How to Use Google Calendar

Life gets hectic sometimes. We all have had that rush of fear as we realize we are going to be late or miss something important. Typically there is one thing we all always have on us- our phones. Lets discuss how to use that constant connectivity to our live our best lives!

Google calendar is one of my favorite FREE management tools. I sync all of my software to it and I create separate calendars for different things like bills, business meetings, and personal appointments. Google has a cool feature of allowing you to toggle between the calendars so you can see all at once or one at a time. You can also sync your Outlook calendar to Google to coordinate that way- but they do not play well together.

Here is a snippet of the side of my calendar to toggle between the different calendar options. This one has some basic calendars since it is on my business account.

Here is a screenshot of my calendar, I have activities color coded by member of the family or calendar type. I keep a record of income and expenses, family activities, and business needs. I also utilize the reminders/tasks features for brainstorms or tasks to complete on a time crunch.

Setting up Google calendar can be a bit tedious up front but the payoff is enormous when utilized properly! To begin, make sure you have a google account and I recommend being a regular Gmail user to maximize the benefits.

Once you have your account setup navigate to your calendar. It will probably be pretty empty unless you already have some emails synchronized and the holidays calendar. Now I recommend creating a calendar, each a different color, for each major thing you want to track. Some examples would be: business meetings/to-dos, personal appointments, kids activities, budgeting/bills, etc.

If you have any calendars created go ahead and un-check them to hide them for now. Go to the other calendars spot on the left hand side and click the plus sign to select add new calendar. Name your calendar an easy label that fits what you want to add to it and create it.

Now when you go back to your main calendar screen you will have the options to change the colors to customize further. You can change the color and the sharing settings here. For a household calendar maybe you share it with a spouse so you both can stay updated in real time!

Create a new event and now your calendar is an option on the drop down menu. You can now schedule in your bills, your work deadlines, kids soccer games, and any other activities you may want to remember.

On the right hand side of your calendar you can add different add-ins for Google calendar as well. Pictured is the button for tasks that will sync with your calendar. This feature is handy for reccuring tasks in particular. I use it to remind myself of weekly household tasks or business needs.

Hopefully this helps you bring some order and structure into your world! This feature is free and if you are already a Gmail/Android user it is a natural extension of the capabilities of Google’s technology. There are additional features to further enhance the hands off abilities of Google calendar to explore once you have your basic setup down. If all of this sounds like the 7th ring of hell for you I recommend hiring someone to complete it for you! This is a service many VA’s offer, myself included.

Published by lovelylittlethingscreations


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