A Kindness Calendar for the year is an incredibly heartwarming and effective way to incorporate a little more goodness into our lives. It’s a great reminder to spread kindness, think of others, and be the best version of ourselves. In the following post we’ll walk you through how to create your own Kindness Calendar and share some tips for making it as impactful as possible.
Getting Started: Planning Your Kind Calendar
Step 1: Decide On A Format: Physical vs. Digital
Physical Calendars: These can be more desirable for those that need something tangible. You can use a wall calendar, a planner, or create your own calendar in a notebook. Get creative by adorning it with stickers, drawings, and unforgettable quotes to make it more engaging.
Digital Calendars: For those that need constant reminders or love tech, consider using cloud calendar options. You can use apps like Google Calendar or even Trello, a project management tool that allows you to add daily entries. These are great because they can go with you wherever you go and are very adjustable.
Step 2: Set Your Kindness Goals
Before you actually get started on creating this calendar, sit down and try to determine what you hope to achieve. Do you want to confine your acts of kindness to just family and friends? Would you rather them extend into your community, or even the world? This is something that you need to determine in advance because the more clarity that you can give on what you’d like to accomplish, the more you can guide your actions.
Step 3: Plan Your Acts of Kindness
Begin easy with a way to measure, not daily, but a bunch of achievable acts of kindness. This can range from returning a heartfelt message to a friend, to spending half of a weekend volunteering at a local charity or even small things like simply giving strangers a smile. As you start to become more comfortable with it, this is when you’re going to intersperse you calendar with bigger and essential acts of kindness.
How to Create an Effective Kindness Calendar
Be Realistic: Make sure your goals are achievable. If daily acts of kindness seem daunting, start with weekly or bi-weekly acts.
Include Varied Acts of Kindness: Combine small acts of kindness that can be performed immediately with those that require more planning and time. This will keep the calendar interesting and manageable.
Bring Others Into the Fold: Encourage your family or friends to develop their own Kindness Calendars. Sharing ideas and experiences with others can be extremely fulfilling.
Reflect: At the end of each month, take some time to think about the acts of kindness you’ve performed. Such reflection can be a source of joy and inspiration for future acts.
Ideas for Your Kindness Calendar
For Individuals: Compliment someone, leave a generous tip at a restaurant or cafe, write three thank-you notes, donate to a charity, or spend time with someone who might be lonely.
For the Community: Participate in a local clean-up, donate blood, shop at a local business, volunteer at your local food bank or animal shelter. Its myriad ideas are yours for the taking!
For the Environment: Pick up litter, install birdhouses in your neighborhood, plant a tree, switch to a plastic-free alternative, start composting, adopt a piece of parkland or wildlife near you.
Creating Your Calendar: A Step-by-Step Guide
Monthly Themes: Give each month a theme to keep things engaging. For example, January could be acts of self-kindness, while February could focus on acts of love towards other.
Fill in Your Acts of Kindness: Fill your calendar with specific acts of kindness for that month to fit with your themes. Make sure to mix it up so everything doesn’t need to be a grandiose effort.
Set Reminders: If you’re using a digital calendar, set reminders for your acts of kindness. If you’re using a physical calendar, put it somewhere obvious so it reminds you each day.
Track Your Progress: Create a system to cancel out completed acts of kindness. Whether it’s as simple as adding a sticker to the box, or you plan to just check it off.
A Template for Your Kindness Calendar
January (Self-care and Self-kindness):
- Start a gratitude journal
- Compliment yourself
- Commit 30 minutes to ‘you’ time
February (Acts of Love Towards Others):
- Send an appreciation text to a friend.
- Make dinner for your friends or family.
- Donate to a local food bank.
- Volunteer at a local animal shelter.
- Pay it forward and treat someone behind you in line.
- Organize a community clean-up.
The rest is up to you! Your kindness calendar should feel uniquely…you. Continue this template for each month, tailoring the acts of kindness to your personal goals and aspirations.
Conclusion
Creating a Kindness Calendar is a fulfilling project that can significantly impact your life and the lives of those around you. By planning and committing to acts of kindness, we can spread positivity and foster a sense of community. At Kind Apparel Crew, we’re all about making the world a better place, one small act of kindness at a time. Get together with your best friends and make creating a kindness calendar a group activity!