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How to Politely Share Your Scheduling Link on Calendar

Meetings that are unproductive and poorly managed claim endless hours of our time. ‌What I believe is even worse is the valuable time wasted using emails, texting — and worse calling, going back and forth. ‌After‌ ‌all,‌ ‌on average, a meeting is scheduled after eight emails, according to studies. But there are ways to politely share your scheduling link on Calendar.

Share Your Scheduling Link on Calendar

Thankfully, a scheduling link can solve this problem. ‌If you’re not familiar, this is an instant communication method that establishes real-time connections between people or a URL. ‌As a result, you will stop email ping pong, avoid scheduling conflicts, eliminate arduous work, and simplify‌ ‌your‌ ‌meeting‌ ‌workflow.

However, if you want to effectively share your scheduling link on Calendar, you need to do so politely. And here’s how you can accomplish just that.

Share when it is appropriate.

Let’s say you’re at your favorite coffee shop catching up on some work. Eventually, you strike up a conversation with a fellow patron. And, since you’ve hit it off, you decide to keep the conversation going by exchanging contact information.

It doesn’t matter if this is a potential romantic relationship or a new business ‌connection. It would undoubtedly be pretentious if your first message included your calendar link. However, it is a relatively clear indication that you are a significant person.

Instead, just get their contact information and nurture the relationship organically. Then, in the following correspondence, ask them if they have a calendar link they would like to share. If not, then suggest sharing your calendar link with them. If that doesn’t fly, ask them when they’re available.

Additionally, ‌disclosing “your schedule and routine to a stranger gives them information about your life that they could use against you,” says Max Palmer in a previous Calendar article. “Keep your sensitive calendar information to yourself.”

But, this isn’t the only time that it’s inappropriate to share a calendar link. For example, planning a surprise party or a brief 10-minute call probably doesn’t require scheduling links.

Open the door for them.

Traditionally, we were taught to open the door for others before ourselves. And we can definitely apply that to our Calendar availability as well.

Rather than just sending over your Calendar link and saying, “Here’s my calendar link,” you can “open the door” for someone else first. How? By asking for their availability.

You can then offer them your Calendar link after they have walked through the door. If you need a script to follow, try something like, “I would appreciate it if you could let me know when you’re available. Or, if it’s more convenient, you can ‌choose a time off my Calendar.”

It may not seem like much. ‌However, we observe a variety of seemingly little gestures, such as silencing your phone in a‌ ‌movie‌ ‌theater. Julianna Margulies perfectly put it, “Small gestures can have a big impact.”

Create priorities.

Kelly‌ ‌Nolan,‌ ‌a‌ ‌time-management‌ ‌strategist,‌ ‌uses three different links in her Calendar for various purposes: client meetings, casual coffee dates or networking events, and ‌team‌ ‌meetings. ‌In addition, she gives enthusiastic support to auto-scheduling for unexpected‌ ‌reasons.

“You set end times,” Nolan told Bloomberg. ‌For example, schedulers can set up time slots of up to 30 minutes, preventing attendees from ignoring the out-of-time cues when a meeting is over. ‌Additionally, most programs she uses to protect her clients’ time are better than what they can manage independently.

“Many of us have that people-pleaser tendency to say ‘Well, okay, I’ll just make that inconvenient time work,’ which removes that propensity,” she said.

To avoid negative messaging, Nolan shares her calendar link and a note that says: ‌If any‌ ‌of‌ ‌my‌ ‌upcoming‌ ‌appointments‌ ‌aren’t convenient for you, please ‌‌let‌‌ ‌‌me‌‌ ‌‌know.

“It’s a signal that I’m willing to work with certain people beyond my calendar tool,” Kelly said.

Establish a friendly‌ ‌tone.

When inviting people to use your Calendar, pay attention to your wording. ‌While you want to be direct, you don’t want to be too brash or disrespectful of their time. Instead, ‌emphasize the convenience of using a calendar link, like no longer playing the back-and-forth game.

For example, you could say, “Whenever you’re ready, here’s my scheduling link on Calendar, so you can select a time that works best for you. I look‌ ‌forward‌ ‌to speaking‌ ‌with‌ ‌you soon.”

Timing is everything.

Timing is everything when sharing‌ ‌your‌ ‌Calendar. ‌It’s best not to share your calendar link until it’s too late. At the same time, you don’t want to share it until the very ‌last‌ ‌minute. ‌It is essential to strike‌ ‌a‌ ‌balance.

You should share your Calendar 24-48 hours before you depart with your family and assistant, for example, if you plan a trip. For example, if you need a team meeting on Thursday, sending a scheduling link on Tuesday is cutting it way too close.

In short, you should factor in urgency and deadlines before sharing your Calendar so that it is shared at the appropriate‌ ‌time.

Moreover, be mindful of business hours, time zones, and holidays. For example, if you’re on the east coast and want to have a virtual meeting with a colleague who lives on the west coast, don’t suggest a 9 am EST meeting time. Instead, you’re asking them to jump on this video call at 6 am.

Be flexible.

Even if the other person’s schedule does not align with what you have available on your Calendar, be open to accommodating their needs. For instance, “Could you share a convenient time for a meeting, or could you choose from my calendar if you prefer?”

Note that you don’t say that blocking out your time is only possible by using your calendar link. I often use this as a starting point, however.

Choose a compatible calendar.

Tech can be a little thorny sometimes. ‌For example, even though it’s possible to switch between Apple, Google, or Microsoft, that can be confusing. What’s more, it’s not always convenient if you’re sharing a Google Calendar link with a group that primarily uses Apple Calendar.

Generally, you should ensure that your Calendar can be accessed from‌ ‌multiple‌ ‌platforms. ‌This way, there is no syncing or sharing process to worry about. And, it’s convenient and doesn’t require the other invitees to install a new app or learn how it functions.

Follow the Goldilocks Rule.

“Certainly, privacy could be an issue for successful calendar sharing,” writes Kayla Sloan in an article for Calendar. “But many people merge work and personal calendars without issue.”

Most online calendars and apps “have settings that let you make some entries private and others shared.” ‌Unfortunately,‌ ‌those settings prevent others from being able to see sensitive information.

“However, not all calendars have the same capabilities,” adds Sloan. “Therefore, you can permit everyone to see personal appointments, make entries vague, or not put them on work calendars.”

