There is a German idiom; ‘Alles hat ein Ende, nur die Wurst hat zwei’ which translates to ‘everyone has an end, only the sausage has two’. In English, we’d say everything comes to an end and that’s very much the case for paper diaries and calendars. 

In the past decade, technology has undergone a rapid evolution that has transformed the way we communicate and work. From smartphones to virtual meetings, the digital world has made it easier for people to stay connected and organized, no matter where they are.

And although technology changed, perceptions were always a little harder to shift. That was until COVID-19. Now, with more people than ever working from home, attitudes have finally caught up with technology. 

One of the crucial things for remote working is staying connected. With a digital calendar not only can you do that but you’ll save loads of time through calendar automation. Let’s find out how.

Access from anywhere

If you were to tell a Wall Street banker 50 years ago that he could access his calendar from anywhere in the world he would think you’re crazy. But with pretty much everyone now having an online calendar linked to their email it’s very much the case. 

For busy executives, this means they can stay connected with their business no matter where in the world they have to go or what device they have access to. They can easily create and manage events, appointments and reminders or even have their assistants do it from the other side of the globe. 

Now with smartphones and mobile-friendly digital calendars, it’s easier than ever for remote teams or those who are always on the move to stay on top of their schedules. If you have sales reps who travel the country, an online calendar makes it easy for them to call into a meeting. Just attach a link or phone number to the meeting and they can chat on the go. 

Easily manage your schedule

If it’s possible to coordinate your time from anywhere in the world, thanks to a digital calendar, then it’s also easy to manage your own schedule. That means you can avoid awkward situations such as double-booking clients. 

Unlike tracking everything on paper, an online calendar gives you the ability to share your schedule directly with others. Connecting your calendar to a tool like Doodle allows you to invite others to events and appointments in only a few clicks which makes it easy to coordinate and collaborate with others. 

Your calendar linked to a tool like Booking Page simplifies the process even further. Simply set your availability, and whenever someone wants to book time with you, all you have to do is send a link. No more having to email back and forth. Also, and perhaps more importantly, these bookings can sync to all your devices meaning you’ll never be surprised by an unexpected meeting.

Integrations

If there’s one bit of advice you should take away from this, it’s to integrate your online calendar with a video conferencing tool. It’ll make it easier to meet people, save time, reduce stress and increase productivity.

Let’s say you link Zoom to your Doodle account. Whenever you create a Booking Page or Group Poll and select that the meeting will occur virtually, the Zoom link will automatically appear in your invite. This means you don’t have to do any extra work, simply set your availability and provide a link. No need to switch between different apps to schedule and join meetings… a big time saver!

For leaders and entrepreneurs, this is especially useful. By staying on top of your schedule, even on the go, you can avoid the risk of burnout. Not having to travel to every meeting in person, means you’ll have time for much more important things such as running your business and getting time with your family.

Reminders: Never miss a meeting again!

It might sound like hyperbole to say you’ll never miss a meeting again, but with effective use of reminders, it’s not too far from the truth. 

Setting reminders on a digital calendar can help ensure you always know when an important meeting or deadline is coming up. What’s more, you can set notifications for travel time if the meeting is in person or have email reminders sent ahead of time to make sure all your guests turn up.

In addition to not missing meetings, you can stay focussed on preparing for the meeting which will should help to give a great impression to stakeholders. You’ll show you’re organized, reliable and professional.

Coordinate schedules in seconds

In modern workplaces, it’s becoming increasingly common for your calendar to be visible to all your colleagues. For the business, this is great as it makes it easy for employees to schedule time with their team.

It also helps those employees who deal with prospects ensure they keep the sales process as short as possible. If a sales manager is dealing with incoming requests they can instantly know who in their team is free and assign them to the meeting. 

With Doodle’s Booking Page, Hosts enables the schedules of all those who need to be present in a meeting to be taken into account. Great if, for example, you work for a technology company that requires a specialist to accompany a salesperson. 

Recurring meetings are easy

For most digital calendars, scheduling recurring meetings is as easy as setting up a normal invitation. Simply specify whether the event is a one-time occurrence or a recurring event and if it’s happening more than once, decide how often. 

Scheduling recurring events this way means you have the ability to set reminders and notifications. As much as these are important for one-off meetings, for multiple meetings it ensures attendees don’t forget and can plan ahead and prepare.

It also means important stakeholders can have their calendars blocked out ahead of time. So if you’re a CEO who needs your c-level executives to meet every quarter - through a recurring meeting it’s much more likely to happen.

As we think back to our German idiom about the sausage it raises another; ‘wer rastet, der rostet’, which means he who rests, gets rusty. Don’t cling to your paper calendar because making the move to a digital one has so many benefits. 

It enables you to work remotely, schedule meetings and set reminders, no matter where you are. You can streamline your workday, achieve your goals more efficiently and work closely with colleagues by finding availability in seconds.