Digital Calendar Management

I spend a huge part of my week just managing my calendar — finding free slots, rescheduling meetings, dealing with recurring events, and juggling multiple time zones. It’s tedious and eats into real work. That’s why I decided to build my own solution: a Google Calendar AI agent powered by Google’s Agent Development Kit. This agent can: 👉 Understand plain English commands like “Schedule a 1-hour call with Alex next Tuesday morning”. 👉 Suggest free time slots based on my existing calendar. 👉 Handle recurring events, cancellations, and attendees automatically. 👉 Work across time zones without any manual conversion. While building this, I learned something crucial: AI isn’t just about generating text — it can actually perform actions that solve real problems. Designing this agent taught me how to bridge natural language understanding with real-world API actions. I wrote a detailed step-by-step blog, including code snippets and logic, so anyone can replicate this setup or build their own AI productivity assistant: https://lnkd.in/dsDhtcMr #AIAgents #AgentDevelopmentKit Google Cloud #GoogleAI #GoogleCalendar #CalendarManagement #AgenticAI

Want my 15-minute rule for calendar management? I used this rule as a CPA to help manage my calendar like a pro during tax season. Here's how it transforms productivity: ➡️ Block Everything in 15-Minute Increments Your calendar isn't just for meetings. Block EVERYTHING - focus time, breaks, email checking. This creates a realistic view of your actual capacity. ➡️ Color-Code by Energy Level Green: High-focus tasks requiring creativity and problem-solving Yellow: Medium-focus tasks like client meetings Red: Low-energy tasks like administrative work Schedule according to your natural energy peaks. ➡️ Create Buffer Zones Always add 15-minute buffers between meetings. This prevents the domino effect of one delay destroying your entire day. ➡️ Protect Your "Power Blocks" Identify when you're most productive and defend those time blocks ruthlessly. For you, it might be as an example 10am-12pm. Nothing but high-value work happens then. ➡️ The "One Task, One Block" Rule Multi-tasking is a myth. Assign ONE clear deliverable to each time block. The specificity creates accountability. ➡️ Weekly Reality Check Every Sunday, review your upcoming week and ask: "Is this realistic?" Be honest about what you can actually accomplish. ➡️ Non-Negotiable Self-Care Schedule self-care blocks with the same importance as client meetings. Your brain needs rest to perform at its peak. What's your biggest calendar management challenge? — Enjoy this? ♻️ Repost it to your network and follow Dr. Jackie Meyer, CPA for more. Want to transform your tax practice into a high-profit, lower-stress business? Join 18,000+ tax professionals in my newsletter at https://lnkd.in/guJeM_VH

🚨 How you manage your Exec's calendar will make or break their day... Yes, really. I use the calendar as my Exec's one source of truth. Good calendar management isn’t just about booking meetings - it’s about building a system that supports your Exec in doing their best work. Here are some tips for making it work effortlessly 👇 ⭐ Deep dive into your Exec’s preferences ↳ Every Exec has different priorities, quirks and needs. Are they morning people? Do they prefer to be back-to-back or space to breathe? Do they have family responsibilities? Ask them to talk you through their "ideal week" and get them to dream big. Then you know what "ideal" looks like. Will it always work that way? Absolutely not, but at least you know what’s important to them and what supports their productivity. ⏳ Utilise tools to support you ↳ Whether thats mastering time zones by using tools like World Time Buddy (it’s free) to find the perfect meeting slots or simplifying finding suitable slots by using a calendar link tool (Gmail has a built-in tool thats really good!). Both of these tools will save you heaps of back-and-forth. 🔒 Block in priorities & hold that time hostage ↳ Once you’ve blocked focus time or specific tasks into the diary - defend it fiercely. Everyone loves a meeting, but not every meeting deserves a slot on the calendar. I take my Exec's priorities and flesh them out into the week to ensure he has space to get shit done. I often make blocked slots private invites so nobody can see the reason and won’t book over it! ⚠️ Audit continuously ↳ Things change fast and calendar juggling is a real sport. Start everyday by reviewing it; what can be shifted, canceled, or turned into an email/Slack? Does everything have an agenda? Are documents, tickets, links etc attached to invites? I add everything and anything my Exec might need or find useful, right into the calendar so he only needs to check one place. 📍 Simple colour coding ↳ The worst thing you could do is go wild with color coding so it becomes complicated to follow what’s happening. The idea is visually appealing and obvious. Personally, I use 4 colours: external meetings (red), in-person meetings (yellow), priority task blocks (gray) and everything else is in the main calendar colour. 🔎 Spot gaps and be one step ahead ↳ Be proactive, take full ownership and think of EVERYTHING. Flesh out time for strategic thinking, plan meetings together that have similar topics or locations, build in travel time + the route needed, if theres a project meeting next week - block prep time, add deadlines in, jot down reminders. Make it the only location they need to go! A well-managed calendar is more than a list of meetings - it’s a reflection of your Exec’s priorities and a tool to maximise their impact. I’m happy to deep dive into my specific workflow and what I do daily / weekly (using Google Suite), let me know if you'd find that help! #ExecutiveAssistant #CalendarManagement #CalendarTips