When adding event details to a shared calendar, strike a balance. ‌Date, time, and location should be listed at the very least. It’s also a brilliant idea to include who will attend.

With attachments containing agendas and locations, they can obtain directions on their phones without giving too much information.

Also, avoid being ‌vague. ‌Do‌ ‌not‌ ‌just schedule the afternoon for “meetings.” Make sure everyone has the information they need in advance.

Don’t ghost anyone.

In other words, if you receive a calendar link, don’t leave the sender high and dry.

I’ve sent calendar invitations to someone who never replied in the past. Maybe because they knew about the invite and assumed that I anticipated their attendance. But, it’s still a pet peeve of mine.

You only have to click a button to confirm. Also, it’s nice to let others know you’re coming. ‌Additionally, you will receive updates, such as cancellations. ‌One invitation allows for more efficiency than multiple invitations.

And hopefully, because you responded, others will reciprocate when you share your scheduling link in the future.

Email embedding.

You might consider embedding your calendar link in your email body. ‌Why? There are fewer clicks involved than on your website. In turn, it’s more courteous since saving other time when scheduling.

Image Credit: Cottonbro; Pexels; Thank you!

How to Politely Share Your Scheduling Link on Calendar was originally published on Calendar by John Hall.

5 Mishaps Businesses Can Avoid By Using Scheduling Software

By Gunjan Saini | Scheduling | No Comments

There are a lot of bumps in the road that businesses travel every day. It could be a difficult customer interaction, an invoice that hasn’t been paid, or even an internet outage. More often than not, however, the mishaps businesses can encounter have to do with time management.

If you learn to master your time, you can avoid dozens of unfortunate circumstances every week. Time management is harder than it seems, but there are solutions at your disposal that can make everything easier. Scheduling software is one of the best tools you can add to your business operations.

Below we discuss five common problems that businesses regularly deal with. We also explore how scheduling software can provide instant relief when they face future problems of the same variety.

1. Appointment Overbooking

The first mishap is one you’re likely familiar with: appointment overbooking. This can be an honest mistake that occurs when the time of appointments is noted down incorrectly by an employee with good intentions. Even so, that mistake can snowball into a logistical mess for an appointment-based business and its customers.

Scheduling software makes it nigh well impossible to overbook appointments. The program will simply stop you from booking two appointments in the same time slot. This acts as an effective safety net on occasions when a busy workday causes you to accidentally overlook future scheduled appointments.

2. Late Starts and Delays

Few things will frustrate your clientele more than arriving on time to their appointment only to be faced with a delayed appointment. Sometimes this occurs due to circumstances out of your control. However, you should do everything you can to make sure every appointment starts on time.

One way this can be accomplished is by including buffer time in between bookings. You can set this up with your scheduling software. Appointments will only be able to be booked based on the parameters you set. A 15-minute buffer in between bookings gives you a little wiggle room to work around late arrivals, chattier-than-average customers, and other complications.

3. No-Shows and Late Arrivals

Speaking of late arrivals, not all of your customers will arrive to their appointments on time. While you might feel like there’s nothing you can do to prevent this, you’d actually be mistaken. Scheduling software has a few tricks up its sleeves that can get your customers to keep a tighter schedule.

One such trick is the use of appointment reminders. Well-timed and well-written reminders ensure that appointment times aren’t forgotten and are more accurately kept. This process can be automated and easily adjusted through scheduling software. You can send reminders to email inboxes, cell phones, or even through a company app.

This will also help with those pesky no-shows. While a no-show appointment doesn’t jumble up your schedule like a late arrival, no-shows can cost your business time and money. Those same appointment reminders will help keep customers accountable to their commitments or at least give them ample time to cancel or adjust their bookings.

4. Employee Scheduling Errors

Scheduling software isn’t just useful for appointments. This tool will also come in handy for managing your employees. Especially in a larger organization, avoiding scheduling errors with your employees will save you a lot of headaches.

Using scheduling software, you can lay out the exact shifts for every single employee. This will include your full-time employees, part-time workers, and even any contractors you have enlisted for specific projects. You’ll have a detailed overview of every workweek that employees can also easily access to view their own shifts.

Better yet, scheduling software makes asking for time off or switching shifts with others easier for your employees. When a team member takes time off, it no longer needs to be an ordeal that has your entire staff scrambling to make the arrangements work.

5. Meeting Mishaps

One last note on managing your team involves scheduling and executing team meetings. More often than not, companies waste time and money by holding meetings that are too frequent, inefficient, unnecessary, or a combination of all three. Master your meeting planning by using scheduling software.

With this software at your fingertips, you can see just how far apart your meetings are spaced and when the best time to schedule your next one will be. You will also have access to employee schedules to get the timing down just right.

Last but not least, scheduling software will help keep your meetings concise. You can use the software to ensure that meetings don’t run too long and that they have been sufficiently planned. The reminder feature may come in handy here as well.

The difference you’ll see in your business before and after adding scheduling software will be massive. Now is the perfect time to add this tool to your arsenal to improve your company’s efficiency and your customers’ satisfaction.

Image Credit: Energepic.com; Pexels; Thank you!

Get It Together – Ways to Use Google Calendar for Remote Teams

By Abby Miller | Scheduling, Time Management | No Comments

Remote teams can take advantage of online calendars such as Google Calendar to better manage their time. If there was a way to keep your team on track and improve their focus, wouldn’t you give it a try?

Google Calendar has several great features that remote teams can utilize to stay organized and plan ahead. Additionally, it can increase your team’s productivity and help with collaboration.

When your remote team has the tools to work as efficiently as possible, you instantly notice results. Google Calendar is one of the most popular and accessible calendars available for teams worldwide.

In this guide, we will show you several ways you can empower your team by using Google Calendar. This includes using features such as appointment slots for better scheduling. You can also create an advanced search to help you track down any specific event on-demand.

Let’s dive in and explore how Google Calendar can help your remote team thrive.

Empower Your Remote Team with Google Calendar

To thrive, remote teams need to be equipped with the right tools. After all, remote work wouldn’t even be possible without the technology we have today.

It’s time to step back and consider which tools you’ve given your remote teams to date. For example, do they have a reliable planning tool like Google Calendar? What collaboration tools are they using most frequently? By understanding their needs, you’ll be able to help them move forward.

In the sections below, we’ll explore Google Calendar’s best features for remote work. You’ll learn how each of these features can benefit your team and what their best use cases are. Let’s begin!

