Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with calendar

Is there an application that supports my scheduling needs?

Runes — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 07:18:58 -0800

I manage a group of people who do event support. In general my staff works normal working hours, but every now and then we'll be asked to work something off hours. What was a relatively rare occurrence is getting more frequent and my current methodology of using spreadsheets is starting to buckle. Typically I'll get a request from the customer that says something like "we need to support event X from 0300 to 0800 with 2 people, one in timezone A and another in timezone B". So I look at my staffing in those two timezones, and shift someone who's normally working 8-5 to start earlier.

What I'm doing now is a spreadsheet with days in the columns. The top half is the events and times, and the bottom half is the people. Each event has a color for timezone (for example, event X which requires someone in timezone A is green, event Y which requires someone in timezone Y is yellow, etc). This works well when the events are all in one timezone, but starts to fail when the events are in multiple timezones. It is also poor at uncovering schedule gaps when I need to bring in temporary help. And since this spreadsheet is something I've tweaked to work for me, it is sometimes hard to export that knowledge to other people since most people are more used to a typical calendar interface.

What I'd like is an application/web service that lets me put in "event X in timezone A from 0300-1300", and then assign staff to those times which don't follow regular 8-hr schedules (i.e., if the event is only 3 days, I don't want to create a "shift" for that timeslot permanently, only for those 3 days). The web-based apps I've seen so far seem to work for standing shifts, not this variable scheduling problem I have.

Dependent Calendaring - Scheduling Reading Schedules, Episode Views, Etc

WCityMike — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 08:30:48 -0800

I have a need for dependent calendaring – maybe this is the domain of project management software, but such seems more elaborate than what I need. But any ideas or solutions would be appreciated. I’ll go into a little more detail inside to explain what I'm looking for. There are certain things that I’d like to calendar but have dependent on each other, so that if I move one date forward it moves the range of subsequent dates forward.

The two use cases I’m particularly thinking of would be entertainment-related – reading and viewing schedules.

For example, I have a number of books I’d like to get through before years’ end, so I’d like to assign myself pages of certain books to certain days. If I fall behind, though, I don’t want to have to manually move everything – I want to move something forward and have everything be bumped.

Very much would like to have the output of this be in Google Calendar, although that should be accomplishable if there’s an iCalendar (ICS) export.

In an ideal world, free and web-based. But willing to spend a little, depending.

Thanks for your thoughts.

Need a productivity system for scheduling multiple projects

Leontine — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 10:05:41 -0800

What would be a good system to help me figure out my work days and my availability? I’m self-employed and have to juggle multiple client projects. I’d like to develop a good system to help me figure out how to block out time for current projects and assess my availability and reasonable deadlines when booking new projects.

When I begin a project, I develop a rough estimate of how long it will take. Let’s say one project will take me five hours and is due in a week, another will take twenty-five hours and is due at the end of next month, and maybe I have retainer client for fifteen hours a month. And suppose I have eight working hours each day to schedule time.

Ideally, there would be a program where, whenever I get a new project, I could plug in these numbers and due dates and it would populate the calendar for me. I could also recalibrate it for when estimates run over or short, projects are delayed, and the other hiccups that invariably occur. Unfortunately, no such program exists.

I’ve tried using Google Calendar for this purpose. For each new project, I would create a new calendar with a different color. Then I would create repeating blocks of time for the project, say two hours a day until the due date. Other projects are scheduled each day too, and I’d have time blocked out for administration, marketing, lunch breaks, meetings and so on until the day is full.

But the problem with this system is I’d find myself spending too much time tediously rearranging hour blocks. I’ve tried it with a paper calendar version too and colored Post-It notes, but again, it takes a lot of maintenance. Another problem is this system makes me decide the specific time during the day I want hours booked, but that doesn’t really matter. I’m looking for something more top level.

I’ve tinkered around with an Excel spreadsheet for this purpose with little success.

I’d appreciate any suggestions. To recap, I’m not looking for a task or appointment manager, but just a way to easily gauge how much availability I have and how much time I need to schedule for projects so I can meet their due dates.

How do I allow people to add calendar events with wordpress

letstrythis — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 23:02:34 -0800

I am launching a local performing arts blog with Wordpress as the frontend, and I want to set it up in a way that allows event promoters and performers to easily add events to a calendar. Having the people need to set up an account with a username and password seems prudent, but I'd like it to be as simple as possible. Perhaps logging in with google or facebook if possible. What are my best options vis a vis plugins/widgets/action plans? Thank you in advance.

