This smart wall-mounted calendar can get you organized before the New Year (and it’s on sale)

ZDNET Highlights

• The 15-inch Skylight Calendar is a smart display for $320, while a 10-inch version is available for $160.
• It’s a touchscreen calendar designed with busy lifestyles in mind that allows shared use within the home or team.
• Although it has proven indispensable for my family, I want not just events, but also tasks to appear in the calendar view, and the 15-inch version is expensive at $320.

Getting organized is a never ending battle for me. As a self-proclaimed “organized person,” I like to be in control of my schedule, environment, and everything in between. But every time I manage to get my things in order, something or the other comes back to haunt me, whether it’s a new baby, a new house, or moving out of a country.

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I’ve always preferred pen and paper, so I love my bullet journals and wall calendars. But they are not always with me, and I can never find a pen when I need it. This is why skylight calendar Has made such an impact on my life.

With three small children and a dog running around the house, I often forget who is supposed to go where and what to do at what time. This results in missed doctor’s appointments, which come with missed appointment fees. You also have a variety of hot mess family staples: missing extracurricular classes, being the only child at school without a toy during Share Day, double-booking activities, etc.

To keep me on track I’ve always relied on my wall calendar, a trusty traditional paper calendar that I used to get from Walmart every year. But after moving across the country and buying a new house, starting new jobs, new schools, new doctors and everything new, the paper decorations couldn’t keep up. I’ve forgotten to add events or things I needed to accomplish, and the old ‘out of sight, out of mind’ couldn’t be more accurate.

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Looking for an alternative to my paper calendars, I started testing Skylight Calendar last fall and realized I might never go back.

The Skylight Calendar is a 15-inch smart display that looks like a high-end tablet. It runs an Android-based OS and displays a calendar at all times. The calendar can be placed on a table or shelf, or mounted on a wall. I chose the latter installation method to replace my old wall calendar.

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Using the Skylight app on my phone, I can add events, chores, and dinner plans and create lists for everyone to view on a wall calendar within seconds. Each account also gets a custom Skylight email address that you can give to those who don’t have the app. They can then send the event to that email, which will be added to the calendar almost instantly.

This means that no matter where I am, whether on the phone to the doctor, on the way to school, or at home, I can always send events from my phone to my calendar on my wall.

You may be wondering why you don’t use your phone’s Calendar app? The most important difference between using Skylight Calendar and the calendar on your smartphone is that it is always visible, no matter where you keep it. So the screen displays the calendar all the time except when you schedule it to sleep, which I do every night at 9pm. This makes it a family hub where everyone, even young children who don’t have phones, can see what’s happening and when.

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You’ll be happy to hear that Skylight Calendar also auto-syncs with other popular digital calendars like Google, Outlook, Apple, Cozi, and Yahoo.

When you’re not actively using Skylight Calendar, the screen remains on until sleep is scheduled in whatever calendar view you select. Skylight also allows you to display photos on your calendar when inactive, like a digital picture frame, which requires the Skylight Plus plan, priced at $39 per year. I have just decided to unsubscribe. Still, it’s worth noting that this option also lets you import emails or PDFs to automatically convert them into events on your calendar, which seems quite convenient.

Now, onto the elephant in the room – or the wall. I can’t highlight the price of the Skylight Calendar – not at $320 for the 15-inch model.

The price was the biggest thing that stopped me from purchasing the Skylight Calendar. Since Skylight isn’t the most widely known brand, I was afraid I’d spend so much for a tablet that would die in a year or two when the company stopped supporting it or something happened to it. It’s not like buying a tablet from Apple, Samsung or Amazon, where you know you’ll have to use it for a few years.

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I’ve had my Skylight Calendar for a year and a half and the company continues to grow. The calendar has seen several updates since then, and the company has released a new, larger version.

ZDNET’s shopping advice

Finally, I was lucky enough to get a review unit skylightAnd after using it for a few months, I’m sure I’ll be buying one for myself, even if it costs $320. Skylight also sells 10 inch calendar at $160An excellent choice for small families, couples or individuals, and the silver or white version is on sale for $250 Amazon And best Buythe best deal straight from the skylightWhere it’s discounted by $60 and includes a free month of Skylight Plus until December 1st.

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The most important selling point for Skylight Calendar is that it provides a visual and interactive way to display your calendar and help you get organized. It auto-syncs with your phone’s calendar and allows you to add events from wherever you are, so everyone at home can see them. It has received a lot of attention from visitors to my home, and one of my guests even bought one for himself as soon as he saw it in action.

And with the discounts available now for Black Friday, you can’t avoid getting organized and saving money doing it.