Set up appointment slots

Appointment slots are a powerful Google Calendar feature that lets you block off specific periods for appointments. Instead of having someone send you a meeting invite and accept, these time slots make things much easier.

When you create appointment slots on your calendar, these become “reservable” blocks of time. Anyone who has access to these slots will be able to book a time to meet with you.

This has been used by professors looking to create reservable office hours for their students. It’s a great way to let others know your availability each day and allow them to choose a time.

Appointment slots were created as a way to offer teams maximum flexibility with their schedules. Instead of being required to schedule events wherever they “seemed” to fit, it provides a better solution. Your team can see the exact blocks they can reserve, take action and reserve them, or ask for time modifications.

If your team hasn’t been using appointment slots up to this point, let them know it exists. This excellent Google Calendar feature gives you a good amount of time flexibility.

Use calendar meeting rooms

While remote work is gaining in popularity, hybrid work is also increasing. A hybrid employee is defined as someone who works several days in the office and the remainder remote.

If your team is only remote a fraction of the time, setting up calendar meeting rooms may be worth setting up. This feature in Google Calendar lets your organization create and label meeting rooms. Every room you create can then be added to calendar events and meetings and is shown to all participants.

Based on who you invite to an event or meeting, Google Calendar will help you choose which room fits best. This is established on the data you’ve provided about each member of your team.

Find anything with advanced search

Google Calendar’s advanced search functionality makes it easy to find any event or meeting. If you’ve never used this search feature before, it can be accessed from the magnifying glass. Once you click on the magnifying glass, a menu will drop down with multiple parameters.

Based on what you’re trying to find, enter the appropriate search parameter and wait for your results. For example, even if you’re trying to find a meeting years ago, if the record still exists, Google Calendar should find it.

This is a feature your remote team should consistently use to find past communications quickly. We see duplicate efforts being completed fairly frequently, meaning someone did additional work. You can save both time and money with your remote team by teaching them to use advanced search effectively.

Online and offline notifications

When team members are working remotely, it’s essential to know when each of their coworkers is available. This is made remarkably easy with Google Calendar and the Google Suite of tools.

Whenever a member of your organization is online, they show up as available. This lets other team members know they can finally reach out and ask a question.

When somebody is busy in a meeting or away from their computer, an appropriate status will be shown. If you want your remote team to be as effective as possible, don’t forget to enable online/offline notifications.

While it may not seem like a big deal at first, remote teams can have trouble communicating effectively. If you’ve just recently put together your remote team and begin to run into issues, these notifications help facilitate communication. There’s no faster way to save time and get your questions answered straight away than making the most of notifications.

Zoom out with a year view

Most of your planning will be done on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis, but not an entire year. Has your team ever sat down and planned an entire year ahead, time blocking important events and activities?

Google Calendar features a year-long view of calendar events, helping you see where you spent your time the most. You’ll also be able to look further ahead and make better decisions based on how projections change into the future. If a holiday or critical event is coming up, you’ll have everything you need to plan around such events with sufficient time.

Your remote team should understand your company’s vision and the value your company is providing by the year-long view. Scheduling events in this manner ensures nothing gets missed and makes sure you plan around major holidays far in advance.

Concluding Thoughts

Google Calendar can be an excellent tool for remote teams, improving both their productivity and efficiency. If you have a team that needs to collaborate and work together, ensure you give them the right tools.

We’ve walked through several ways to use Google Calendar within a remote team for maximum effectiveness. This includes setting up appointment slots, where anyone interested can schedule a time to meet or chat.

We discussed using the meeting rooms available in Google Calendar for ease and simplicity. Additional features were the advanced search function, enabling online and offline notifications, and zoom out to a year view.

All in all, Google Calendar is an excellent tool for remote teams to utilize to maximize effectiveness. It can help remote workers become more efficient and improve productivity substantially over the long run.

Image Credit: Caio; Pexels; Thank you!

Get It Together – Ways to Use Google Calendar for Remote Teams was originally published on Calendar by Abby Miller.

Fall in Love This Month — With Your Online Calendar

By John Hall | Scheduling | No Comments

With your online calendar, use it in different ways so you can increase work productivity and have some “me” time, since work-life balance can be stressful. You also may find that your productivity suffers. Trying to do too much throughout the day without scheduling time for relaxing and happy activities may affect your entire family. Use these techniques to make the most out of your online Calendar.

Use Recurring Events

Certain events happen every week, month, or year. For example, you may have a monthly team member meeting to discuss the progress being made or any task changes. You may also have some life activities that occur on the same day each month or year. For example, the family may celebrate anniversaries, date nights, or a child’s piano practice.

You just have to set that date and time aside once with recurring events. The online calendar function automatically sets aside that timeframe each day, week, month, or year for the specific activity. You don’t have to constantly jot the same info down as you would in a traditional planner or Calendar. Any event you do regularly may be set aside as a recurring event. This online calendar feature is an excellent function for constantly reminding you about recurring activities.

Sync Calendars with Teams Members and Family

One productivity killer involves making sure everyone attends a work meeting or family activity simultaneously. Waiting for someone to show up just wastes valuable time and sets back other activities. A common problem involves not having everyone jot down the activity in their Calendar or using different versions of Calendar apps that don’t integrate.

Consider using an online calendar designed to be used by teams of people. These online calendars will automatically synchronize schedules for everyone involved in the meeting or activity. So you don’t have to constantly remind other people to place the events in their scheduling apps. This tactic ensures meetings and activities start on time. So you boost productivity and won’t feel rushed throughout the day. It also helps you avoid double-booking activities for the same time slots.

Calendar synchronization also happens over all of your devices. So long as the devices access the same online calendar software, the syncing feature may occur even if different companies manufacture the devices.

Set Reminders

Forgetting things placed on the traditional Calendar or planner can quickly happen. You get so busy working on a task that you don’t remember to move on to the next activity. Online calendars have reminder functions to set for events.

How you want to see the reminder is up to you. A reminder is set to help you eliminate stress in your life, so you don’t have to worry about extra things. For example, some people prefer a pop-up to appear on the screen reminding you an event will be happening at a specific time. Other people also set the alarm to go off. You also typically have options on when you want the reminder to go off. For example, you could set it 15 minutes before the activity happens or even a day before the event.

The reminders could come over your phone, tablet, or PC. You could also have the feature send out an email to your inbox. A wonderful thing about this feature is that reminders may also be sent out to other people. So they are informed about an activity that may involve them, whether it’s for work or play.