Creating space in an executive's calendar is like finding hidden treasure in plain sight. Got a message from a potential client yesterday asking how we make calendars breathe. Here's what I told them: The first month is all about studying you - your patterns, your priorities, and where time slips away. What we often discover: • Work bleeding into personal time • No breaks between meetings • Calendar chaos ruling your life • Zero time for deep work • Constant interruptions So here's what we do: We implement strategic buffers - 15 minutes between meetings so you can actually think (and yes, use the bathroom 😅). But the real disruptive? We create and protect blocks for deep work like it's our job (because it is). Let me share a real example: My client has 2-hour blocks every single day for focused work. Plus, Thursdays? Those are completely meeting-free. And trust me, unless there's a genuine emergency, no one gets on that Thursday calendar. Not happening. The results speak for themselves: • Less overwhelm • Increased productivity • More strategic thinking time • Better work-life boundaries • Actually leaving work at work His response hit the nail on the head: "Oh my. So you're basically forcing me to work on things I should actually be focusing on to keep my business running." Exactly. Because here's the truth - executives are often their own worst enemy when it comes to time management. That's where we step in. We're not just managing calendars; we're protecting your most valuable asset - your time. What's your biggest calendar challenge? Drop it below - let's see if we can help you find some breathing room in your schedule. Remember, your calendar should work for you, not against you. 🎯

Raise your hand if you’ve ever felt the CALENDAR is running you 🏃♀️ vs YOU running the calendar 👉 Let's be honest. 👀 There’s nothing sexy about calendar management, but doing it well can make a serious difference in your life and like we've said before, it (in conjunction with your org structure) may be leaving billions on the table.    We recently partnered with an EA and did this exercise for their CMO's calendar and have some big wins (and lessons) to share.   TLDR: it's possible to add intention, focus and ultimately, make your calendar a driver of your efficiency. Hit up the awesome Black Glass team for ways to orient to growth vs meetings. CASE STUDY ALERT - Saved 13 hours in recurring meetings per month – that’s 143 hours per year or almost a full month’s worth of time… for one executive! Imagine if this EA shared what they did with their peers and they cleared this time across the entire C-suite and leadership team.   - Added predictability. This CMO has six direct reports who they meet with for 30 minutes every month. Originally, these recurred on their own schedules and were frequently moved or rescheduled. Now the CMO has one hour for 1:1s blocked at the same time every week – and they rotate through the reports. - Helped the EA become roughly 30% more efficient with calendar management. With a skeleton in place, they now know exactly how to organize the CMO’s day when new requests come in. And they're able to better align the CMO’s schedule against their priorities thanks to a much deeper understanding of what those priorities are

🎨 The Art of the Executive Calendar 🎨 Managing the Calendar: More Strategy, Less Chaos The executive calendar is so much more than a diary—it’s a strategy tool. It’s about aligning their time with what truly matters. My focus is on creating white space for deep work, spotting bottlenecks, and consolidating meetings to free up energy for impactful decisions.   Here are three actionable ways to master the executive calendar:   1️⃣ Review the Week Ahead: Spot Conflicts and Gaps 🛠 Action: Dedicate time each Friday or Monday morning to thoroughly review the upcoming week. ✨ Example: Notice back-to-back meetings? Add 15-minute buffers to prevent burnout. For instance, move a 2:00 PM meeting to 2:15 PM if the prior one ends at 2:00 PM, allowing breathing or prep time. 💡 Pro Tip: Use colour-coding (e.g., green for external meetings, blue for internal priorities) to visually flag clashes or priority shifts.   2️⃣ Create and Protect Focus Time 🛠 Action: Block out uninterrupted time for deep work or decision-making. ✨ Example: If your executive needs 2 hours to finalise a presentation, schedule “Focus Time” and ensure no interruptions. Add a specific note: “Prepare Q1 presentation – draft due by 4 PM.” 💡 Pro Tip: Alert Executive in advance about reschedules or declines to protect focus time. Clear communication = smoother changes!   3️⃣ Eliminate Time Wasters 🛠 Action: Assess recurring or “just because” meetings. Suggest cutting or consolidating where possible. ✨ Example: Merge two weekly check-ins with the same department into one streamlined session. “I’ve noticed we have two 30-minute Marketing team meetings weekly. Shall we consolidate into one 45-minute session to save time?” 💡 Pro Tip: Find out if some meetings can be discussed over email updates or Teams messages for discussions that don’t need face-to-face time.   💭 Final Thought The executive calendar isn’t just a schedule; it’s a blueprint for success. Your thoughtful management can turn chaos into clarity, ensuring their time is spent where it makes the most impact. 👉 How do you ensure your executive’s calendar reflects their priorities? Share your favourite hacks in the comments! #LearningDevelopment #StrategicAssistant #DiaryHacks

