Google Calendar: The Game Changer

Image Credit: Pepperdine University

    My wife would be the first one to tell you that Google Calendar has been a game changer for me in our household. Organization of tasks and reminders is essential for me because my short term memory seems to move in the opposite direction of my age. While I may sometimes struggle with task organization, I do greatly appreciate efficiency and timeliness. She will also tell you that I’m never the late one, and when I am, I’m frustrated with myself. I've always been on the lookout for tools that can help me streamline my daily life. I love the voice feature in Apple Reminders (especially because it adds items automatically to specific sections of my grocery list), but Google Calendar has been the savior in terms of the big picture, especially when I figured out how well it plays with other Google Apps like Google Maps and Gmail. Also, when I moved districts three years ago, I went from a Microsoft district to a Google district, and having both my personal and professional schedule accessible in one location has only helped with my life organization. I know it sounds basic, but I can’t imagine my day to day life without it.

You can read a bit below about my relationship with Google Calendar in my personal and professional life, and you can also check out a walkthrough of my favorite features on a Canva recording I made.  You can also watch it embedded below.  

Personal Use

It’s become an absolutely essential tool for managing my personal life. One of its most valuable features is the ability to easily share calendars with family members, immediate and extended. This has been particularly helpful for coordinating our kids' sports and activities. By sharing our “kids activities” calendars, we can stay on the same page and their cousins and grandparents can seamlessly see when their games are and stay updated without us having to constantly update them separately.

Additionally, I've found that Google Calendar has been instrumental in helping my wife and I keep our kids organized. When a new Dr appointment is made, and there are plenty or them, the “add to calendar” feature automatically includes the time and location. Then, my wife and I can just link the documents we need, such as receipts or planning spreadsheets for a getaway. One of my favorite features of adding a location to an event too is that Google will sync historical traffic data from Google Maps and send me “time to leave” reminders.

 

Professional Use

In my professional life, Google Calendar has been equally important. In a district that takes advantage of the full Google Suite for Education, the integration with Google Meet makes it easy to schedule and join virtual meetings. Hand in hand with that, I also appreciate the ability to quickly add agendas and notes to events. Nothing gets lost this way as it has with our shared Google Drive that can be a bit of a bear to manage with so many hands in the mix.

The more I use it, the more features I realize I useful. For example, last year I started tracking how I spent my time using Google Calendar's “time insights.” By analyzing my calendar data, I can get a sense of exactly how I’m spending my time between classroom observations, team meetings, admin meetings, research, etc. Additionally, reviewing my calendar at the end of each week has helped me reflect on where I’ve been (literally) and set goals for the upcoming week about what I might need to tweak.

Google Calendar's Time Insights Feature
Image Source: Personal Photo

One of the biggest advantages of Google Calendar for professional use is its ability to easily schedule meetings with colleagues. By viewing everyone's availability in the “Meet With” search box on the left hand side of the screen, I can quickly find times that work for everyone.

Finally, even though I’m logged in to my work account, I love the ability to share my personal Google Calendar with my professional, so I can see exactly when I need to be home and what i can schedule for after school hours.

Hope to Explore

While I'm clearly a big fan of Google Calendar, there are a few features that I'm hoping to explore in the future. One possibility is to replace my current use of Google Keep for To Do list and task management with Google Tasks to take advantage of the embedded task feature on the calendar. Also, I’m very excited this year to play around with the “Appointment Scheduling” feature for teachers and admin to be able to schedule time with me at the click of a link. This is a new feature in our district’s latest update. I’d love to know if anyone reading this using either of these features and their opinions of them! We can do a tip trade.

Overall, Google Calendar has been an invaluable tool for both my personal and professional life. Its versatility, ease of use, and powerful features have made it a must-have for anyone navigating a busy professional and/or personal life. Or both!