Simple billing and scheduling software

pete_22 — Sun, 02 Jun 2013 02:51:29 -0800

I have a friend who owns a small language school and is doing all her scheduling on paper calendars and preparing each student's bill individually at the end of the month. Can you recommend a good software option (mac or web-based) that integrates both? I realize that just Google Calendar and a spreadsheet would be a big improvement, but I'm sure there's a better solution out there. Searching online just turns up way too many options and most of them look much more complicated than what she needs.

It's just herself and a few other teachers, and they mostly give one on one lessons -- say 40 active students at any given time taking 60+ separate lessons per week. The hourly rates vary a little, for example there's a discount for students who take a certain number of lessons per month, group rates for students who come in twos and threes, etc. But that's as complex as it gets.

One app to keep track of my calendar, todo list and scrap notes.

ptsampras14 — Sun, 19 May 2013 19:04:57 -0800

I need ONE app to keep track of my calendar stuff, todo list, and scrap notes. I am looking for an all encompassing app which allows me to handle the my calendar (with mobile reminders) and my "scrap notes" (to-do lists, links I want to check out in the future, cool stuff I find around the internet).

To explain a little further, I want to be alerted (especially on my mobile phone) of my well planned out calendar tasks: ("Return my library books.") and my leisure general future stuff: ("Learn more about improving my posture.")

My current method is terrible and involves Apple Calendar along with scattered Reminders lists, plain text files in my Dropbox, starred Gmail email, and links in my Bookmarks toolbar in Firefox.

I currently use a Mac computer and iPhone. Just today, I've started exploring OmniFocus, which has a steep price tag. Do you have any other suggestions?

How can I send an invitation from iCal to a Google Calendar user?

The corpse in the library — Fri, 10 May 2013 09:37:02 -0800

When Mr. Corpse and I were both using iCal I could send him an invitation to an event; if he accepted it it blocked off the time in his calendar. Now that he's switched to Google Calendar this system doesn't work. The invitations I send from iCal look, on my end, as if they've gone through, but he doesn't get the invitations any more. They don't show up in his calendar (even though I'm sending them to his gmail address) and they don't show up as e-mails.

I want a solution that will show up in his calendar for him to accept or decline, and for me to be able to see if he's accepted or declined it. Please advise.

Create downloadable iCal files in PHP/MySQL/Bootstrap?

dnash — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 13:57:45 -0800

I have a PHP webpage that lists events happening at a conference by reading from a MySQL database. Is there an easy way to have PHP create downloadable iCal files so people can download individual events to their iphones/Androids etc., without my having to create individual event files, and without setting up a bunch of Google Calendar items to link to? (more detailed explanation inside.) Website is for a four day conference, several individual event listings per day. It's only a yearly thing, so for that and other reasons we've decided that a full blown CMS system with a calendaring function is total overkill. I'm redesigning the site using Twitter Bootstrap, mainly to modernize the layout and CSS type stuff, but I'll be keeping it in PHP so I can maintain a few server includes I use that help me change over certain things year to year more easily.

For years I've just had the events page read from an "events" table in MySQL, that has basic columns - event ID#, date, start time, end time, name, location, description. The PHP formats that into tables to display on the webpage.

What I would love, would be for each event listing to have an iCal download link. But I'd like to not have to somehow manually create the iCal files. I was hoping there might be some way PHP could sort of write the iCal files on the fly or something like that?

I suppose I could enter them into a Google Calendar, and paste the individual links into the database for inclusion on the website. But again that would create a lot of manual work to enter all these events. The folks who run the conference just keep the event listings in Word, frankly. I end up reformatting to Excel/CSV for importing to the database. So if there were some PHP magic that could be done, it would be able so save me work each year.

I'm not very programming/scripting savvy, but some searching led me to believe this might be possible. I thought I might do better asking here where I could maybe get someone to talk me through it a bit while being patient with my pretty basic level PHP skills.

Calendar that talks?

DisreputableDog — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 19:05:27 -0800

I use an iPhone 4S with the latest iO6 update. I'm looking for a calendar app that will give me options for alerts including actually talking to me. The iPhone's included calendar limits me as to when I can set reminders, how many reminders I can set (no "a week earlier") and doesn't have an option (as far as I know) for Siri to speak up and say "Hey Dog, you have gym class in 2 hours." Siri is also a half-deaf idiot, so while I don't mind hand editing my schedule, I kinda wish it was more intuitive to talk to.

