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August 15, 2007
Personal Continuity - Managing Schedules with Google Calendar
There are two types of people who use time management/calendar software: Those who look for just the right package to meet their needs and those who use whatever their employer uses, or whatever came with their PC. The overwhelming number of corporate users implement Microsoft Outlook (using Microsoft Exchange on the server side). They've paid for it as part of their MS-Office licensing, and the open source community has never been able to come up with a groupware solution to rival the Outlook/Exchange combo.
The typical corporate employee integrates their personal scheduling information into their Outlook calendar. That way, it's all in one place and they can sync the info to their phone or PDA. Personal entries (doctor appointments, family activities, club meetings, etc.) can be blocked as private in the company calendar. Work colleagues know you're not available, but why remains with you.
Aside from the obvious personal continuity issue of what if you're escorted off the premises, there are a number of problems with reliance on the company's Exchange server. The first and most significant is sharing the information in your calendar with others. Your work colleagues can see your schedule, since they're behind the corporate firewall, but what about your spouse, or your kids? What if you're active in a church group, Masonic lodge, or other social organization? While those groups don't put money in your checking account like your job does, the time you put into them is just as important to you. Corporate intranets and groupware implementations on those intranets are designed to make the company successful. If you reap personal benefits from using Outlook on their network, that's tangential.
Setting up a personal calendar isn't all that difficult. All you need is a personal copy of Microsoft Office, or an open source package such as Evolution or Sunbird. Sharing that information is tricky, though. Outlook calendars can be shared when they're on the same network, but users separated geographically would need to set up a back-end server. If your PC is lost, stolen or damaged, your calendar goes with it.
Google Calendar enables you to add scheduling capability to your iGoogle virtual desktop. Just click the Google Calendar gadget on the default desktop:
And you'll be directed to set up a new calendar. The process is fairly painless:
Since we're creating an Internet-based calendar, we can grant access to the calendar to others. Those who you wish to have access to your calendar must also be Google Calendar users; if they're not, Google will send them an e-mail inviting them to set themselves up.
Now you're set up, so it's time to start scheduling events. Let's put in a lunch meeting on Friday. Clicking on 12pm on Friday on the calendar pops up a small scheduling window:
A default appointment with the name we give it is created. We can drill into that appointment by clicking on it once it appears on the calendar. This gives us a detail window where we can flesh out the meeting:
We can modify the hours, specify a location (which can be mapped by Google Maps), and even invite others to the meeting. Additionally, Google Calendar can be instructed to remind you of the appointment, via an on-screen pop-up, an e-mail, or a SMS (text) message to your mobile phone:
Once you get to this point, it's up to you to actually put your schedule to work. Add in your appointments, meetings, etc. Share your schedule with colleagues and family members, and you're off and running.
One very useful feature of Google Calendar is its ability to allow you to create multiple calendars. Let's say you're a small business owner and are active in a networking organization such as BNI. After you create your personal calendar, you can create a separate calendar for your BNI activities. When you log into Google Calendar, the two calendars will merge so you see your full schedule. Since the BNI chapter's activities are separate, though, they can be shared with other members of your chapter. They can invite others to meetings, business card exchanges, social gatherings, you name it. Apply the same concept to all your business and social activities and you get a very powerful tool.
Colleagues, family, and friends who don't use Google Calendar aren't left out, however. If you have a personal homepage or blog, you can imbed your calendar in that site. This gives everyone a view of what you're up to and when you're up to it.
Because the application is maintained by Google, you don't have to worry about installing software on either the front- or back-end. Everything happens in your web browser, and Google's servers do the heavy lifting. The cost to you? Nothinglike other Google applications, Google Calendar is ad-driven.
Once you have your calendar set up, the Google Calendar gadget for your iGoogle virtual desktop is your quick-review source. Maintaining personal continuity is possible from anywhere!
Posted by Edward J. Branley at August 15, 2007 11:01 AM
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