Schedule Family Check-Ins

It’s easy to get so busy with other tasks that family events get set aside. You may have a spouse or other family member say something in passing to you about an event, but it didn’t register in your memories. Take a moment to set a family check-in event on your Calendar. Family check-ins allow you to set aside some time to reconnect with the family.

Take the time to just relax or ask questions about their days. You may also learn about events and activities that everyone wants to agree to. Then you can easily update your online Calendar at that moment to ensure time is set aside for everyone. With family check-ins, you may also reevaluate all your activities and come to compromises on when to do them that make everyone happy.

Family check-in times don’t have to only occur during mealtimes. Also, they don’t have to happen face to face if everyone has a busy schedule. You can set your Calendar to send out a check-in reminder to everyone. Then they can get back to you about things over the phone, text, or email.

Take Advantage of All Day Events

You may be a person that likes to micromanage every moment of your schedule. However, even if you are performing the same task, you need to have the event penciled in during each time period. Yet doing this task becomes tedious as you spend more time placing in calendar entries rather than doing work.

A seldom-used feature in online calendars is the all-day events function. This function allows you to set a specific task for the entire day. Typically, people use this feature to take the day off from work when out of the office. Yet you may use it for specific work projects that don’t have a set completion time.

In this manner, you only have to look at the online Calendar once to know your plans for the entire day. You don’t have to rush through each hour to the following time period only to find out you’re doing the same task.

Schedule Breaks

You’re allowed to take a break. Scheduling a break is especially important for people who work from home. Teleworkers face a common issue: they never “turn off” work. The projects are only a home office or laptop away. As a result, you may find yourself drawn back to the task even when you should be doing daily chores or spending time with the family.

If you’re experiencing this issue, an online calendar can become another incentive to use to create self-care time. For example, you may block in 10 minutes to step away from the computer and stretch your legs or a whole hour to let your mind decompress. Breaks provide needed downtimes that may allow you to lower your stress and find a moment of fun or happiness during your day. Then, with an improved mood, you’re ready to get back to work and improve your productivity.

When to schedule the break depends on the work and family schedule. You may extend a lunchtime break to include a time just to relax or make a reoccurring time each day after completing a task.

Use Online Calendars Efficiently

Online Calendars have many features designed to keep your work and daily tasks organized. In addition to the features mentioned above, make sure to spend some time exploring all the other functions. You may find one that helps to boost your work productivity further.

There may also be features that allow you to create more time for yourself and your family. For example, with an online calendar, you have more ways to place entries at set time periods and can be automatically reminded of the tasks. As a result, you’ll never forget a task or be required to constantly look at the schedule, as you would with a traditional planner or Calendar.

Image Credit: RODNAE Productions; Pexels; Thank you!

Fall in Love This Month — With Your Online Calendar was originally published on Calendar by John Hall.

How to Marie Kondo Your Schedule (or Work Life)

By Jon Bradshaw | Scheduling | No Comments

Marie Kondo is a master of organization. She began a tidying consultant business as a 19-year-old student and has since become an author and TV show host. She is now heralded as a master of tidiness and organization and is an individual who many look up to when trying to get their messy lives back on track. While much of Kondo’s advice is for tidying up your physical space, she can teach you a lot about tidying up your schedule and your time management.

By taking her decluttering approach to your schedule, you will be less stressed and have more free time. Here are just some of the ways you can channel your inner Marie Kondo to take control of your daily schedule:

Combine Your Calendars

Your schedule consists of many different parts. There’s your work schedule that contains your weekly shifts, team meetings, and project deadlines. A family schedule reminds you of all of your kids’ after-school events and homework due dates. Finally, you have a personal schedule for pursuing hobbies and tending to certain responsibilities, such as bills and dentist appointments.

Managing all of these calendars separately can be exhausting. Instead of clicking through multiple calendars trying to get through every day, try combining them into a single schedule. Most online calendars have this function, allowing you to combine your separate schedules and even share them with others.

Once you’ve combined your calendars, all you need is a proper organizational method to keep everything tidy. This could be as simple as color-coding your events based on different criteria. For example, all of your work events could be labeled in red so that at a quick glance you know exactly what’s going on at work that day.

Prioritize Your Task List

Some tasks need to take higher priority than others. Subconsciously, it can be difficult to remember which items on your task list should be labeled as higher priority. If you haven’t made a priority list before starting your day, you can get caught up in the menial tasks that get in the way of completing meaningful work.

Start by writing down your entire daily or weekly task list. Next, start marking the tasks that have urgent due dates or can’t be delayed. Other parameters you can use include the amount of time required to complete each task and whether certain events rely on another person.

Once you’ve done this, you can lay out your schedule more effectively. Low-priority tasks can take a back seat to the items that made the top of your list. This can help you cut down on the busywork and focus on the tasks that really matter.

Learn to Say No

A big part of Kondo’s philosophy is learning to let go of certain things. Clutter builds up when we are unable to discard certain items or clear our space of the things that hold little value. You can bring this same mentality to your schedule by learning when you should say “no” to certain events and commitments.

Sometimes you need to decline an invitation to a meeting that you know you won’t benefit from. You can say no to certain tasks that aren’t your responsibility rather than forcing you to pick up others’ slack. And you can even learn to say no to certain bad habits, such as sleeping in or going out to eat for lunch every day.

By saying no every once in a while, you can free up your schedule a little bit. This will give you more time to focus on the most important things in your life rather than letting a jam-packed schedule stress you out.

Let Automation Do the Work

Any time there’s the possibility of automating your schedule, you should look into it. By automating simple tasks, you can save time for the things that really matter.

An example of automated schedules is scheduling links. These links display your availability to others. For example, a client of yours can look at your scheduling link to see when you might be free for a phone call. They can book a time with you straight through the link, automatically filling your schedule with important events.

Another thing you can do is add recurring events to your calendar. These events will cycle through your calendar on a designated loop. You won’t have to constantly add events to your schedule, and you’ll always receive the reminders you need for each event.

Time management requires discipline and a concentrated effort over time. However, it certainly helps to have people like Marie Kondo to learn from. Take advantage of the tips above to seize control of your life through more effective time management.

Image Credit: Energepic.com; Pexels; Thank you!

