Save 3 Hours Per Week with These Calendar Automations
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Have you ever thought about what your time is worth?
As a business leader, entrepreneur, you know your time is valuable. It is your most precious resource. You can never get it back.
In this post, I’ll share three calendar automations that save me time every single day. I use them so often that it’s second nature at this point.
I estimate that these automations will save you about three hours per week. Let’s dive in!
1. Google calendar notifications.
I’m a college professor in my day job. I have classes, meetings, Chapel services, and other appointments. In my business, I have 4-6 online meetings per week with clients, colleagues, and vendors.
But I also use Google calendar in my personal life. For example, I have notifications set up to remind me to take the trash out on Sunday and Wednesday evenings. I also have a notification set up on Saturday mornings to back up my computer.
I’m sure you’re busy as well. It’s easy to forget what’s coming up next, so these notifications keep me on track.
To set up notifications in Google calendar, open the calendar event, then go to the notifications section. Then you can set up whatever kind of notification you prefer.
2. Calendly sheduling tool.
Calendly is a meeting scheduler, and it’s what I use to schedule any podcast interview or online meeting. Whenever I have a guest on the podcast, or whenever someone wants to schedule a Zoom meeting, I give them my Calendly scheduling link. (By the way, there are other scheduling tools such as a ScheduleOnce and others. I happen to use Calendly.)
Here’s how it works: I set up times on my calendar that are open for meetings. My Calendly account is synced with Google calendar, so it knows when I already have something scheduled. When a client or podcast guest wants to schedule a time, I just send them my Calendly link. Then they can choose from my available times.
I like to schedule meetings the first half of the week. Therefore, I don’t usually have open meeting times on Thursdays or Fridays. That allows me to focus on content creation during the second half of the week.
By the way, I use the free version of Calendly. This version only allows you one type of meeting. I have given this meeting a generic name: “Conversation with Kent.”
3. Pretty Links WordPress plugin
Calendly assigns a unique scheduling link when you set up your account. You’ll need to keep that link handy because you’ll be giving it out a lot.
But here’s the problem: I don’t want to remember a Calendly link. That’s why I use a free WordPress plugin called Pretty Links. This plugin lets you take any web link and create a custom link for it on your website.
I took my Calendly link and created a link on my site: https://kentsanders.net/schedule. This link is easy to remember, and I use it often.
When I give someone that link, it automatically redirects to my Calendly scheduling page. I use Pretty Link for many other applications on my website, but it works especially well for scheduling online meetings. (By the way, I use the free version of Pretty Link.)
These calendar automations save me time and brain space each week. I recommend you give them a try and see how they work for you!
