
- Google Calendar Appointment Slots: Oftentimes I have multiple folks I need to meet with. Appointment slots makes it difficult to schedule group meetings with more than one person. Additionally, I can't create multiple open blocks of time under the same link. If I want to schedule a single meeting, but want to give folks options of Monday 2-6, Tuesday 10-2 and then again 3-5, I need to make 3 separate appointment slots. #Annoying
- Doodle: I love this one, and probably use it the most for group scheduling (especially because it has Google Calendar integration). In some cases, I like it even better than the solution I'm going to share below. BUT, the big weakeness with this system is that I have to delineate every time I'm free. If the slots that I choose don't work for that person or people, then I have to start all over again with a new Doodle. #AlsoAnnoying
- Shared or Public Google Calendars: This works great if you are all in the same network and have public calendars. However a lot of folks (myself included) don't want everyone knowing exactly where we are and what we're doing. So I tend to stay away from this.
So, here is my current "solution":
A public "busy" calendar embedded in a Google site
Here's what it looks like:
What is a public "busy" calendar?

Why did I embed it into a Google Site?

SO - I created a simple 1-page Google Site that embedded the calendar right into it. All it has on it is my calendar and a few disclaimers, explaining how to read the calendar and reminding them of my time zone. The nice thing about putting my calendar in my Google Site - beyond being able to type a quick message or disclaimers to go with the cal - is that when you are embedding it, the site gives you options on what view people see and how they navigate it. SO, I was able to embed my calendar in "week view" - which shows the FULL busy window.
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So now I use this public calendar (which I've also created a TinyURL for) when scheduling appointments with one person or with a small handful. When there is a bigger meeting, we still go to Doodle since it allows for easier scheduling across many different schedules.
So far, this has been working great for me - and I've gotten lots of "oh wow, how did you do this!?" comments. Thus, this blog post. This is how I did it :).
So far, this has been working great for me - and I've gotten lots of "oh wow, how did you do this!?" comments. Thus, this blog post. This is how I did it :).