Zoom Can Be Your Best Friend

By John Hall | Business Tips, Scheduling | No Comments

In short, you’re going to need Zoom meetings going forward. So, instead of groaning at that fact, we’re going to detail some ways that Zoom can be your best friend. I’ll be honest. This morning I received a Google Calendar invite for a Zoom call. I was not thrilled.

The reason? I had just Zoomed out and didn’t want another “quick” meeting. Obviously, I’m not the only one who is overcome by the phenomenon known as Zoom fatigue. But, to be fair, that’s not Zoom’s fault. Most of us have become burned with virtual meetings in general and long to return to normalcy.

The good news? It appears that we are finally heading back to a pre-Covid world. At the same, however, virtual meetings aren’t going anywhere anytime soon — which means Zoom as well.

According to Upwork’s Future Workforce Pulse Report, predicts the number of remote workers will be nearly double what it was before COVID-19: by 2025, there will be 36,2 million remote workers, an increase of 16,8 million from pre-pandemic rates.

Moreover, Gallup’s September update of its monthly employment trends found that 45% of full-time U.S. employees worked from home either all (25%) or part of the time (20%). Moreover, Gartner predicts that 74% of American companies are currently using or permanently implementing a hybrid work structure.

Is this good for business? You betcha.

Whether you have a fully remote team or implement a hybrid model, this is a win for all parties involved. With a more flexible schedule and less commuting, employees tend to be happier and more productive. Besides increasing output, there’s also less turnover. And, you can save money by reducing utility costs or downsizing to a smaller location.

Here are several ways that Zoom can be your best friend.

Focus on why Zoom is the best video conferencing tool.

In 2020, stay-at-home orders made video conferencing a necessity. But why did Zoom become the de facto video conferencing tool?

Zoom dominated the market mainly because it’s easier to use than traditional video conferencing platforms, which have a lot of complicated settings. As such, as long as you had a connection, anyone could use Zoom on any device.

What’s more, Zoom is an uncluttered interface that offers;

1-click to join a meeting
Easy screen sharing
Prompts for sound and video are automatic
A built-in chat feature
Automatic recording for post-meeting notes
The ability to switch from large to small group meetings easily with breakout rooms
Audio transcriptions
Diagramming on the fly with a whiteboard

Zoom has the highest video resolution among video conferencing platforms despite its limitations. You get high-definition resolution with the free version, while paid accounts can get up to 1080p. However, your internet connection can also affect the quality of the meeting.

Speaking of the free version, you can host up to 100 participants and have unlimited group meetings for up to 40 minutes. And there are also endless one-to-one meetings with a 30-hour time limit per meeting.

As long as you properly schedule your virtual event, like having an agenda, these time limits should be more than enough. If not, you can opt for a paid plan depending on your specifications.

Become a Zoom master.

“Whether you’ve been using Zoom for years or have only just signed up in the last year or so, there are many helpful and fun tips, tricks, and hidden features you can find to upgrade your video chatting experience and make your video meetings a little less weird — and hopefully avoid Zoom fatigue and Zoom anxiety.” writes CNET’s Alison DeNisco Rayome.

Adjust your background. Simply go to Settings > Virtual Background and select or upload the image you want.
Change your name. At the bottom of the screen, click the Participants button once you are in the meeting. Click More > Rename once you have selected your name. Enter your desired name and click OK.
Become familiar with keyboard shortcuts. You can, for instance, press and hold the spacebar to quickly mute and unmute your mic right from your keyboard. Zoom’s complete list of keyboard shortcuts can be found here.
For smaller group discussions, create Zoom breakout rooms. Go to Account Management > Account Settings to set up a breakout room as the host. Ensure that the setting is switched on under the Meeting tab, under Breakout Room. Additionally, meeting hosts have the option of pre-assigning breakout rooms to participants.
Use emojis and the vanishing pen. Emoji reactions allow you to tell the hosts what you think even when you are muted in a meeting. And, you have 40 options to choose from. In addition, you can highlight text or objects with the vanishing pen when sharing your screen. The highlights will fade over time, so you don’t have to go back and undo them.

Get organized and increase engagement.

“A disorganized in-person event will leave attendees feeling they didn’t get what they paid for,” writes Deanna Ritchie in a previous Calendar article. “A disorganized virtual event will lose those attendees completely before the event has ended (and in many cases before it’s even started.).”

“This is why you want to use high-quality communication tech to keep everyone on the same page — and this isn’t just referring to paying for a Zoom account.” Also, additional tools can be invaluable to ensuring an exceptional event.

Companies were given some grace in the early days of the pandemic, as they figured out how to host an online event as smoothly and efficiently as possible, Deanna explains. “Now, event attendees no longer give grace to an unorganized virtual event.” Moreover, companies should ensure their virtual events are well-structured, well-organized, and produce results.

Increasing engagement through communication technology.

“The ability for attendees to listen to lectures and training sessions after the fact means many will jump ship as soon as they feel bored,” she adds. “They know they can come back later to listen to the recording (often at 1.5X speed to get it over with faster.).”

Because of this, organizations must use the right communication tools to ensure their events run smoothly, she suggests. And this starts with pairing Zoom with an excellent digital calendar. There are several benefits to this combination.

One prominent example would be smaller meetings. “When your event includes a handful of people, you can use a digital calendar to inform everyone of the time of the event.” You can also include live-stream links, notes, and guest lists on most calendar apps. If any details of an event change, these tools can also generate notifications immediately.

“Along with smaller gatherings, a calendar is critical to larger events,” says Deanna. “As you begin to plan an event, you can use a calendar app to orchestrate logistical meetings and make sure that your team is staying closely connected.” With the app, you can also ensure that attendees remember the date of the event.

Don’t use up all 40-minutes.

Did you ever wonder why most TED Talks are under 20 minutes long? It’s because we have limited attention spans.

Chris Anderson, the curator of the TED conference, explained it as follows:

It [18 minutes] is long enough to be serious and short enough to hold people’s attention. It turns out that this length also works incredibly well online. It’s the length of a coffee break. So, you watch a great talk, and forward the link to two or three people. It can go viral, very easily. The 18-minute length also works much like the way Twitter forces people to be disciplined in what they write. By forcing speakers who are used to going on for 45 minutes to bring it down to 18, you get them to really think about what they want to say. What is the key point they want to communicate? It has a clarifying effect. It brings discipline.

A short video call or presentation will keep your audience engaged just as effectively as an in-person event. Also, most of us are spending time staring at screens than sleeping. Americans spent 4.1 hours a day interacting with mobile devices alone in 2021.

