What is the Trident Calendar System? (How Does it Work?)

Do you find it difficult to organize your tasks and goals throughout the year? Or, do you want to achieve a goal for yourself but don’t know where to start? I do, too.

Recently, I stumbled upon the Trident Calendar System.

You might be thinking, “Oh, the same old calendar trick again?”

Yes, it is a calendar trick. But this one is different.

It’s just not about filling your calendar with to-do lists one day at a time. It’s a calendar system that can help you build your ideal year, week, and day.

With this productivity method, you can outline all the things you need for the year. And you don’t need to worry about messing it up along the way.

Looks promising, right?

So what is the Trident calendar system? Keep reading to learn more.

What is the Trident Calendar System?

So what is the Trident Calendar System? It’s a three-way time management method developed by Ali Abdaal. And with this system, you can effectively plan your schedule for the year, week and day as ideally as you wish.

And why will it be your “ideal” schedule? That’s because you’ll arrange your tasks based on what you want to focus on. 

By planning your ideal year, you will also need to arrange your ideal week for each month. And in turn, you will need to organize your tasks for each day. Your daily routine will also be arranged the way you want it. It’s like building a Lego castle!

You won’t be more productive if you keep a schedule with no plans ahead. What’s worse is you might get disoriented in a sudden emergency without any preparation. But with the Trident Calendar System, you will be motivated to achieve your goal, one task at a time. 

With that, let’s talk about how you can use the Trident Calendar System.

How to Use the Trident Calendar System?

The Trident Calendar System approaches time management in three steps. These steps called ‘prongs’ ensure that it can detail your whole year’s planning. 

All these three prongs are important in setting your tasks and goals for the year. They are as follows:

Plan Your Ideal Year

The first prong is to plan your ideal year. It helps you see the big picture of what you’re planning for the whole year. 

In the calendar template that Abdaal made for 2024, he divided the columns into 12 for the 12 months of the year and 31 rows for the days each month. With this, you get to see your year at a glance. The weekends are highlighted for you. 

You mark all the important events throughout the year and all the tasks you need to do.

Here is an example of an ideal 6 months:

You can scale down the whole spreadsheet to see an overview of your year.

Plan Your Ideal Week

The second prong is to plan your ideal week. Abdaal suggests you use a Google Calendar for this, but you can use other calendar tools, too. 

Take the monthly overview of your tasks, and break it down into weekly tasks. Of course, you should put time blocks for the constant activities.

Plan Your Ideal Day

The third prong is to plan your ideal day. Basically, you just follow what is in your calendar. On the weekend before, try to look at your calendar to prepare and make adjustments if needed.

This is where you take control of your main priorities: work, health, and relationships. By doing this, you’ll be able to focus on more important tasks and make more time for other activities.

Abdaal also recommends defining three daily quests. In the three most important parts of your life, you should have three quests that you’re doing everyday.

Benefits of the Trident Calendar System

Here are some benefits of the Trident calendar system:

• It will help you achieve your goals in YOUR TIME. Implementing this technique can give you a clear vision of your plans. It prepares you for some obstacles and challenges as well.
• You can achieve work-life balance and be more productive by organizing your tasks with efficiency. By arranging your schedule the way you want it to work, finishing them will be comfortable for you.
• When you set your priorities, you can also have more time for yourself and other activities. You can focus more on tasks that need more or less time on each time slot you allot for any event.
• Your productivity also benefits greatly when you implement this method consistently. Follow a well-laid plan for each day, week and year. It lessens unnecessary hassle and gives you direction.
• As you continue with this regimen, you also reduce stress and anxiety as you focus on each task every day. When you have a clear schedule to follow, you don’t need to worry about what comes next.
• One of the best things about this system is the control you have over the goals you wish to achieve. It may sound daunting at first. But as you continue to visualize what you want, drawing up a daily, weekly and yearly plan will be easy.

Drawbacks of the Trident Calendar System

Meanwhile, here are the drawbacks for the Trident calendar system:

• You might find this method more challenging. This could be a challenge if you’re a full-time employee, with a hectic and rigid schedule.
• It’s also quite hard if you’re used to a full-time schedule. You might find using this technique seem hard for you. This is especially true if you change careers to freelance or part-time work.
• If you use the traditional calendar system, it might also take a while before you can adjust to this method.
• You might experience some abrupt situations the first time you apply this technique. Situations like medical emergencies, and natural disasters might discourage you from keeping up with your plans.

Trident Calendar System (FAQs)

What to Do Next?

What better way to learn something new than to apply it?

The Trident method is a great way to start the year with productivity and efficiency. And the best way to do it is by planning ahead.

By sticking to your plans and tasks that you’ve laid for the whole year, you’ll see how much time you have and maximize it for your own growth and comfort.

If you would like the Ali Abdaal’s Trident Calendar System template, you can download it on this link for free.