By Morgan Clark
Back-to-school shopping is one of the most exciting things about the new school year. You pick out cute new pens, color-coordinated binders, and of course, a new planner. You make a resolution for yourself to be more organized, to manage your time better, or to stay on top of your assignments. But then, sometimes not even a month into the school year, all hopes of staying organized seem to be hopelessly lost.
At the beginning of this semester, I decided to begin using Google Calendar as my main planning medium, and I haven’t looked back since. It’s so convenient that I can’t remember how I ever survived a school year without it. In order to help you live your best life this semester, I’ve compiled a list of all of the Google Calendar features that make it essential for any college student.
1. You can use it anywhere.
Whether you’re on your laptop, phone, tablet, or even using a device that isn’t yours, you can access Google Calendar with your Google login. There is a user-friendly mobile app that allows you to have instant access to your schedule, and you can change and add events on the go.
2. Multiple calendars make planning effortless.
This is probably my favorite feature on Google Calendar. It makes it so easy to declutter your schedule when needed and just focus on what you need to know at the moment. One calendar that I find particularly useful is the “Office Hours” calendar because it eliminates the need to find your syllabus every time you want to talk to a professor.
3. You can share your calendars with other Gmail users.
Sharing calendars can be so convenient when you need to make plans with other people. Whether you share your class schedule with friends so it’s easier to find time together or you create a weekly chore schedule for you and your roommates, shared calendars can save you from a lot of unnecessarily complicated coordination.
4. Add events straight from your email for simple scheduling.
If you receive an email that requires you to put something on your schedule, Google gives you the tools to do that straight from the email. Just click the automatically generated link on any date or time in an email and the tools you need to create a new calendar event will pop right up!
5. Google Calendar reminds you before events.
One of the most difficult things about using a planner for me was that I often forgot to check it. It sounds silly, but sometimes when your schedule is full, a little reminder of your obligations can be extremely helpful. You can add a notification at any time when editing an event, with options ranging from minutes to weeks before the event, with the option of getting a notification by email.
6. Customized repeating lets you enter your schedule once for the whole semester.
Adding in every lecture, discussion, lab, etc. to your calendar for an entire semester would be unproductive and time-consuming. On Google Calendar, all you have to do is enter each of those once, and then click “Custom…” under the options for repeating, and choose the days of the week that you have that class, and the end of the semester for the “Ends on” date.
7. You can attach your syllabus right to the course on your schedule.
Sometimes it can be a pain to find your syllabus when you want to have it instantly. By attaching your syllabus to the “description” section of the course it corresponds to, you will always have easy access when you need it. This can be done either by uploading the file or selecting it directly from your Google Drive.
8. You’ll never miss your favorite sports games.
As a hockey fan, I often want to have the Men’s Ice Hockey schedule on hand, because I never want to miss a game. Many schools have a link on their athletics website that allows you to “subscribe” to the schedule on Google Calendar, so you don’t even have to input the games yourself!
9. Avoid getting lost by adding locations to your planner.
Besides linking your class syllabus, the “Description” section is perfect for jotting down the room number for your class, so you can easily find it when you go for the first time. This also applies to Office Hours and Club Meetings. Additionally, you can enter an address for an event under “Add location” for straightforward navigation.
10. Most importantly, you can color code it!
Here are some color schemes to make your calendar cute and ready for the new semester:
So maybe this tip isn’t the most academic, but color coding your calendar can be helpful, and it looks pretty too! If nothing else, setting up your calendar to be aesthetically pleasing can be a great motivator both to get it started and to update it regularly.
Go forth and stay motivated this semester!
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