Remember, if you’re exposed to too much blue light, it could cause problems like insomnia. So any attempt to reduce time spent watching screens is helpful. And that could be as simple as not using up that 40-minute time limit for free Zoom users.

Create theme days.

“Get your team together for a themed day,” suggests Esther Yoon over on the Zoom Blog. “Zoom’s internal Happy Crew does a great job putting together themed days where Zoom employees can get on Gallery View and share each other’s get-ups” on these days, like for holidays or special occasions.

Are you stuck on ideas?

Why not dress up as your favorite superhero or throw a formal black-tie event? Playing games, showing off your pet, or virtual lunches where you share recipes could also be fun activities.

Considering how many options there are, this may easily become a recurring event for your team.

Integrate human experiences into virtual worlds.

During the pandemic, a lot of people not only used Zoom to communicate and collaborate with others. But, some people even use it to make new friends. However, when it was time to meet in real life, these friendships didn’t last.

Amy Johnson, a professor of communication at the University of Oklahoma who studies long-distance friendships, told The Atlantic that this happens often. There’s a tendency for people to avoid conflict when communicating digitally because it’s become normalized as a face-to-face interaction (consider breaking up with someone in person rather than sending a text message or even calling). Online relationships can be idealized without conflict, and missing information about the other person can be filled in positively. However, when we meet in real life, we may feel less close to the person if their attributes do not match our expectations.

And, yes, this does apply to work as well. For example, there may be a time when remote team members finally meet up in person. Or, maybe you have team members who haven’t seen each other in a very long because of remote or hybrid schedules. In either case, Zoom can be used to break the ice or build authentic human experiences.

Some suggestions would encourage non-work events, like a movie night or book club. There are also virtual team-building activities you could explore. And, instead of large group events, schedule smaller groups or one-on-ones so that everyone has time to engage with each other.

Image Credit: Anna Shvets; Pexels; Thank you!

Zoom Can Be Your Best Friend was originally published on Calendar by John Hall.

Why You Should Use Scheduling Software

By Choncé Maddox | Scheduling | No Comments

Using scheduling software improves time management. But not everyone is making use of this new technology. When you don’t utilize your time management software — it’s similar to having a new Ferrari, but driving it barely five miles under the speed limit.

To unlock a sports car’s ultimate speed, you must understand its engine. You must learn software advantages and how to leverage the power it has to boost your productivity. You’re only getting surface value for your software if you’ve looked at it solely like the Ferrari above — and only been interested in the paint and leather seats. Change how you think about your scheduling software.

Anticipate What Your Software Can Do for Productivity

Living in the moment is exciting but not very productive when you’re thinking about software. So you need to plan if you want to maximize your time using the software. Ask any industry leader or successful entrepreneur how much planning goes into their daily lives — and the same goes with using a piece of software.

You should plan daily, weekly, and monthly by changing your schedule program’s perspective. Above all, with daily planning, you may schedule challenging tasks at times when you know you are more productive. For example, plan all meetings and deadlines weekly. Monthly planning allows you to review your own KPIs and prepare for a more productive month. Meanwhile, your scheduling software lets you and others cooperate and plan together when you all have open times.

Leaders must juggle several jobs, duties, and deadlines. Your scheduling software will also assist in decreasing manager-team misunderstanding and miscommunication. For example, X’s new blog post is due tomorrow morning, with editing by an in-house editor at the end of the day — is that on the editing schedule? You need to have a spot to manage your team’s metrics for your scheduling software. He says the metrics help team leads and managers plan their time for each development cycle.

Personal-Professional Balance

Even if your profession is vital to your lifestyle, your family and yourself should always come first. According to a Deloitte study, organizations that promote work-life balance see double the employee productivity. Therefore, the most excellent scheduling software encourages work-life balance.

Set aside time for family. Schedule dates with your spouse and your children’s athletic events and recitals. These events should be non-negotiable, and you may arrange them using the same tools you use for your business.

The balance between work and life is much easier to accomplish. Use scheduling strategies that help you maximize your productivity while on the clock. For example, the Pomodoro technique divides work into little blocks with brief pauses in between. Using this scheduling strategy will help you focus better during the day, do more things in less time, and take less work home.

Color Coding for Geeks — Great at-a-Glance Scheduling

A unique color-coding system helps you to comprehend your itinerary quickly. Each item on your timetable can be assigned a different color. Red can be used to highlight important client meetings. For example, yellow can represent longer-term tasks like planning or reporting. Blue may stand for family time, personal obligations, etc. To complete activities faster, you’ll want to establish your schedule’s priority. There are many ways to accomplish this.

Visual cues can help people understand information faster, so go ahead and be colorful. Once you learn your color code, your daily schedule will inform you where and when you need to be. For example, a red light indicates a board meeting that you must prepare for. Consequently, no matter what the event is, a sliver of blue at the end of your schedule will remind you that you can’t work late tonight because you have a family event.

Set Alerts on Scheduling Software

Scheduling an event isn’t always enough — you’re not using scheduling software to its full potential if you don’t set reminders for important events. Therefore, setting up reminders for each meeting or appointment will help you keep track of your schedule. Remember to set an alarm for your travel time as well.

Your reminders will serve as a backup if you forget something or misplace your paper notes. There’s nothing worse than missing a critical meeting or giving the incorrect impression — these types of things damage careers. Use your scheduling program to avoid this.

Reminders can also help you prepare for upcoming occasions. Consequently, a half-hour notice before a big presentation provides you time to gather your thoughts and organize your materials. You should know yourself well enough to see if you need more time than a half hour. That’s all you will need if you have prepared the night before and have everything ready to go for that meeting.

Others to Contact in Scheduling Software

Preparing and attending a meeting where the other party does not show is counterproductive. Both parties must agree on a schedule. Even if you do everything perfectly — there are times when someone may be late or not show up for a meeting. All your planning and organizing will be for naught.

To avoid this, send reminders to folks with whom you have made plans. Most scheduling software allows you to set up reminder messages.

Leaders can create the perfect reminder once and use it for all future engagements for everyone on their team.

People won’t have to worry about colleagues or clients skipping meetings or writing personalized emails every time. They may also share a meeting agenda or a scheduling link to improve collaboration — and the same process and work while managing your hybrid teams’ hybrid work schedules.

