I have a calendar life that is complicated, so I use BusyCal and Google Calendar. I keep two different browsers open to avoid some confusion.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
You are right that I don't have a lot of spare time because I love to stay busy and keep my calendar full.
At the end of each year, I sit on the floor and go page by page through the old calendar, inking annual events into the new one, all the while watching my year in 'dinner withs' skate by. When I'm done, I save the old calendar in the box of the new one and put it with the others on a shelf.
Even before I had an assistant, my calendar was color-coded and I had all these different e-mail rules for how to prioritize e-mails, so I made it a point years ago to figure all that stuff out because my life was a mess.
You have to calendar time for yourself even if you have no idea what you're going to do with it.
I'm trying to leave more of my calendar open for the spontaneous things. A lot of fun stuff that happened in previous years were things that were like, 'Hey are you available next week?' I wasn't really open unless it was planned months in advance. I'm excited to play it by ear and let a lot of stuff happen as it happens.
Balancing family and work is a top priority for me, and I treat it as such. Meaning, I actually put specific family time and events in my calendar so that precious time is dedicated and properly blocked off from any work that may try to sneak its way into my schedule.
My best tip: Create re-occurring calendar events for your exercise times. When a conflict arises, it forces you to consciously choose work over exercise, and often you'll find you have time for both.
I never got into using my phone's calendar. It's easier to write in my Tiffany day planner. There's something charming about having a datebook.
I use the default iOS calendar app. I've tried others, but it's my favorite, and I can't live without it. If it's not on my calendar, I'm not aware of it, whatever it is.
I use a really simple calendar program on my computer.