I'm also hoping this mysterious app could be visually appealing. Have color options for events and maybe alerts, etc. Easy enough to edit.

Can you help me?

Time to start using a calendar

rastapasta — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 17:34:42 -0800

I've finally lost track of my plans enough times where I need to start keeping a calendar. I'd like something that's easy to update on my phone and syncs with wherever else I'd use it (iPhone, iPad, Macbook). The entries will be pretty simple ("birthday party at Bob's house, 9pm on Wednesday", for example…don't really care if there's features beyond that). What do you use?

Help me better utilize Office for work email, scheduling, etc

filthy light thief — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 08:56:06 -0800

I have MS Office Pro Plus 2010 at work, and I haven't used Office before. After using Gmail exclusively for a number of years, and never any scheduling tools beyond what came on my Droid from Verizon, I'm looking for ways to better utilize the email, organizational and time management options I have. I recently learned about flags and conversation view from a co-worker, but I feel like there are more features I should be using. I get 20-30 emails a week, which isn't a ton, but many of them need some action and those deadlines are out a few weeks. I keep all the email that require some response or action in my inbox, and old discussions get pushed down as I get new emails. I flag the key items, setting priorities for today, this week, or next week, or if there's a hard and fast deadline, I'll add the item in my calendar. Still, low priorities can fall by the wayside.

Beyond color coding events, my use of the calendar is pretty basic. My use of contacts is even more limited, because my work network includes contact information for everyone in our system, so I rarely add contacts.

My mailbox is about 900mb, and I've already used 200mb in my 4 months working here. I also have a 133 MB Outlook Data file with more email, saved on a work server.

Last note: I know there are some 3rd party add-ons that can add functionality, but my access to my computer is limited. Either those add-ons have to be able to run without admin rights, or they have to be good enough for me to sell the computer administrators on their usefulness (and they can't cost any money, unless they're really great, because I'm not allowed to purchase software and run it on my work computer).

How do you better manage your inbox, calendar, contacts, and your file sizes? Thanks!

Google Calendar Alternative Needed

stoneweaver — Sat, 16 Mar 2013 12:44:40 -0800

I need to be able to sync at least two calendars between iOS and Android, and I don't want to use Google Calendar anymore. What should I use? For obvious reasons, I don't trust Google with my calendar anymore. I need an alternative that will instantaneously (or near it) sync two calendars - one on an iPhone and one on an Android. Bonus points given if I can import my current calendar into the new one, but this is not a mandatory feature. I would be willing to pay for this once, but not monthly. I would also like to be able to access the calendars from a browser. It's OK if it's one calendar, as long as things can be colored/tagged for different people/organizations. (Extra Bonus: It would be super lovely if it were a calendar that I could easily import to Wordpress, but this is more a dream than necessity.)

Calendar Editing and Syncing Between Two Mac Users

zarq — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 10:37:12 -0800

I'd like to sync a shared event/appointment calendar with a work colleague, which we both can edit (not just view) on our iMac computers, preferably without having to go to an external website to make edits, or paying for an outside service. Details within. We're both using using iMacs running OS 10.6.8. We are both running Outlook for Mac 2011, v14.1.4 (not on an Exchange server), and we also both have iCal. Our computers are on the same network.

Is it possible to set up a calendar which we both can easily view and edit in either of those programs? Or is there another program/app we can use (preferably free or inexpensive) which will give us the same functionality? I don't mind setting up a google calendar, but we would prefer to be able to edit it in a desktop calendar program, not on the google website.

Trying to add an iCloud calendar to Google calendar

docpops — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 09:54:20 -0800

Trying to add my spouse's iCloud info to my GCal... I've looked into this on the web and so far have not found a definitive answer that this cannot be done, so am here asking for help:

My wife uses iCloud for her calendar and schedule. It took me years to wean her from a paper system, and for this and other reasons, iCloud was the easiest and most foolproof way to sync her phone, iPad, and desktop seamlessly so that she wouldn't chuck all of it and go back to paper.

I use Google calendar, love it, and am trying to find a way to add her iCloud info to my Gmail. It's more critical that I follow her schedule with all it's kid and school info than vice versa, since my schedule is mostly empty except for call nights.

