Google Calendar basics
How to use Google Calendar in Google Workspace — creating events, inviting people, viewing teammates' calendars, and managing your schedule.
- Difficulty
- Beginner
Google Calendar is the scheduling and calendar tool included with Google Workspace. It's where you create meetings, set reminders, and see what your teammates are doing — all connected to Gmail and Meet.
Quick summary
Open Calendar at calendar.google.com. Click any empty time slot to create an event. Add guests by typing their email. On a work or school account, a Google Meet link is added for you as soon as you add guests and save. Events sync across your devices.
Getting to Calendar
- On a computer: Go to calendar.google.com, or open the Google apps menu at the top right of Gmail and choose Calendar.
- On your phone: Install the Google Calendar app from the App Store or Google Play.
Creating an event
Click any time on the calendar that doesn't already have an event. A small box opens. (To create a longer event, drag down the page as you select the time.) You can also click Create in the top left.
Add a title, then either click Save for a quick event or open the full editor to fill in the rest.
In the full event editor, you can:
- Set the date and time
- Add a location or a Google Meet video link
- Add a description or notes
- Add guests by typing their email addresses
- Set a reminder (notification)
Click Save. If you added guests, they'll receive an email invitation. They can accept, decline, or mark as "maybe."
Inviting people to a meeting
When you create or edit an event, add people under Guests. Start typing a name to pick someone from your contacts, or type an email address to invite anyone else — they don't need to use Google Calendar. Guests get an email invitation with Yes, No, and Maybe links.
Once you've added guests, click Find a time to compare their calendars with yours and spot an open slot. This only shows the calendars people have shared with you, and it compares up to 50 guests.
Google Meet links
On a work or school account, a Google Meet video meeting is added when you add guests and click Save. To add one yourself, select Add Google Meet video conferencing. Guests can join straight from the calendar invite, and they can forward the link to other people.
Viewing your calendar
In the top right, choose a view: Day, Week, Month, Year, Schedule, or 4 days. Whichever you pick becomes your default until you change it again.
- Day — see your schedule hour by hour for a single day
- Week — a good view for planning your work week
- Month — a high-level overview of the whole month
- Schedule — a scrollable list of upcoming events
Seeing teammates' calendars
One of the most useful features of Google Calendar for teams: you can view your colleagues' calendars alongside your own.
In the left sidebar, click Search for people.
Type a colleague's name or email. If their calendar is shared with you or with your whole organization, it appears.
Their events appear on your calendar in a different color. How much you see depends on what they shared — some people share only free/busy times, not event details.
If someone hasn't shared their calendar with you, you can send them a request to share it, and you get an email once they do.
Setting reminders and notifications
To never miss an event, add a reminder. Open the event, click Edit event, and next to Notifications choose:
- Email — sends you an email at a certain time before the event
- Notification — shows an alert in your browser or on your phone
Click Add notification to add another one, so you can have both a day before and 30 minutes before. You can set up to five per event. These notifications are yours alone: they don't change the reminders your guests get, which follow each guest's own settings.
Creating a recurring event
For weekly team meetings, monthly check-ins, and other repeating events:
In the top left, click Create, then add the event title and any other details.
Next to "Does not repeat," click the down arrow.
Choose how often it should repeat, and when the repeats should stop. Pick Custom if none of the presets fit.
Click Save.
You can do the same to an event that already exists: click it, click Edit, then use the same "Does not repeat" dropdown.
Common questions
Can I have multiple calendars in Google Calendar?
Yes. You can create separate calendars for different purposes — for example, one for work meetings, one for personal appointments, and one for team deadlines. Each calendar gets its own color. See Sharing a calendar for how to share individual calendars.
How do I set my working hours so people can see when I'm available?
At the top right, click Settings → Settings, then on the left, under "General," click Working hours. (It's called Working hours & location if your admin has turned on working location.) Click Enable working hours, then pick the days and times you work; you can add more than one time period to a day. This tells people you're unavailable when they try to schedule with you. You can only turn it on from a computer, and it's available on work and school accounts — if you don't see the option, your admin may have turned it off.
Can I accept a meeting invite without an email?
Yes. If the meeting is on your Google Calendar (because someone invited your Workspace email), you can respond directly from Calendar — click the event and choose Yes, No, or Maybe.
How do I connect my Google Calendar to a tool like Calendly?
Most scheduling tools can connect to Google Calendar. In the tool's own settings, look for the option to connect a calendar and sign in with your Google account; the exact wording varies from tool to tool, so follow that tool's instructions. If your organization limits which outside apps can reach your Google data, an admin may need to approve it first.
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