This is a simple & basic guide to Google Calendar that explains every basic thing about Google Calendar.

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you’ve missed an important meeting or even forgotten a loved one’s birthday? If this sounds familiar, this blog is perfect for you. 

Our lives are insanely busy while trying to balance work, house chores, family & other things. Due to this reason, we often forget essential things.

That is where scheduling apps & tools come. They help us to plan & manage our precious time effectively & make sure we don’t forget important things. 

A perfect example of this is Google Calendar. In this blog post, we will dive into the world of Google calendar. If you are unfamiliar, this Guide to Google Calendar will be a guiding star for you.

Introduction to Google Calendar

Google Calendar is a scheduling application launched by Google & it is a free scheduling tool. You can create events, edit & manage them, and make appointments & meetings. This tool is simple to use & has a user-friendly interface & users can manage their valuable time effectively with it.

Google Calendar for personal & business purposes

Google Calendar is a scheduling tool not only for personal purposes but also for business purposes. 

Google Calendar for Personal uses:

Let’s see how you can use it for personal purposes,

1. Schedule personal appointments.

You can use GCal to schedule personal appointments like gym glasses, doctor’s appointments & more. Here you can set a reminder so you will not miss those.

2. Plan your daily activities.

Plan your day-to-day activities like grocery shopping, cleaning, cooking & laundry with GCal. Set reminders & allocate time slots for each task.

3. Track special dates.

Use this amazing tool to track important dates like anniversaries, birthdays & other dates.

4. Schedule your free time.

You can plan how to spend your leisure time, like movie nights, camping & other fun activities.

Overall, Google Calendar is an amazing tool for personal purposes that help you manage time effectively.

Google Calendar for Business uses:

Let’s see how you can use it for business purposes,

1. Schedule meetings

You can schedule meetings & appointments with your staff, clients & partners. Then you can invite them through Gmail & set reminders. 

2. Schedule recurring events

Recurring events are frequent within a business as weekly meetings, presentations & performance meetings. You can automate recurring events & remind others about upcoming events.

3. Set reminders about special events & project deadlines.
4. Share calendars with staff, clients & stakeholders.
5. Integrate with other Google Tools like Gmail, Google Drive & Google Meet.
6. Create separate calendars for separate purposes.

Overall, GCal is an effective tool that helps businesses to enhance productivity & achieve goals.

Steps to start with Google Calendar:

You can use Google Calendar with your computer, Android or iPhone. 

Let’s see how you can use GCal with your computer/laptop,

1. First, go to Google Calendar.
2. Here, you have to sign in to your Google Account. If you don’t have an account, you have to create one. Creating a Google Account is not difficult & you can refer to our blog article on “How to create a Google Account with simple steps.”
3. When you sign in, you will automatically be taken to the G calendar. 
4. Now, you can make changes to your calendar by clicking the Settings option.

You can access Google Calendar with below links,

If you have an Android phone,

1. Go to Google Calendar on Google Play.
2. Click Install.
3. Open the Google Calendar app by signing in to your Google Account.

If you have an iPhone,

1. Go to the Google Calendar page through the App store.
2. Then, click Get.
3. Finally, open the mobile app by signing in to your Google account.

Things you can do in Google Calendar:

1.Set up new calendars.

In Google Calendar, you can create new calendars & let’s see how. You can create a new calendar only from a browser & you can’t use the app. Follow the below steps,

• Open Google Calendar
• There is an option called “Add other calendars” next to “Other calendars.” Click Add other calendars & then “Create new calendar.”

• Add a name & a description to the calendar.

• Click Create a calendar.
• Now you created a new calendar. If you want to share it, click the left bar & then click Share with specific people.

2.Share Calendars.

One good thing about GC is that you can share the calendars you created with others. And also, there are different access permission options.

How to share a calendar only with specific people,

• Go to Google Calendar using a browser because you can share through the app.
• On the left side, there is the “My Calendars” section. Expand it by clicking the down arrow.

• Hover over the calendar & click settings & sharing.
• Under the share with specific people option, add the people you want to share. To add, enter the email address of that person.
• Then click Send.
• Finally, that person should click the link they got & add the calendar you shared to their list.