We need to cease utilizing our scheduling software for only the basics. Instead, leaders should use this software tool’s array of valuable features to boost productivity companywide.

Start today to make the most of your time. Remember that using your scheduling software — “now” — spelled backward means you’ve “won.”

Why You Should Use Scheduling Software was originally published on Calendar by Choncé Maddox.

Image Credit: Vlada Karpovich; Pexels; Thank you!

5 Ways to Streamline Your Schedule So You Don’t Miss Anything

By Jason Barnes | Scheduling | No Comments

How you use your time each day is extremely important. If you want to be as productive as possible within an 8-hour workday, you need to learn how to best allocate your time. By following a proper schedule, you can get a lot more done in the same time period.

Slapping events and projects onto a calendar is only the start. Once you’ve got a schedule laid out, you need to maximize it. A few simple adjustments will get your schedule firing on all cylinders, streamlining your personal workflow without missing any important details or activities.

1. Use Collaborative Scheduling

Team calendars are a great way to optimize not only your own time, but that of everyone in the office. In a collaborative workplace, a lot of your schedule will be dependent on the people you work with. Meeting times, hybrid work schedules, deadlines, and more need to be coordinated throughout the entire organization without missing a beat.

With a shared team calendar, all of this information can be found in one place. This way, everyone knows what’s going on and can check each other’s schedule before booking meetings or appointments with one another. This will keep you in the loop even during a busy week where keeping track of all of these events seems impossible.

2. Take Advantage of Event Reminders

You can’t always rely on your memory, even if you have a mind like a steel trap. Reminders will provide a failsafe for every event and appointment you book so that even if you do forget about one, you’ll be able to jog your memory in time.

Consider the best event reminder strategy for each meeting and appointment. Instead of accepting the 10 minutes prior default, you may need to set some reminders a couple of hours in advance. That will give you time to prepare for the meeting beforehand and still arrive on time. Reminders set the night before an event might remind you not to overbook your schedule for the upcoming day. In some cases, you might even benefit from multiple reminders to help you through every stage of the process.

3. Avoid Overbooking

Whatever type of time management or scheduling software you use, make sure that it has a feature that prevents you from scheduling events that conflict. If your program of choice doesn’t alert you to potential overbooking, you may inadvertently stack events together and get yourself into quite a predicament. It won’t be until your events collide in real time that you realize the mistake you’ve made.

The right software will ensure you don’t actively have to think about overbooking. While you’re making plans, it will stop you from scheduling too much. This will allow you to shift events around or reschedule various commitments so everything works out. If you’re not getting any alerts from a program with this capability, it means you’re good to go.

4. Set Up a Scheduling Link

One way to streamline your schedule is to get other people to organize it for you. This might sound like an abdication of responsibility, but it’s actually quite practical. All you need to do is set up a scheduling link for yourself.

This link will be connected to your online calendar software. You can attach it at the end of emails or on a website for others to access. By using the link, coworkers, clients, and others can see your availability and schedule a time to meet with you. This eliminates the seemingly endless back-and-forths that occur when two parties try to coordinate schedules.

You can update your scheduling link to only allow certain times of day to be made available to others. This way no one will book a time slot where you’re at the gym or taking a lunch break. If every day follows a different routine, you can adjust your scheduling link accordingly.

5. Don’t Overdo It

If you don’t want to miss anything on your schedule, stop overpacking it. If your schedule is constantly at its breaking point with meetings, phone calls, deadlines, and events, you’ll run a higher risk of missing something important. This could create a catastrophic domino effect — or at the very least be incredibly stressful to handle.

Cutting back can be easier said than done, especially for busy professionals. Instead of hoping that your schedule will magically develop breathing room, try a new approach. For example, you can force yourself to include 10 minutes of buffer in between each commitment. This will ensure that you always have time to make it to your next appointment or prepare for back-to-back meetings.

Another thing you can do is track your time. Certain calendar apps will monitor how you’re spending your time, which can help you plan more efficiently in the future. By tracking your schedule, you may realize that you’re spending too much time in meetings and can take steps to cut down the number or duration of those you schedule.

To improve your time management, try to review your schedule at least once a month. Make some slight adjustments and continue pressing forward. By year’s end, you’ll have the most streamlined schedule possible.

Image Credit: Karolina Grabowska; Pexels; Thank you!

How to Keep Your Office Running Smoothly During Spring Break

By Gunjan Saini | Scheduling | No Comments

How to Keep Office Running Smoothly Spring Break

Spring break is known for crazy beach parties and exotic getaways. But for many people, spring break means business as usual. For your business, this means managing your team and operations during one of the more interesting times of the year.

With so many people out of school or taking time off from work, there are a lot of adjustments you need to make to make this week a successful one. Here’s a little advice to help you get through the break:

Avoid Internal Miscommunication

Before spring break even begins, communicate with your team and make sure everyone is on the same page. Everyone should know who is taking time off during the break and who will be taking their place to complete tasks and manage workflows. When there’s proper communication in place, nothing will fall through the cracks.

One idea you can implement is designating an out-of-office contact who is in the loop about current projects. They can be a quick phone call or message away when an employee has a question about a task that the out-of-office employee normally handles. That person can enjoy their spring break without leaving the rest of their team high and dry.

Schedule Everything

A good schedule will keep your business on the right track even when spring break takes a lot of people out of your orbit. For instance, you should have your employees’ schedules set well in advance. If workers are trying to ask for time off at the last minute, things will get complicated rather quickly.

Whether you use scheduling software or appointment software, just keep in mind that it’s absolutely essential to plan. It’s also important to have a collaborative schedule that the entire team has access to. This can help avoid unnecessary questions about where someone is during spring break, when they return, and who is scheduled to work over the break.

You won’t always be able to stick to your perfectly organized schedule. Unexpected events will occur, and you’ll have to make adjustments along the way. Having an established schedule will make it easier to make those adjustments and roll with the punches.

Keep Customers in the Loop

As you make adjustments to prepare for the upcoming spring break, don’t forget to keep your customers in the loop. For example, if you have several employees taking time off, you may want to post a notice that you are unable to accept as many appointments or take care of as many customers during this time. If customers know this is the case beforehand, you won’t get backlogged by frustrated customers assuming that business is running as usual.

Many businesses keep their customers in the loop through social media posts. This is a great way to connect with customers as well as increase your visibility to potential new customers. However, not everyone will be checking social media pages for business updates. You should also be updating your company website regularly, especially if you’re dealing with online appointment bookings. An email newsletter can also help inform customers of upcoming changes they need to be aware of.

