Getting my work and personal schedules in sync, with technology.
March 3, 2014 9:50 AM Subscribe
How can I better organize my schedule through better use of my work and personal calendars across platforms? My primary calendar at work is through Outlook/Exchange, but for personal correspondence I use gmail/google calendar, mostly accessed through my iphone or a browser on my mac. Right now I am just inviting Work Email Address Me and Personal Email Address Me to events (like meeting invitees) but perhaps there is a better way. Suggestions of articles/resources to help me figure this out also welcome!
I use my work Outlook calendar mostly for work stuff (obviously, because thats where my coworkers send meeting invites!), and add in some personal stuff like dinners or classes after work, so I get the handy pop up so I know not to work late (or if I have to leave for say, physical therapy or a doctor's appt during lunch). At work I have Outlook on a PC and on a Mac. I also have a work iPhone.
Personal Me uses gmail email address, a macbook, and a personal iphone.
Right now if i think a personal event will impact work (like a doctor's appointment) i will schedule on my work Outlook calendar and invite my @gmail.com self as a meeting invitee. This gives me notifications on my work phone (for my personal phone I have to go into the google calendar and set the alert, then i get the personal phone notification).
In order to see what's coming up for my work day, like to make sure that i dont have a weirdly early meeting, I check my work phone in the mornings.
This is so confusing just writing it up. :( I have time/organization issues in general, obviously. Suggestions of articles/resources to help me figure this out also welcome, if this is something i'd find in GTD type books. Thanks.
I use my work Outlook calendar mostly for work stuff (obviously, because thats where my coworkers send meeting invites!), and add in some personal stuff like dinners or classes after work, so I get the handy pop up so I know not to work late (or if I have to leave for say, physical therapy or a doctor's appt during lunch). At work I have Outlook on a PC and on a Mac. I also have a work iPhone.
Personal Me uses gmail email address, a macbook, and a personal iphone.
Right now if i think a personal event will impact work (like a doctor's appointment) i will schedule on my work Outlook calendar and invite my @gmail.com self as a meeting invitee. This gives me notifications on my work phone (for my personal phone I have to go into the google calendar and set the alert, then i get the personal phone notification).
In order to see what's coming up for my work day, like to make sure that i dont have a weirdly early meeting, I check my work phone in the mornings.
This is so confusing just writing it up. :( I have time/organization issues in general, obviously. Suggestions of articles/resources to help me figure this out also welcome, if this is something i'd find in GTD type books. Thanks.
Best answer: You should be able to subscribe to your Google calendar in many versions of Outlook. The article "How to View Your Google Calendars in Outlook 2013" explains how to do this in Outlook 2013.
Depending on the settings of your Exchange server, you may be able to view it from Google as well. See these example instructions for the University of Oregon system: "How to view an Exchange (UOregon) Calendar from Google Calendar." If your employer has locked down security though, you won't be able to do this.
posted by grouse at 10:38 AM on March 3, 2014 [1 favorite]
Depending on the settings of your Exchange server, you may be able to view it from Google as well. See these example instructions for the University of Oregon system: "How to view an Exchange (UOregon) Calendar from Google Calendar." If your employer has locked down security though, you won't be able to do this.
posted by grouse at 10:38 AM on March 3, 2014 [1 favorite]
I use Google Calendar Sync for this. It runs on my work laptop where I use Outlook, and duplicates my work Outlook calendar into a personal GMail account (something similar to "workcalendar@gmail.com" which is visible to my main "personalaccount@gmail.com" account). Works like a charm.
It can be setup as A -> B, A <> B, so you can manage your calendars anyway you want.
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 11:48 AM on March 3, 2014
It can be setup as A -> B, A <> B, so you can manage your calendars anyway you want.
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 11:48 AM on March 3, 2014
(Something in the end of my post didn't come through. Should point out that it goes A to B, B to A, or 2-way between A and B.)
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 1:09 PM on March 3, 2014
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 1:09 PM on March 3, 2014
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This is what I do and it works great. If it's during the workday, it goes on the work Outlook calendar and if personal is marked private. If it's outside the workday, it goes on my personal Google calendar. Outlook is my definitive schedule during the workday. My phone is definitive both inside and outside the workday.
Works great.
posted by cnc at 10:28 AM on March 3, 2014