google calendar is a core part of the android productivity suite, but if all you use is what you see on the surface of the app, you’re missing out on some pretty powerful capabilities.
Yes, oh yes: Like many of our modern digital tools, Google Calendar is more than meets the eye. And while most of the service’s advanced options revolve around the calendar website, the Android calendar app has its share of handy options that are specific to the mobile experience. from time-saving shortcuts to efficiency-boosting options, they’re all things that have the potential to make your life easier in small but significant ways.
find time in your schedule to see these 12 hidden features of google calendar on android. trust me: you’ll be glad you did.
1. quick look at creating events
Tell me if you can relate to this: You go to the calendar app on your phone to create a new event. you open the screen to add the event and, suddenly, you find yourself in front of a confused mental emptiness.
what else did you have that day? did I need to schedule the event for 2:00 p.m. m. or would it be better for 3:00 p.m. m.? when was that appointment with the podiatrist, again?
I’ve certainly been there (well, not for the podiatrist, specifically, but in the general mind fog situation). and the android calendar app doesn’t do much to help provide a broader calendar context while you’re adding a new event.
or so it seems. after years of using google calendar on android, i just noticed a curiously camouflaged option that will change the way you create events on your phone.
See that barely noticeable light gray line at the top of the calendar app’s event creation screen? The one that vaguely resembles an arrow pointing down?
yes, that’s the one. the next time you add a new event on your phone and wonder what else is on your schedule at the same time, tap the line or alternatively swipe down anywhere within the main event creation area of the screen.
and…
would you watch that?! you can actually minimize that event creation interface and navigate your calendar behind it.
and that’s not all…
2. single event slip
after you’ve accessed that hidden quick view, remember this: if you decide you need to change your new event to another time, you can simply touch and hold the outline on the screen and slide your finger up and down to move it .
great, right? and there is still one more piece to this puzzle…
3. an event wrap gesture
In addition to swiping an event to move it in the android calendar app event creation quick view interface, you can touch the dots at the top or bottom of your event outline and then swipe up or down from there to lengthen or shorten the event.
I wish our royal meetings could be so easily summed up!
4. monthly calendar quick view
When you need to glance at a full month view while flipping through your events, take note of the following invisible calendar shortcut: you can tap or swipe down on the top bar of the app, where it says the name of the current month, to focus a monthly view. tap the bar a second time (or swipe up, starting just below that area) to hide it when you’re done.
who knew?! And speaking of shady shortcuts…
5. a practical way to adjust to today
Whenever you’re scrolling through your agenda view in the calendar app and want to go back to the current day, tap the small calendar icon (the box with a dot, directly to the left of your profile picture in the bottom right corner). top right of the screen).
that will take you back to the present, no matter how far into the future you may have traveled.
6. quick clear events
Here’s an incredibly useful and easily overlooked gesture in the android calendar app: From the agenda view, you can swipe any event or reminder to the right to delete it in one quick action.
See you later, responsibilities!
7. the omission of the encounter
Ever notice how calendar got into the annoying habit of automatically adding google meeting links to every event you create?
It’s fine if your event actually includes a meeting-based video conference, but it’s quite annoying (and potentially confusing) when your event is something that’s in person. Even worse is when your event is virtual but on a different video meeting service, like zoom, and then everyone you invite ends up getting the right link and a meaningless meeting link for the same event.
here’s a little secret: you can put an end to this madness. and all it takes is a handful of quick taps on your android calendar app.
Open the calendar on your phone, tap the three-line menu icon in the top left corner and scroll down to select “settings”.
tap “general”, then tap “add video conference” and turn the buttons to the off position for each account you have connected.
Now, if you ever want to add a meeting link to an event, you can do it manually while creating the event. but by default those cursed links won’t be automatically added to all events for you.
8. event sensitive muting of your phone
this is technically an android feature, but it works in conjunction with calendar and is one of the most practical options out there: the ability to have your phone automatically mute whenever an event from your google calendar is running .
all you have to do is enable it: go to your phone’s settings and find the do not disturb section (by looking in the sound section or just looking for “do not disturb” in the box at the top of the screen ). tap “times”, point your pretty little finger to the line labeled “event” and tap the line itself (not the switch next to it) or the gear icon next to it, if you see one.
that will bring up a screen similar to this:
The first option on the screen, “during events of”, allows you to select which of the calendars associated with your device will trigger the phone’s silent behavior. you can leave it on the default setting of “any calendar” so that any event on any calendar will cause your phone to go silent, or you can limit it to a specific calendar, like your work calendar, and leave the others off.
