Most users barely tap into the full potential of Google Calendar. They miss meetings, encounter scheduling conflicts, and feel overwhelmed by too many events. If you use Google Calendar to manage work tasks, personal plans, or long-term goals, here are some tips to help you get the most from it.
1 Create Events Straight From Gmail
Every meeting begins with an email. Imagine how helpful it would be to easily convert emails into calendar events. Well, Gmail lets you do that. This feature automatically extracts details like date, time, location, and more and adds them to Google Calendar. You can then edit the event details to make adjustments.
To create an event, open the email with the meeting details in Gmail, click the three vertical dots in the top left, and select “Create Event.” This will open a new event window in Google Calendar. From there, you can correct any errors, add more participants, and make other changes. Once you’re finished, click “Save.”
2 Show a Secondary Time Zone
If you work remotely with a team spread across different time zones, scheduling meetings can be difficult due to the time difference. To make this easier, Google Calendar lets you display a secondary time zone, showing the times for multiple locations, which helps you coordinate with people in different parts of the world.
To enable the secondary time zone, click the gear icon in the top-right corner and select “Settings.” Next, go to the “Time Zone” tab under General, check the box for “Display Secondary Time Zone,” and choose the time zone you want to display. You’ll now see two time columns in the time axis of Google Calendar, showing the times for both time zones.
3 Set Multiple Event Notifications
Have you ever received a reminder only to forget about it and miss the meeting or deadline? To avoid this, you can set up multiple notifications for an event to be reminded at different intervals. This will help you stay on top of your schedule.
To enable multiple notifications for events on a specific calendar, click the gear icon in the top-right corner of Google Calendar. Select the calendar you want to modify, then navigate to “Event Notifications.” Click the “Add Notification” button and choose how far in advance you’d like to receive additional reminders.
4 Transfer Ownership of an Event
Have you ever created an event but later had to step away, asking someone else to recreate the event? There’s no need for that! Google Calendar allows you to transfer event ownership. The new owner can then manage invites, make changes, and send updates to attendees without starting from scratch.
To transfer ownership, open the event in Google Calendar, click the three vertical dots, select “Change Owner,” enter the new owner’s email, and click “Change Owner.” The new owner doesn’t need to be listed as a guest for the transfer to occur. You can hand over ownership to anyone as long as you have their email address.
5 Dim Past Events for Clarity
One way to reduce clutter in Google Calendar is by dimming past events. By lowering the brightness of events that have already occurred, you can easily distinguish them from upcoming events. This lets you focus on what’s next. This is particularly helpful when managing a busy schedule or a large team with events filling every time slot.
To dim past events, click the gear icon in the top-right corner and go to “View Options” under General. Then, check the box next to “Reduce the Brightness of Past Events.” Once an event has passed, it will automatically dim, giving you a visual cue to prepare for your next event.
6 Keep Your Personal Events Private
We all have personal appointments to manage amidst our busy work schedules. We need to add these to Google Calendar to prevent others from accidentally scheduling meetings during personal time, which could lead to conflicts. However, you may not want others to see the details of these events. Fortunately, Google Calendar has a solution.
You can set your personal events to private, allowing others to see the time and title but not the details. To make an event private, simply adjust its visibility settings when creating or editing it. Click on the event, click the pencil icon to edit it, and select “Private” from the dropdown menu above the description box.
7 Add Events With Voice Commands
With Google Assistant, you can quickly add events to Google Calendar using voice commands. This is a simple and convenient way to schedule appointments while on the go, saving you time and effort. On Android, long-tap the home button to open Google Assistant or Gemini, the new AI-powered assistant.
Then, you can say, “I want to add an event to Google Calendar,” and it will prompt you for event details, such as the title, time, participants, and more. Once you provide the information, it automatically adds the event. If you’re creating an event for the first time, you might be asked to connect the assistant to Google Workspace, unless you’ve already done so.
8 Link Google Calendar With Other Apps
To get the most out of Google Calendar, link it with other apps you use, such as Slack, Google Keep, and Zoom. This allows these apps to access your schedule automatically and update your status accordingly. For example, if you have a meeting scheduled, Slack will automatically show your status as “In Meeting,” so you won’t have to update it manually.
The integration process varies depending on the app. For example, to add it to Slack, open Slack, click “Add Apps,” and search for Google Calendar. Once you find it, click “Google Calendar” in the search results, and it will be added to Slack automatically. If you want to integrate Calendar with another app, go to the app’s website for detailed instructions.
9 Master Google Calendar Keyboard Shortcuts
Google Calendar offers a range of shortcuts that can help you schedule, edit, and manage events quickly. Instead of navigating through menus, you can use simple keyboard shortcuts like pressing “C” to create a new event, “Q” for the quick event creation window, and “G” to jump to a specific date.
The best part is that you don’t have to memorize these shortcuts—just press the “?” key, and Google Calendar will display a list of all available shortcuts.
Google Calendar is a powerful tool for organizing your day and scheduling events. To make the most of it, you must remember the tips above. Planning everything in advance on Google Calendar helps reduce stress and boosts your productivity. When used smartly, you’ll never miss a deadline again!