Add Some Incentives

Your business might not be worried about employees taking time off for spring break. But it might struggle with employees clocking in and feeling unmotivated because they wish they were on vacation. Whether it’s due to lingering travel concerns or a tight budget, your active employees could use a little push during spring break to keep motivation and morale high.

A few incentives should do the trick. A week-long sales competition with some tantalizing rewards can perk up the office and keep morale going strong. Offering a prize like a paid company vacation or the newest video game console should help pick up the pace of sales.

A guaranteed incentive will shine some light at the end of the tunnel as well. The office atmosphere will be a little lighter if employees are looking forward to a nice team dinner on Friday night rather than going home without any spring break plans.

Enable Remote Work

If there are aspects of your business that can be performed digitally, give it a whirl during this upcoming spring break. Your employees who want some extra time off during this time period will be able to do so while still being able to complete some necessary tasks. This may even set a precedent moving forward where hybrid work is enabled and allows employees to spend more time at home with their families.

There are many ways your business can enable remote work. A phone system can be set up in a home office to field calls from customers. Outgoing calls for sales or appointment confirmations can be made through a remote phone system. Any digital aspects of your business can also be done from home, such as payroll, marketing, and scheduling.

For many businesses, there has to be at least one person in-house in order for operations to continue and likely more if you run a customer-facing business such as a salon. It might not seem fair to employees that their coworkers are able to work from home, so consider incentives you can offer to make it up to them. Perhaps an extra paid vacation day at a slower time of the year will provide the needed motivation.

While it might not be as exciting to be working rather than vacationing over spring break, you can make it tolerable and even fun. You can also use these strategies for other holidays to keep your business running smoothly no matter what logistical hurdles arise.

Image Credit: Buro Millennial; Pexels; Thank you!

Maintaining a Schedule Can Help You Live Longer

By Abby Miller | Scheduling | No Comments

Some may go on and on about how a schedule of activities or routines inhibits creativity or spontaneity. Of course, there may be a situation or two where that would be true — however, there are other situations in which this is not the case. Maintaining a schedule frees up time for your creative ventures.

People who do not adhere to a schedule, are more likely to skip appointments, postpone necessary work, live or work in an unorganized environment, and haphazardly finish projects if they finish at all.

It’s a recipe for catastrophe in every sense of the word. So how do you plan for uncertain times?

If you want to be successful, you must recognize the importance of having a schedule – one that sets dates and times that will allow you to arrive on time, finish the duties at hand, and prepare for extra successes.

The Best Way to Get Started With a Schedule

So, what is the best way to get started with a schedule? One of the most important things you can do is ask crucial questions. It is to ensure that you fully comprehend the timetable given to you.

For some individuals, keeping a timetable is as easy as checking off the items on a to-do list as they come across them on their computer. On the other hand, others may find that more specifics allow them to simplify a timetable or completely integrate a calendar into other parts of their lives.

Asking which activities on the schedule are the top priorities or which items on the plan may be postponed or swapped with other things are examples of questions you would ask.

Track Your Time — do Some Research

After completing your research, you may find that you need to change certain aspects of your life. You may find there is no link to your work or school schedule. As you would expect, not all of these activities are time-suckers; instead, they merely need a reorganization of your time.

Taking a two-hour lunch break, for example, may need to be shortened to one hour or half an hour to complete other tasks on your to-do list within that period.

If your goal is to spend the early Saturday morning hours with research at the library it may be necessary to shift your shopping habits to Sunday nights if you have been used to doing it on Saturday mornings. And remember that not all timetables are etched in stone. For example, you may change your schedule to accommodate new jobs or projects that need more or less time to complete than initially planned.

Following your experience, a few well-placed questions, and some minor rearranging, you will have a timetable that you can safely follow—knowing that your new schedule will lead you to achieve the essential tasks vital to your life. Much less effort has to be expended when you make a reasonable plan for your essential work.

The times, they are a-changin.’

Yes, the times change. Our schedules reflect this volatility — or they should. But sometimes, we keep our heads in the sand. Like the ostrich, we do not wish to see what’s happening around us, and we may try to duck out on reality. With careful observation, you’ll be able to see what types of procrastination are interrupting your schedule. Don’t be one that refuses to schedule in needed changes in your life. Go ahead and admit that your time management skills need a little refurbishing and just do it.

Being Flexible is Not the Same as Being Careless

When scheduling conflicts arise, as they will, a quick response is usually best. However, hemming, hawing, and beating around the bush is an excellent way of alienating others. Instead, be decisive with what commitments you say you will make, then stick with your decision. Opportunity melts like frost, and, especially as an entrepreneur — you have to take the reins and move quickly.

The most significant fatality to time management success is being noncommittal and deciding not to decide. After all, who looks back with pride at all the appointments they didn’t keep — and the decisions that were put off? There never seems like enough time, but actions that were never planned won’t be something you are proud of in the future.

It’s all in the timing

Professional comics say it’s all in the timing and point to the times to speed up and when to slow down. When the comedians hold a pause or stomp the punchline at the right moment — it’s magical. Timing can basically be applied in the same way for business leaders and organization managers. Timing is everything.

The Bible intones “there is a time and season for everything.’” So it is in business — there’s a time to start — and a time to end. A time to let go. A time to meet — and a time to lock the door and go over the audit yourself.

The trick is to know when to do what. And that trick is simple. Psychology Today has a great time management test. IF you follow basic time management principles, you can adapt to your particular circumstances. And IF you take advantage of the latest time management technology and theory, you will be a lot further ahead than if you don’t.

Basics of Time Management and Living Longer and Peacefully

Every MBA course offers dozens of classes on how to untangle the basics of time management.

Nobody has an easy schedule. Nobody. Not the janitor. Or the CEO. Not even the poet in her ivory tower. But once you learn to dance to the tune that time plays for you, life becomes more bearable and more your own.

Some say that minutes are hard cider, hours champagne, and days become flagons of the finest mead. Just ask those who seem to have nothing to do. An accident? Nope. They have come to grips with their time and they wrestle it to the ground.

If you plan correctly and make time yours — you’ll come out on top. You shouldn’t dream of doing anything less!

Image Credit: Jess Bailey Designs; Pexels; Thank you!

Category Archives: Scheduling