The second line allows you to specify what types of events will cause your phone to go silent. you can tell the system to silence your phone only if you answered “yes” to an event, if you answered “yes” or “maybe”, or if you answered “yes” or “maybe” or haven’t responded at all. (Those options are for events that other people created and invited you to attend, by the way; any event you create on your own will always count as an automatic “yes”).
and finally, the third line allows you to decide if your phone should use its default do not disturb behavior or if you prefer to create your own custom settings for how the phone should behave in this specific circumstance. The custom settings option gives you a lot of flexibility on exactly how your phone should act while a calendar event is in progress: you can choose to allow calls or texts from starred contacts to come through, for example, or allow calendar events. and reminders alert you even if other sounds are not allowed. you can even customize how different types of notifications appear visually during an appointment.
don’t see any of this on your device? If you’re using a phone with an older version of Android or one whose manufacturer has tampered with this part of the operating system, you can configure your own simplified version of the same feature by adopting this ifttt applet.
9. quick responses for group events
Just as Android lets you send a quick, pre-written reply when you decline a call, Google Calendar can let you send a quick note to anyone involved in an upcoming meeting, all with a few quick taps on your phone.
To set up the feature, open the calendar app, tap the three-line menu icon in the upper left corner, and select “settings” from the menu that appears.
then select “general” and scroll down until you see “quick responses”. tap it and you’ll see four pre-written message options that you can send on the fly as you head out on any date that involves multiple mammals.
Oddly enough, the calendar doesn’t allow you to create additional replies, but you can edit any of the default replies to say whatever you want. just tap on any of them and then replace it with whatever text your foolish heart desires.
To use your personalized quick responses, open any upcoming event to which you’ve invited at least one other person. tap the envelope icon inside the “guests” line, then tap the answer you want from the list.
that will take you directly to a ready-to-use email with your message in place and recipients added. all that’s left is to press “send” and perhaps let out a laugh of delight, if inspiration strikes. .
10. duplicate an existing event
Have you ever found yourself needing to create a new event that is remarkably similar to one you already had on your schedule? the android calendar app has an easy way to duplicate an event and then use it as a template for a new one: simply tap on the event you want to emulate, tap on the three-dot menu icon in the top right corner, and select: you guessed it : “duplicate”.
and that’s it: your new event will appear with the original event information filled in and ready to be modified as needed.
It doesn’t get any easier than that.
11. most useful notification times
Google Calendar’s default notification times for new events are not suitable for everyone. If you find yourself changing the setting for when an event will notify you most of the time (and/or muttering creative curses under your breath whenever an event notifies you earlier or later than you’d like), do yourself a favor and adjust the schedule your calendar. default notification times to work best for you.
Simply go back to the settings section of the calendar app and this time find the section for the google account you want to modify and tap on the “events” line below it. that will give you a screen where you can change the default notification times for new standard events as well as all-day events. you can even add multiple notifications, if you like, and change the default color for events on that calendar as you go (ooh, ahh, etc).
if you want to change the default notification time for reminders or for any secondary calendars you have created within a particular google account, just find the appropriate line under the account header and select it instead of “events” ; then make the same kind of modifications there.
12. custom calendar goals
In addition to the usual events and reminders, the android calendar app can help you create recurring goals. and despite the cheesy nature of the feature’s name, it may actually have genuine value from a productivity perspective.
To check, tap the circular plus icon in the bottom right corner of the calendar app, select “target” and then review the sections that appear. most of the categories are pretty silly: working out, spending time with family, reading, and the like that I find hard to believe someone would actually put on their calendar and then follow through, but the last item on the list is called “organizing “. my life”, and it’s at least worth a look.
Once you tap on that section, the calendar will suggest some goals for you to schedule. ignore them and tap “custom”. the app will give you a list of things you might want to schedule regularly:
You can also ignore them and write your own activity, whether it’s processing invoices, planning meetings, or something really important like deciding what kind of sandwiches to order for lunch (I recommend pastrami). once you’ve chosen something or entered your own custom item, the calendar will ask you how often you want to do it, for how long, and at what time of day, and then look for open times in your schedule and work your item as often as you like necessary.
You can track how often you achieve your goal over time by reporting to the calendar each time you complete it. you can even choose to use something called “smart notifications,” which alert you both before and after your scheduled session so you can “prepare and track progress” (and/or complain about the annoying nature of “smart notifications”).
It’s nothing revolutionary by any means, but if you have a regular, recurring task that seems somewhat goal-oriented in nature, it can be an interesting and visually distinctive way to manage it in your calendar.
bonus: secret calendar keywords
hardly anyone knows this, but there is a way to hack the calendar app’s illustration system and make any of google’s contextual graphics appear on any event you want.
The trick is to simply learn the calendar app’s secret keywords and then put them to use exactly how you want.
Check out this complete list of google calendar keywords and get ready to give your calendar a whole new custom look.
and with that, your android calendar experience is officially upgraded. now all you have to do is accomplish everything that is on his agenda, and that, my dear friend, is squarely on his shoulders.
Get even more advanced shortcut knowledge with my free android shortcuts super course. you’ll learn tons of tricks to save time with your phone!