Automate your Calendar notifications

You like meeting people. You like inviting people. But you don't like being drowned in semi-automatic calendar messages that make your inbox even more stressful to look at.

I use a system to attach helpful icons to calendar notifications. That way I can quickly archive the unimportant ones and focus on what really needs my attention.

This is an extension of Docs notifications and uses the same technique - just for Calendar notifications. They are complementary, feel free to use everything together.

This will not help you reduce the numbers of meetings and your Calendar overload. But it will help you get through your email faster!

Time to get a handle on those all notifications overcrowding your inbox

This is where we will end up. One glance lets you tell apart all of those notifications.

Preparation: Categories

Just as for Docs notifications, I consider three categories of importance. I am lazy, so I go by "how bad will I look if I miss this":

☝️ Action required. I will look like somebody who cannot even control his own calendar.
💬 New information. I will look distracted.
✓ For your information. Nobody cares. Normally these go to the archive unread.

I create 3 categories these icons, as you will see. Grey background to be easy on the eye, but pick any colors you like.

Also I think these icons look both discrete and nice - feel free to choose other icons or use fancy stars!

Decision: How I categorize notifications

Not all Calendar notifications are equally important. Here are all the different types and the importance I give them:

☝️ new invitation
☝️ changed invitation (this resets my RSVP status)
☝️ proposed a new time
💬 reacted to an invitation with manual response
✓ accepted, tentatively accepted or declined
✓ canceled event
✓ updated an invitation without anything meaningful (here's how you avoid sending these)

Execution: The filter

Translating the categorization decisions into filter language:

☝️ (subject:("Invitation" -"Updated OR Accepted") (invite.ics OR invite.vcs))
☝️ (subject:("Updated invitation:") {("When Changed:")})
☝️ (subject:("Proposed new time: ") -{("Re: " OR "Fwd:")})
💬 (subject:("Accepted:" OR "Canceled event" OR "Declined: " OR "Updated") {("with this note:")} -{("When Changed:")}
✓ (subject:("Accepted:" OR "Canceled event" OR "Declined: " OR "Updated") -{("with this note:" OR "When Changed:")}

Creating the filter

Open mail.google.com
Go to Settings > filters and blocked addresses
Create a new filter.
Paste the filter above (everything between the brackets, including the brackets! Everything written in this font) into the field "Has the words"
Click "Create filter" instead of searching. If you are asked "Confirm creating filter?" and something about special characters, click OK.
Open the filter menu again (using the "down" arrow) if not already open
Check "Apply the label" and chose your label. (If you prefer stars, select to apply any star.)
Check "Also apply for existing conversations".
Click "Create filter".

Repeat this for all 3 filters. If something goes wrong: Go the label, select all conversations and remove the label from them. No email will be harmed during production!

Please note: This GIF shows you how to set filters in general, but not the specific filters we talk about here (today's filters are simpler!). I was just too lazy to make a new GIF.

#gmail #calendar Published 2019-10-08 by Holger Matthies.Modified 2019-10-09 by Holger Matthies.Written listening to Eximinds - Sansara

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