Pastors are busy people. From making hopsital visits, church business, outreach, the ministering of the flock, a pastor’s time is spread thin many times over. During this thin times, we often forget to do something that we promised to do or were asked to do. People do forgive, but as a pastor, we ought to strive for a better answer than well they’ll forgive me.

I’m starting a new series entitled “Getting Organized” that we hopefully help you establish a little bit of order to your life both at the church level and the personal level. It will be a weekly series and will come out by the end of the week. It will help provided ideas for you to get organized as a pastor, christian worker, missionary, etc.

One way that can be done is maintaining a calendar of your appointments. Maybe you are thinking I’m doing that now and it is not working for me. Well, that is why I would like to to recommend Google Calendar to you. I have used “gCal” for some time and it is an effective and efficient way of organizing your daily schedule.

Let’s first take a look at how to setup a Google calendar. If you have a Gmail account, you’re a step ahead in the game. If not, go ahead and visit this page to setup your Google Account. Once your account is setup, you should be take to your Gmail email account page. Look at the top left corner of the Gmail webpage. There is a row of links and one of them should say Calendar. (If not click on more, and select Calendar).

The next page will be some basic setup to your Google Calendar. You will need to select your time zone, country, and enter your name first and last. (This should already be done for you). Click Continue.

You should now see your Google Calendar. Rather simple isn’t it. Next time we will look at adding events and some tips and tricks to adding your events. For now, I will leave you with a list of features of Google Calendar for you below.

Features

Calendar Sharing: Set up a calendar for your company softball team, and share it with the whole roster. (Your shortstop will never forget about practice again.) Or share with friends and family so you can view each other's schedules side by side.

Invitations: Create event invitations, send them to friends, and keep track of people's responses and comments, all in one place. Your friends can receive your invitation and post responses even if they don't use Google Calendar themselves.

Quick Add: Click anywhere on your calendar where an event belongs (or use the Quick Add link), and start typing. Google Calendar understands whole phrases like "Brunch with mom at Java Cafe 11am on Saturday," and will pop new events right into your agenda.

Gmail Integration: Add your friend's Super Bowl party to your calendar without ever leaving your Gmail inbox. Gmail now recognizes events mentioned in emails.

Search: Find the date of the Baxter family BBQ (you knew it was sometime this summer). Or, search public calendars to discover new events you're interested in and add them to your own calendar.

Mobile Access: Receive event reminders and notifications on your mobile phone.

Event Publishing: Share your organization's events with the world. Learn more with our Event Publisher Guide.