Google Calendar is an incredibly useful scheduling and planning tool, especially when integrated with Google Meet for video conferencing. With some helpful tips and best practices, you can maximize efficiency and organization when planning meetings.
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Getting Started with Google Calendar
Google Calendar allows you to create different calendars for work, personal, family, etc. To stay organized:
- Create separate calendars for different areas of your life or for specific projects/teams. You can color code them and toggle calendars on/off.
- Share calendars with relevant people so they can view availability and schedule time. Control permissions to make calendars viewable or editable.
Scheduling Meetings in Google Calendar
Google Calendar makes it easy to schedule meetings and send invites. Best practices include:
- Check attendee availability before picking a time. Google Calendar will show you when invitees are free/busy.
- Set the duration based on what’s needed, rather than defaulting to 30/60 minutes. Short meetings can be more productive.
- Include a location for in-person meetings, and a Meet link for virtual meetings. Location suggestions are provided based on room availability.
- Add a Meet link by clicking “Add video call” when creating the event. A call-in link and dial-in numbers are automatically included.
- Enable calendar notifications to get reminders about upcoming meetings.
Recurring Meetings
You can make meetings repeat on a weekly, monthly, or custom basis.
- When creating a recurring meeting with a Meet link, the same link and details will persist for every instance.
- You can change a one-time meeting to recurring by editing the event.
Integration with Google Meet
Integrating Google Calendar with Meet brings additional features for planning effective meetings:
- Attach relevant files like agendas or presentations so attendees can easily access them.
- Share notes using a Google Doc for real-time collaboration before/during a meeting.
- Record meetings so people who missed can watch later. Recorded meetings get saved to Google Drive.
- Live stream meetings to people outside of your domain so they can view the meeting.
- Use Q&A and polls to keep people engaged and gather feedback.
Enabling Scheduling in Gmail
Without leaving your inbox, Gmail allows you to:
- Find a time to meet based on yours and recipients’ calendars. Proposed times are inserted into your draft email.
- Create calendar invites that recipients can RSVP to. A summary of the event details is inserted into your draft.
Best Practices for Productive Meetings
Some additional tips for running smooth meetings include:
- Set an agenda with clear objectives, and stick to it. Request agenda items from attendees beforehand.
- Start and end on time. Late starts undermine the schedule.
- Use a timer to keep parts of meetings on track.
- Share screens instead of presenting slides to enable collaboration.
- Send post-meeting action items with owners and deadlines using Google Tasks integration.
By leveraging Google Calendar’s scheduling assistant and integration with Meet, you can plan and run meetings in a streamlined, organized manner. Implementing some of these best practices will lead to better attendance, engagement, and productivity.
