s also so much more. Here are a few examples of how my wife and I use this feature. It has been extremely helpful. One, we use it to keep a running document with family addresses, especially those we may not always remember. Two, we have a shared grocery list. So, if one of us stops by Kroger on our way home, we don’t both accidentally buy half a gallon of milk. Three, we have a shared financial goals note, reminding us of of what we are saving for. Finally, we have a shared note for recipes, which we will randomly add throughout the week.
But there’s more. The icing on the top is a little plus icon at the bottom of the screen. When you click this button you get a couple of options: you can create a normal calendar entry or you can create an entry with your camera. Say you are out somewhere and see a flyer or at church and see an announcement; you can quickly take out your phone and snap a picture (either on your phone or in TimeTree). Once you do, TimeTree will create a calendar entry based on the information in the picture. I was blown away when I realized this was an option!
Enough of me talking about it. Go give TimeTree a try!