How to make the most of Google Calendar

Imagine having such a clear plan and timeline that you can completely focus on the task at hand because you planned for it all already by visualising your time using time blocks – it’s a great system that actually works and it helps you build a plan to get things done.

In this post, I am sharing how to prioritise, see how much time you have available, prevent overwhelm, and make time for what’s important to you by using Google Calendar.

Create a list of all that you want to do (the fun stuff, the daily stuff, life admin tasks etc.), and put all of it into your calendar. Plan for a time to do everything. By doing this, you have the plan to get everything done. You can trust your schedule and calendar and be able to focus on what is planned. You can get more realistic about how long a task takes and what you can actually get done in a day.

Your calendar might crazy busy, but it’s actually very flexible! You can move things around. I have scheduled time for meal planning, grocery shopping, eating meals and working out, reading, and more! I have a routines schedule, a business schedule, a personal calendar, a calendar for Khushi, a calendar for travels, events, adventure & experiences AND a to-do calendar (for action-related tasks), a reminders calendar (for reminders), and a bills and expenses calendar (to see when bills are due).

If it looks overwhelming, I just uncheck everything. I usually only have my to-do list open when I am working. I also colour-code my routine schedule events and my calendars so that I can easily see at a glance what is what.

CHECK OUT: How to Write a Better To-Do List

So let’s get to the tips for How to Make the Most Out of Your Google Calendar.

Brain dump your tasks/deadlines into your calendar.

• Put everything in it, even when you’re on the go. Use it as your inbox
• When I plan a project I like to go to the date I want it to be done and plan it out backwards.
• When I need to remember anything, I put it right into my calendar and use the description box for more information
• If I get an appointment it goes right into google calendar with the location of the meeting too!

CHECK OUT: Do you ever feel like your day is running you rather than the other way around?

Use the reminders in Google Calendar for tasks. This is great if you like to check things off but still want it on your calendar

• I use reminders for my repeating tasks because it reminds me constantly and moves up the calendar if I don’t finish them. That way if I reminded myself to clean the office and never got to it for weeks, it will still pop up on my calendar today. It just rolls over. Then I can check it off and it will go to the top.
• You can set reminders for a certain time, but you cannot time block it for more than 30mins, so it’s not great visually if you have a project that will take you hours.

Make events repeat without having to rewrite them

• Google Calendar makes it so easy to make tasks repeat. Life is all about routines, and once those are set you can make more time and effort on other things in your life.

CHECK OUT: Are your daily habits keeping you stuck?

Place all details in it. Time, place, things to bring, directions/location, number etc.

• I love the Google Maps integration in Google Calendar. It makes it so easy to remember and can take you straight to the map from your calendar.

Set custom notifications to remind you as often as you’d like

• I always like to set them out a week before, a day before, and the travel time. This makes sure you don’t miss anything important.

CHECK OUT: 10 Essential Ways to Plan a Successful Day!

Easily move tasks around

• I love time blocking because you can easily move your tasks around. If you didn’t get around to it you can easily drag it to the next day.
• Life happens, and you may haven’t gotten everything done. Instead of rewriting, simply move it to another day.

Share it with your partner or other family members or your colleagues

• I share my calendar with Khushi so that we are on the same page.
• She gets notifications if I add an event

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