🗓️ Struggling with gazillions of meetings? 📩 Can't keep up with those e-mails? ⚡️ No time for "real work"? Here are 12 tips that just might help 👇 🗓️ CALENDAR 1. Plan ALL of your major tasks in the calendar! It could be anything and everything - research, mailing blocker, coding time, creating a slide deck, drafting a customer proposal, etc. Protect your time by scheduling work in advance, and curate your calendar on a daily basis     2. Consolidate meetings to maximize "flow" time. Defragment your working slots by scheduling meetings back-to-back. Expand and free up large contiguous chunks of time to get more work done more efficiently without interruption     3. Before you leave for a vacation ensure to block your calendar for the entire morning of the day you get back. This will give you the chance to process the e-mail accumulated in the inbox and be up-to-date before meetings commence     4. Travel time to the airport, to a customer meeting or to a conference can be used for less important or less confidential calls. Put a calendar blocker like "Travel time" both as a reminder for you to depart on time, but also as a hint for others that you still might be reachable     5. Set up automatic categorization and coloring rules for events. Your calendar will look like Tetris, but you will see at a glance when you have in-person meetings, calls, working blockers, travel time, OOO, etc.     6. Share your calendar with co-workers, while keeping private things private. Allowing people to see the subjects of your calendar appointments allow them to autonomously (and responsibly) overbook them in case of need. This can reduce the invite ping-pong and interruptions 📩 MAIL 7. Use folders and rules to automatically classify incoming mail. Move important folders up in the folder tree. Avoid naming them by specific persons and rather use functions or stakeholder groups     8. Create custom rules to move all meeting invites into a dedicated folder, so they are always in one place regardless of the sender. Outlook hint: disable auto-delete of accepted meeting invites, so you can always go back to them or forward to other people even when rejected     9. Aim to keep unread messages at 0. Yes, zero! Except after vacation. More than a dozen unread messages mean you are falling behind. More than a 100 - be realistic, you will never ever read them! Keep messages unread only if you need to act upon them shortly     10. Set up your mail client to mark important messages in Red (or whatever color) by one click, so they can stand out     11. Optimize your mail client layout. Outlook hint: the default Vertical view is a big mess - the message list pane trims subjects, and unread messages do not pop out visually. Change the layout to resemble Thunderbird's Classic view     12. To efficiently find messages in a conversation right-click and use the "Find Related" action. Add that as a custom action in your toolbar #Mail #Calendar #Time  

Work almost got to be too much for me to handle earlier this year.   I was managing 6 projects all for different clients, plus creating content on multiple platforms, coaching my own clients, and leading my freelance project management bootcamp. 😳 At one point a colleague came to me and asked “I have to know - how do you keep it all together?” As much as I would have loved to offer this person “The Great Secret of Successful Project Managers Everywhere”, what I responded with was this: “Google Calendar.” Perhaps not the most impressive tip, but it’s an important one. That’s because even though I manage projects using various systems, the one thing that keeps me on track is my G-Calendar. In many ways, it serves as my single source of truth. It reminds me when I need to check in, with whom, and about what, among many other things. But your calendar won’t work for you if you don’t update it regularly. 🤷♀️ Here’s how I make sure mine stays up to date: ✅ I keep my calendar open on my laptop at all times for easy access.  ✅ I batch add updates or new events/tasks to my calendar every day.  ✅ I leverage automations from other systems, but manually add critical check-in points to my calendar to ensure they aren’t overlooked. ✅ I check my calendar each evening and also first thing in the morning to mentally prepare for the day and add updates where necessary. ❓ What’s your secret for balancing all the things? #freelanceprojectmanagement #projectmanagement #organizationhacks _______________________________________________________ 🔔 Follow me and ring the bell for more project management and leadership content! 📬 Interested in working with me as a coach or project consultant? My DMs are open! 📺 Check out my YT channel in the featured section of my profile to access over 150 FREE videos about the project management experience.

🙋♀️ Are you tired of drowning in meetings? Let's take charge of our calendars and revamp our remote work routine. In the world of remote work, the 9 to 5 can be swamped with meetings, leaving little room for focus, strategy, or creativity. I have a plan to reclaim control of my calendar because this is key to unlocking peak productivity. 👇🏻 🎯 Selective Acceptance: "Accept" now comes after careful consideration. Is it a cross-functional brainstorm, a decision-making meeting, or an essential check-in? Understanding the meeting's purpose is crucial. 📝 Agenda Priority: Every meeting gets a clear goal and actionable plan. No agenda? I'm asking for clarity via email. 🤔 Attendance Evaluation: Pause before joining. Is my presence vital, or can I catch up later? This one's tough for me, but I'm working on it. 🚀 Guarding Time Blocks: I've set time blocks for focused work. If it's not urgent, I protect these blocks from meetings. 💡 Post-Meeting Insight: Asking the team for recaps to stay in the loop without attending every meeting. I'd love to hear how you manage your calendar and keep meetings in check? #TakeBackYourTime #RemoteProductivity #protectyourcalendar