Thanks.

How to sync oracle calendar with iCloud?

Philosopher Dirtbike — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 09:39:35 -0800

I have a Mac with OSX Mountain Lion. My university uses Oracle Calendar 9.0.4. In the past, I have set up syncing to my iCloud calendar using my iPad with SyncML pro, so I know I can do this, in principle. What I'd like to do is find a way of syncing to my iCloud calendar without an iOS device - preferably an OSX application. Why is this so hard to figure out how to do? I do not want to give my password over to a third-party website, so no solutions like that please. Also, I only need to pull FROM the Oracle calendar, not push to.

holiday, it would be so nice

ifjuly — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 16:16:38 -0800

Bloomsday, Festivus, Pi Day, Caturday, Diwali, Poisson d'Avril--what are some other less traditional (or less familiar to a USian) holidays that might be fun to mark on the calender to celebrate? My husband and I enjoy holidays that are less commercial, especially when they relate to our interests in certain literary fiction, math, and science. Historic dates that are not really celebrated on the level of Memorial Day or Independence Day too, such as Lincoln signing the Emancipation Proclamation. Anniversaries of important breakthroughs or pertaining to awesome figures are good too. Political/sociological ones too, like International Women's Day. I've tried to amass as many of these as possible so I can remember to keep them in mind, but I'm sure I'm forgetting some or don't know about a lot of possible ones. Can you suggest any?

I'm already familiar with CAPLOCKS DAY and Talk Like a Pirate Day and Steak and BJ Day. I don't mind internet nerd meme-y ones if they are actually fun/not too played out, but I really prefer something like Bloomsday. (Are there other important dates from great books that could be celebration-worthy? 'Cause that's my favorite.)

Oh, and I like food days that prompt me to make something specific too. You know, something like "national pasty day" or some such.

I also, at the risk of being aggravatingly exoticizing, enjoy knowing when big holidays from other cultures fall (Diwali, Moon Festival) and other cultures' takes on holidays similar to American ones (like Poisson d'Avril in France).

And I like sober, less obvious holy days (my favorite Catholic holiday is Ash Wednesday; similarly, Yom Kippur, Day of the Dead) but I'm a lapsed Catholic so I'm not up to speed with more obscure feast days (saint days when the saint is particularly interesting work too).

And yes, I checked the archives and some cheesy websites but couldn't quite find what I was hoping for.

Is it Fuzzuary already?

Arrrgyle — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 02:39:43 -0800

Homemade bunny-themed calendar seeks bunny-related alternatives to standard month names. Bunuary and Fuzzuary have already come (and gone), but we've got 10 months to go and more than a few particularly ill-tempered months to rename. Can you help? April has been declared Hopril and June is tentatively scheduled to be Bune, but March, July, August and the -bers are proving to be more of a challenge. I've been told that Hopril is non-negotiable, but all the rest are open to suggestion. Any general words that also apply to rabbits (like the "fuzz" in Fuzzuary) are also welcome.

How do I set up a randomly reoccurring event in my calendar?

lord_wolf — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 14:57:27 -0800

I would like to set up a randomly reoccurring weekly event in my calendar -- either Outlook or Google -- such that it repeats every work week (M-F) between the hours of 9-5, but randomly. In other words, I want it to be at 1 pm on Monday one week, then 10 am on Friday of the following week, etc. Is there a quick and easy way to do this or must I set up a reoccurring event and then go through each week moving the appointment to what feels like a random time?

Service like Backupify that doesn't require Google Apps?

trillian — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 05:49:23 -0800

I am finally going to stop using a paper calendar and start using my laptop/iPhone/iPad instead. However, having used ol' reliable paper for so many years, I'm a bit paranoid about using Google calendar (or an app) and then losing all my data somehow... Is there an iPhone/iPad calendar app that would make me feel more "secure," or is there a service like Backupify that doesn't require a Google Apps account? I'd love to back up my Gmail too, if possible. (Am I just worrying too much? Is using iCloud enough? I am clearly clueless.)

Amazing 2013 Calendar

Green With You — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 09:34:32 -0800

Do you know of any amazing wall calendars for 2013? Anything movie related, funny, odd, or just generally interesting would be great.