How to share a calendar with the Public,

• Open Google Calendar through a browser because you can’t use the app for this task.
• Click the My calendars section.
• Hover over the calendar & click Settings & sharing.
• There is an option called Access permissions & select the Make available to public feature.
• Then select the level of access you want to offer in the given drop-down menu.

4.Stop sharing the calendar.

If you have already shared a calendar with others & you want to stop sharing it, you can follow the below steps,

• Open Google Calendar on your computer
• Click the My calendars section (to expand it click the down arrow.)
• Hover over the calendar you want to stop sharing & click settings & sharing.
• You can select which level you want to unshare,
• To stop sharing with the public, turn off the make available to the public (under access permissions).
• To stop sharing with the organization, turn off Make available to everyone in the organization.
• To stop sharing with specific people, click Remove next to the person you want to remove.

5.Create Color Labels.

• Open Google Calendar on your computer.
• Click Insights on the left side.
• You will see an option called Time breakdown & under that, click Edit.
• You can select any option in the “Your color labels.“
• To create a new color label, select Add a new color label.
• Finally, click Save.

6.Add attachments to your calendars.

In Google calendar, you can attach documents/ materials that are relevant to a meeting. This feature makes sure the meeting attendees have the necessary materials before the meeting begins.

Steps to use this feature,

• Click the event block in the calendar view & select the pencil icon to edit that event.
• There is an icon that looks like a paper clip above the description section. Click that paper clip icon & a window will appear to upload files from your Google Drive.

7.Create an event.

Creating an event in Google Calendar is easy & there are two ways to do so,

1st method:

1. Open Google Calendar.
2. Click an empty date cell in the calendar.
3. Then it will ask to add a title & description of the event.
4. When you add everything, click Save to create that event.

2nd method:

In this method, you can create an event by clicking the Create button & at the top of your calendar.

1. Open Google Calendar.
2. Click Create at the top left side.

3. Enter a title & event description of the event.
4. Click Save.

8.Set reminders.

Let’s see how to set reminders in Google Calendar.

• Open Google Calendar.
• Under my calendars option, check Reminders.
• Then click the Create button on the top left corner.
• A pop-up box will appear & select the Reminder option from that.
• Type your reminder, or you can select a suggestion.
• Select the date & time.
• Finally, click save.

9. View multiple calendars side by side.

Imagine the need to stay informed about someone else’s schedule consistently. If you’re part of a Google Workspace account, you can subscribe to your colleagues’ calendars as well.

By default, all events are displayed in a single, unified calendar, but you can opt for a side-by-side view.

To activate this feature, follow these steps: 

Open your Google Calendar Account, click the settings icon, and choose the ‘Settings‘ option. 

In the left column, under ‘General‘ settings, locate and click ‘View Options.‘

Check the box next to ‘View calendars side by side in Day View.’ 

Return to the calendar and select the day view to enjoy the new layout.

10. Create a Google Calendar appointment schedule 

Creating a Google Calendar appointment schedule different from appointment slots, despite their similar names. 

Appointment slots, limited to Google Workspace accounts, are being replaced by appointment schedules, offering more versatility. With appointment schedules, you can share a professional booking page available to anyone with an email address, customize availability with buffer times and daily booking limits, and receive email notifications.

To create a Google Calendar appointment schedule, follow these steps:

1. Open Google Calendar, click “Create,” and select “Appointment schedule.”

2. Update the appointment schedule details:

   – Add a title visible to users with the booking page link.

   – Adjust the appointment duration (minimum 15 minutes).

   – Set general availability for each day, adding multiple periods if needed.

   – Specify calendars checked for availability, including connected calendars.

3. Further customize advanced features like scheduling windows, specific date availability, and buffer times.

4. Click “Next” to set up your booking page, customizing its appearance, booking confirmations, and reminders. Note that default video conferencing can’t be set to Zoom for appointment schedules.

5. Click “Save” to finalize your appointment schedule.

Conclusion

And we came to the destination of our journey on Guide to Google Calendar. I hope you enjoyed reading this simple guide to Google calendar & learn new things.

Google Calendar is a great & user-friendly tool that helps you stay organized & plan your time productively. Since there are many customization features, you can convert according to your preferences. 

We have covered the most basic things including how to get started with Google Calendar, create new calendars, ad events, share calendars & more. 

We hope you will give this tool a try & make the most out of your valuable time.

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