Avoiding Irish Premier League schedule conflicts? Simple tips and planner ideas.

Man, I love watching the Irish Premier League, but holy moly keeping track of all those match schedules was driving me nuts! I’d constantly double-book myself or miss kickoffs. Last month I missed Shamrock Rovers vs Derry City because it clashed with my niece’s birthday party – total disaster. My wife gave me that “I told you so” look for weeks.

The Paper Calendar Debacle

First I tried this old-school paper calendar, right? Bought this fancy soccer-themed planner and everything. I sat down with team fixture lists and started handwriting match dates in different colored pens – home games in blue, away games in red. Looked real pretty until… Dublin City vs Shelbourne got rescheduled and suddenly my whole calendar looked like a toddler’s coloring book with all the scribbles. Total waste of two evenings.

Spreadsheet Mayhem

Next I figured I’d go digital with a spreadsheet. Made columns for match dates, teams, kickoff times – even added conditional formatting so conflicting matches turned red. Seemed smart until I realized I had to manually update every freaking reschedule on my phone while commuting. Almost dropped my sandwich updating the Sligo Rovers postponement! Plus I kept forgetting to check the darn thing.

Finally cracked it when I discovered calendar blocking on my phone:

My Simple Fix Routine

• Created separate calendars – one for work stuff, one for family, and new “SOCCER” calendar
• Set alerts two hours before every match (gives me time to finish chores)
• Color-coded by team – Bohs in green, St Pats in black
• Told my wife to dump events directly into our shared calendar

Now if fixtures change? Easy! Just swipe and drag those calendar blocks around while waiting for my coffee. Takes two seconds and my whole week reshuffles automatically. Best part? When work tried scheduling Friday meetings at match times, my phone straight-up tells me “NOPE time conflict” with that satisfying red highlight.

Still nearly messed up last week though – almost scheduled grocery shopping during the Dundalk match. But then my calendar buzzed my wrist like a mini referee whistle. Saved me from another domestic showdown! My planner’s ugly as sin now with all the colors, but hey – caught every single game this season. Might buy that niece extra birthday presents to make up for last time…