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Effective Time Management with Google Calendar

Feb 4, 2025

Time Blocking with Google Calendar

Introduction

  • Presenter: Scott Friesen from Simpletivity
  • Topic: How to use time blocking effectively within Google Calendar
  • Objective: To ensure time for important tasks and reduce stress

Understanding Time Blocking

  • Definition: Allocating specific blocks of time for different tasks in your calendar.
  • Purpose: To manage time better and prevent others from booking during critical personal task periods.

Practical Implementation

  • Current Calendar Setup: Consists of meetings, events, and appointments involving others.
  • Common Issue: Personal tasks often get ignored without time blocking.

Steps to Implement Time Blocking

  1. Create Events for Tasks

    • Example: Create an event "Prepare for Presentation" and allocate 90 minutes.
    • Benefit: Blocks the time so others cannot schedule over it.

  2. Use for Various Activities

    • Examples: Lunch, exercise, email catch-up, etc.
    • Use Google Calendar's repeat functionality for recurring events (e.g., daily lunch).

Tips and Tricks

Using Multiple Calendars

  • Advantage: Different colors for different types of activities.
  • Caveat: External bookings (e.g., via Calendly) only recognize the primary calendar for availability.

Visual Differentiation

  1. Change Event Colors

    • Do not need separate calendars to change event colors.
    • Example: Use red for lunch to make it noticeable.

  2. Use of Emojis

    • Tools like Emojipedia can help find relevant emojis.
    • Shortcuts for emojis on Windows: Windows key + period.
    • Emojis can help events stand out as personal tasks.

Text Expander

  • Tool: Text Blaze (Chrome extension)
  • Purpose: Quick keys for repetitive text and emoji combinations.
  • Example: Create quick keys for common tasks like exercise (EX) or email (EL).
  • Benefit: Saves time and ensures consistency.

Additional Tips

  • Shortcut for Creating Events: Press 'C' in Google Calendar to open a new event creation window.
  • Reminder Notifications: Enable notifications to stay on track with scheduled activities.

Conclusion

  • Goal: Use time blocking to maintain productivity and reduce stress.
  • Further Learning: Watch additional videos for more Google Calendar tips.

Key Takeaway

Being productive is simple with effective time management strategies like time blocking.

Full transcript