OSX calendar software sync to Google Calendar?

zardoz — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 15:28:10 -0800

Is there any calendar/scheduling software for OS X and Windows that can sync info with Google Calendar? I have an iMac at home and a PC at work. I'll be doing some scheduling work at both places so want them to sync with the same info, preferably with Google Calendar. I find entering in info into Google Calendar to be awkward at best, and frustrating on my low-RAM work computer, so software more robust would be great. Any ideas?

Hope a hopeless new Android user

latkes — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 09:23:54 -0800

[I am old/paranoid/a special snowflake filter] I am a Mac person. I have mostly avoided google products in my life, and am not eager for google to know everything about me. I just got a Nexus S (because it was the free option). How can I use my phone most effectively for email and calendars/reminders? [Lots of tedious old person details inside] First, I'm old: For the first time in my life, I feel overwhelmed and unmotivated by my new toy. I just want it to be set up to take care of the things I need, and when I read online about various customizations etc, my eyes glaze over. So please be gentle in explaining any technical solutions to me.

2nd, I'm paranoid: I really don't like google knowing every aspect of my life. If I have to just go over to gmail and google calendar and google everything else because it's so much simpler, I will, but I'm trying to avoid it.

3rd: I'm a special snowflake. I've avoided a smart phone until now because I don't want to spend more time online than I already do. But I decided to switch because I kept missing appointments and I wanted a device on my body to remind me to get where I need to be.

Specifically, what I want my phone to do:

- I want to have a calendar that reminds me of appointments etc, and that I can easily sync/coordinate with my girlfriend's calendar (she's happily a google user).

- I want to use to-do list type functions, and be able to make notes at work that I can review later.

- I want to be able to use my email. My primary account is an sbcglobal one, and at home I use a mail client and download my mail. Have avoided the cloud as much as I can up until this point. I am willing to switch to gmail as my primary account, but I'd rather avoid it.

- I want to use a few key apps, mostly at work. (I'm a nurse, so will need some nursey-related apps).

- I do want to use the phone for music and a couple fun things too (not even sure what those fun things are!) but that's a lower priority.

- I don't want to spend too much time on this. An initial setup time is OK, but once it's all set up, I want it to just stay set up.

Thanks for reading this long post!

How do I set up a recurring event in Google Calendar that doesn't recur regularly - well, sort of..?

bellastarr — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 07:10:09 -0800

How do I set up a recurring event in Google Calendar that doesn't recur regularly - well, sort of..? I have meetings on certain days of the month. One meeting occurs on the first Tuesday of every month. Ok, that's a snap to set up in any calendar. Now how do I set up a recurring event that is for the Thursday before the first Tuesday of every month? Another meeting occurs on the 2nd Monday of every month. I need a recurring event (a prep meeting) for the Thursday before the 2nd Monday of every month. In some months that may be the first week of the month or the second week.

By the way, if there is a way to do this on another calendar like an iPhone or Mac, or something else that would be ok too, but I'd prefer Google Calendar.

I can't believe I'm using this week's question to ask this but I can't figure it out! Help me MeFi'tes!

Birthday party, cheesecake, jelly beans, boom!

lesli212 — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 19:28:51 -0800

I'm looking for romantic end-of-the-world themed activities. Movies to cuddle during, food to make and eat, music to dance to, alcohol to drink. I'm thinking it'll be a primarily movie/dinner night. It's specifically related to the Mayan "apocalypse" happening on the 21st. Punny ideas are most welcome.

When it comes to movies, scary stuff is ok, especially if it's funny-scary or so-bad-it's-good, but it should not be too gruesome or too depressing.

As far as food, vegetarian food is best, though stuff with fish is ok. Don't worry, we will drink xocolatl! (Or, you know, Nesquik.)

Google calendar sync help

meerkatty — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 08:34:26 -0800

Google calendar idiot here. How do I sync iPhone to google calendar, not the other way around and why is someone else's calendar appearing in my google calendar online? 1: So I've never bothered to use google calendar via my gmail account - I always just plug events into my iPhone. But now I need to use it via gmail - how do I sync them without losing the two years of calendar I have on my iPhone?

2: But when I am in gmail, and click on calendar - there's already another calendar in use there. My email is janeadoe@gmail.com. This calendar email is jane.a.doe@gmail.com. I also often get emails meant for this latter account. I thought that periods were irrelevant in gmail addresses, but apparently not.

Long story short: How do I get rid of this other calendar and then sync my gmail and iPhone calendar without losing data on my iPhone? Thanks!