3 secret Google Calendar hacks that’ll help you outsmart your boss

• Befriend keyboard shortcuts
• Embrace color coding
• Enable daily agenda emails

Google Calendar is among the most popular digital planning software packages available on the web. Tying in with the broader Google Workspace ecosystem, Calendar is cross-platform and is therefore available across all major mobile platforms and PC operating systems.

As a standalone service, there are a lot of powerful features within Google Calendar that can help supercharge the agenda-creating experience. While some functions are self-explanatory, others are hidden just beneath the surface and don’t receive the appreciation they deserve.

Here are three Google Calendar productivity hacks that I personally use to maintain an organized, punctual work cadence each and every day of the week.

Befriend keyboard shortcuts

Save yourself both time and wrist fatigue

Regardless of which computer application we’re talking about, keyboard shortcuts are a dependable way to speed up navigation, to reduce wrist strain from extensive cursor manipulation, and to create a better overall work flow. In the case of Google Calendar, there are a great many key combinations that can be leveraged to access various user interface elements and to take agenda actions.

A full list of Calendar shortcuts can be found over on Google’s official support page. Additionally, within the Calendar interface itself, you can type ? to invoke a dedicated Keyboard shortcuts legend.

Some of the most useful keyboard shortcuts available within Google Calendar include:

• Press C to create a new event
• Press D to switch to day view
• Press Ctrl + R to refresh your calendar
• Press Ctrl + T to jump back to the current day
• Press Ctrl + , to launch settings

Embrace color coding

Separate categories while injecting personality into your planner

Aside from adding a dash of personality to an otherwise fairly drab calendar interface, the action of color coding events helps with legibility while quickly scanning through various tasks, appointments, meetings, and more. As an organizational tool, designating specific hues for specific calendar entries is a sure-fire way to stay on top of upcoming events, and Google Calendar offers several visual options to choose from:

• Tomato
• Flamingo
• Tangerine
• Banana
• Sage
• Basil
• Peacock
• Blueberry
• Lavender
• Grape
• Graphite

Enable daily agenda emails

Customized event briefings sent directly to your inbox

A useful Google Calendar utility that’s switched off by default, you can opt to have daily agenda briefings sent directly to your Gmail inbox in the form of email notifications. Similar to a newsletter or a bulletin, daily agenda is a convenient option for scanning through your upcoming responsibilities and appointments ahead of time.

To toggle on daily agenda emails in Google Calendar, follow these steps:

1. Locate your calendar of choice from within the My calendars section of the hamburger side menu.
2. Tap or click on the ellipsis (three dot) menu, followed by Settings and sharing.
3. From here, scroll down to Other notifications > Daily agenda.
4. Next, use the dropdown menu to select Email from the available options.