March 22 this year was the first day of Ramadan.
On April 5 Passover begins.
Easter is April 9.
How do I know that? I mean it is tough as these holidays shift around the calendar each year with their respective religious calendars.
But how do I know that?
Am I googling every day?
Nope.
Simple actually. I let the computer tell me.
I use the calendaring functions on my phone and in Outlook. Calendars have numerous add-ins that allow you to layer various holidays onto your calendar.
Here are the ways to do this for some of the more common calendars:
In Outlook:
Select “File”
On the bottom left select “Options”
On the left select “Calendar”
Tap the “Add Holidays” button in the center of the screen
Select the holiday set(s) you wish to add and click “OK”
Click “OK” at the bottom
For the iPhone it is as follows:
Open the calendar app
At the bottom the screen touch “Calendars”
Touch “Add Calendar” at the bottom of the next screen
Select “Add Holiday Calendar”
Choose the Calendar you wish to add and hit done
For Android phone users:
Open the Google calendar app
At the top left tap “Menu” then “Settings”
Tap “Holidays”
The country and region holidays appear
Next to the holiday calendar you’re subscribed to, tap “public holidays” only
At the bottom tap “OK”
(Note: I don’t have an Android so hit up Google if this doesn’t work)
For other calendars just use your search engine of choice.
If you are still using a Tandy 1000…. How are you reading this?
So is this just a nice thing?
Actually no. From a work perspective this has saved my butt numerous times.
When I was running a department, I could help predict when people might be out. This helped me plan backfilling for heavy work times.
I often work with people in other countries. In those instances I add that country’s holidays to my calendar. It helps to understand their local holidays for planning and project management. For example May 8, 2023 is a bank holiday in the United Kingdom for the coronation of King George. So those people you need to get a hold of in London probably won’t be there.
It has been an invaluable exercise to keep my deliveries on schedule. “Does the plan account for the short week in India due to Republic Day (January 26)?”
It is also great for team building. Recognizing teammates have a holiday coming up is a great conversation starter and really surprises people on the zoom call - always a surprised smile.
As always I hope this helps. I look forward to continuing the conversation. Please let me know your thoughts in the comments.
All the best,
Dave Terné
