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Everyone likes flexible hours - but is your calendar helping you or working against you? Google Calendar is unique in supporting different working times per day or carving out time, without littering it with out-of-office events.
Find out how to reflect your unique, busy life and make everything work.
How to see other's working hours
How to see other's working hours
When you schedule an event
When you schedule an event
You look up people in Calendar's Meet with section - either because you're curious, or to start inviting others. Add all participants and their calendars will be laid over yours, which makes it easy to spot gaps you can fit in.
The shaded areas are someone's non-working hours, which may vary by the day. Inviting enough international people, those working hours shrink.
When editing an event
When editing an event
Finding a spot that is free for all your guests might require compromise. Luckily, Calendar shows you who your proposed time is really inconvenient for. You can then move it around, make people optional or remove them, making sure the right audience joins, respecting everyone's times.
Wait, there is more: Google Calendar powers the new normal
Wait, there is more: Google Calendar powers the new normal
Times have changed and "the office for all" is a thing of the past. Maybe your Fridays are shorter. Maybe you
care for someone in your home on Wednesday afternoon
have lunch, preferably not at your desk (except Wednesday, when you cut it short because of care duty)
work a bit longer on Wednesdays afternoon, to compensate for that care time
do not work Mondays and start later on Tuesdays
make Fridays your way and are unavailable for meetings in the afternoon
That is a very complex schedule, but your life is complex. Your organization supports you, and so should your calendar. When others invite you, they just need to aim at the blank spots - everyone wins.
How to set your working hours
How to set your working hours
The best part? Setting your working hours is easy. Sharing it with your entire organization is even easier.
Just head over to Calendar settings > Working hours & location. You can create different schedules for your days and add time blocks using the + buttons.
Done! Everyone in your company will see your hours. Why you are unavailable is up to you. No need to create vague out-of-office events.
And the best thing? This is where you set your working location as well. Everyone being on Google Calendar makes planning that much easier.
Where do out-of-office events fit into this?
Where do out-of-office events fit into this?
Your calendar should be your "hard landscape", a canvas on which you fit in what needs to be done that day (and who to meet!). Working hours and working locations help others visualize and respect your landscape.
Calendar also supports sophisticated out-of-office events. You would use those for exceptions - that day, I will be out of office from 3-5pm, in transit after a client meeting.
You don't really get homework from reading the blog - but I hope you are dying to make your calendar reflect your life. You can look forward to better meetings - and I look forward to talking again next week. Thanks for reading!
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