Regain a bit of privacy at work

I rely on my iPhone to keep me organized. Pop-up reminders of upcoming appointments, meetings, and tasks keep me on track each day. I've chosen to integrate, rather than separate, my personal and professional lives. So my appointments for doctor's visits and jogs in the Arboretum go into my Outlook calendar, and my phone reminds me of them all. I've cracked the corny joke a few times that if my iPhone told me to jump off a bridge, I'd probably look around for the nearest one.

If you're choosing this work-life integration strategy, you might not want to disclose your upcoming podiatry appointment to your colleagues. Here's a quick tip to ensure that you are keeping your personal stuff out of work. From the File tab, open your Outlook Options and select Calendar. Click on Free/Busy Options ... and set your Permission Level to Free/Busy time. This will allow your colleagues to see when you are available without the details of what you might be working on at that time.

Colleagues in a previous job made fun of me for entering "take vitamins" as a reminder in my calendar. I agree it's a bit obsessive, but you wouldn't believe the streak I'm on taking my vitamins thanks to the alert. So go ahead, fill your calendar up with little reminders, and enjoy your organization transformation.