Google Calendar comes as a part of Gmail account. It’s a time management and scheduling tool offered by Google and is free of cost to start with. The app allows you to quickly schedule meetings, add events, create reminders and share calendars with other users. Calendar app is useful for individuals and teams alike and allows scheduling via web and mobile with sync in place.
There are tons of features within Google calendar and in this article, we share 10 Google Calendar tips to get the maximum out of the tool and get productive.
To start with Google Calendar, no advanced steps are required as long as you have a Gmail address. Simply go to the Calendar app and you are all set to use it. For new users, a Google account setup is necessary.
Google Calendar Tips to get Maximum out of the App
Share your Calendar
To share your calendar, open the Calendar app on the desktop. Hover over the three dots under My calendars. Select ‘Settings and sharing. From the upcoming screen – scroll down to the Share with specific people section. You can add people via their email addresses and set their permissions.
Create Multiple Calendars for Different Things
Create multiple calendars and organize your things to do and events under one calendar view. For example, a national holidays calendar to which you can subscribe. If the calendar is selected – you will see associated entries for that calendar within the same view. To add a new calendar, hit ‘+‘ under Other calendars and select ‘create new calendar’. Define a name, and description and set a time zone to create and save a new calendar.
Set Calendar Event Location
Add location to your events or meeting. This comes in handy if you use Google maps as the event will connect you to the map and eventually you can get directions. Add meeting location from the event or by editing an existing event.
Email Event Guests
You can email all guests of a created event by opening the event from the Calendar view. Click the Email guests icon and a message modal will show up. Guests will receive event information as a part of the email message. You can add or remove emails from this screen.
Schedule a Call and Create a Google Meet link
Google Meet is a free video-conferencing app for Google users. It’s tied with different plans similar to all other apps from the same platform. You can easily create a Google Meet link within Google Calendar by creating an event. Head over to our detailed article on scheduling a call using Google Meet and Calendar to find more.
Automatically add a Google Meet link to every Invite Being created
By default, you have to manually click to add a Google Meet link to an event during the creation process. But it can be automated via a single check so that every meeting has a video conferencing link added on its own. To enable it – select the ‘gear icon’ and go into settings. Scroll to Event settings and check Automatically add Google Meet video conferences to events I create.
Add Holidays To Google Calendar View
You can easily add religious or national holidays to Google calendar. These entries will be visible on the calendar view as long as the calendar is selected (for example Holidays in Canada).
To do so – click the ‘+‘ next to Other calendars. Now select Browse calendars of interest. You can add the birthdays of your contacts, regional holidays, global religious holidays, and sports.
Enable World Clock and View Different Timezones
Set different timezones and enable world clock for easier scheduling within Google Calendar
To do so – navigate to Google Calendar settings by selecting the ‘gear icon’ and go to settings. Timezone is the second option available from General. You can set a primary and secondary time zone. World clock can be enabled separately.
Add Tasks to the Calendar
To add a task to Calendar, click create from Calendar view and select Task. Add details, set a time and save it. You can also set repetitive tasks.
Change Calendar Event Owners
If you have created an event but your presence is optional for the meeting- changing the owner of the event will be a great call. This would enable more controls for the one hosting the call such as recording the call. To change owner, select event from Calendar view and click the three dots. Click Change owner to define the new owner.
Define Working Hours
If you are sharing your calendar within contacts or groups – it will be good to define working hours. To working hours on Google Calendar select the ‘gear icon’ (top right) and go into settings. From Working Hours enable the feature and also set your working times for each day to let others know your availability.
Working hours options will be dependent on your Google plan.
Add Attachments to Events
Add notes and attachments to your meeting invites beforehand. You can attach items from Google Drive (with the associated Gmail account) or upload them from your machine. Add attachments while creating the event type or add them after creating the event by simply editing it.
Use Desktop Notifications or Alerts
To enable notification – select the ‘gear icon’ (top right) and go into settings. Desktop notifications and alerts are two options to select from, the third one being off.
- Desktop notifications – send notifications outside of your web browser. The calendar must be open to use this.
- Alerts – appear inside your Google Calendar tab or window.
You can customize notifications for each calendar separately. Navigate to Settings of Calendar by selecting the three dots and Settings and sharing.
Go Mobile With Calendar App
Download the Calendar app on your mobile devices and stay in sync with your calendars.
Connect Calendar with Other Apps
Any event details which arrive with your Gmail address will automatically get added to Google Calendar. A good example is a hotel booking or a flight itinerary. You can also connect Google Calendar with other apps and the list is quite massive based on the need. Slack, a famous messaging platform has an app available in the app directory which is integrated with Google Calendar. Calendly a scheduling automation platform is another great example.
In conclusion, if you are a Gmail user, Google calendar can be of great benefit. It helps with the time management, scheduling and organization of different event types and tasks. In short a great scheduling assistant.
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