When I think about how difficult it is for some people to do a simple thing like scheduling a meeting, this scene from Up in the Air comes to mind.
Opening up your calendar, checking and rechecking, sending messages, this might be all too familiar to you. All this unnecessary back and forth, and for what? Better to avoid the awkward conversations and use computers to do the dirty business for us. Pleasantries are optional. So today we’ll talk about tools that make this a bit easier for you.
1. Sunrise Meet
Sunrise is already one of the best calendar apps out there. They now have a new keyboard (via an update in the Sunrise app) that’s going to make scheduling easy for you. Yes, a keyboard. The premise is that using a custom keyboard that you can pull up anywhere is immensely helpful. And it is. Just open the app on which you’re going to contact the person, whether chat or email, bring up the Sunrise Meet keyboard on iOS or Android and select time slots favorable to you. The default is 1-hour chunks, but you can change that. Pick a venue and the app will generate a link for you. Send this link to the person you’re meeting and they’ll be able to reply to you even if they don’t use Sunrise. All they need to do is select one of the times you suggested, or suggest another time. Once that’s done, the event will be added to your calendar. Easy peasy.
2. Pick
Pick is a process-based iOS app that currently only supports Gmail (iCloud and Exchange support is incoming). You start out by picking a contact, the time length, day, and then send the invitation with the venue details.
3. Mixmax Chrome Extension for Gmail
Mixmax is a Chrome extension for Gmail’s web interface that everyone who’s working their asses off should be using. It’s just going to make your life so much better. One of the features in Mixmax is the Availability section. You block off a time frame, select a venue, give it a title, and send the link to the opposite party. They’ll see the link, and when they agree with the time, the event will be added to your calendar.
4. Calendly
Calendly is a web app with Gmail integration that takes scheduling a meeting to a whole new level. You can specify the time, select different time frames, and even ask custom questions to the person you’re inviting. Also, check out Meekan.
How Do You Manage Your Time?
How do you juggle things every day? Share with us in the comments below. The above article may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. However, it does not affect our editorial integrity. The content remains unbiased and authentic.
