Top 10 Google Calendar Shortcuts to Boost Your Productivity

Google Calendar is a popular tool for keeping track of appointments, events, and other business schedules. It’s handy enough as is, but then when you add in the possibility of keyboard shortcuts, it gets even simpler. You won’t have to click around for hours, deal with endless drop-down menus, or anything else. You can enable keyboard shortcuts for quick, easy navigation on your computer, mobile device, and anywhere else you access Google Calendar. 

Everyone will have an idea of which shortcuts are most effective for them. This depends on what types of features you use most or how you use Google Calendar to manage your schedule. When it comes to the workplace, Google’s workspace is growing in popularity because it’s so collaborative and versatile, not to mention accessible. And speaking of accessibility, let’s talk first about how to make sure that shortcuts are enabled for your use. 

First, make sure shortcuts are enabled

To use Google Calendar shortcuts, you have to ensure that they’re enabled. You can do this by opening your Google Calendar from a webpage. Then, select the gear icon in the upper right corner and select Settings from the available options. Scroll to your General settings, and then down to Keyboard shortcuts. Toggle the check box next to where it says “enable keyboard shortcuts” and you’ll be in business. 

As you’ll see while you’re in this pane, there’s even the option to hit the question mark (?) key and have Google display the full list of available shortcuts for the Calendar platform. It’s also important to wait until the Calendar is fully loaded or the shortcuts might not work properly. 

Now that you know more about how to get them working, let’s talk about which are the 10 best shortcuts that can work for you. 

1. Calendar view changes 

You can use five keys to change between the different displays in the Google Calendar platform. D will take you to day view, while W goes to week, M to monthly view, Y for year view, and A for agenda/schedule view. This makes it quick and easy to change the date range displays as needed. 

2. Jump to any day 

This shortcut allows you to type in any date and jump to that calendar. Simply press the “G” button on the main calendar page and when the box pops up, type in the date that you want. 

3. Add a new event 

This is an easy task to do even without a shortcut, but the shortcut makes it even faster. Simply press the “C” key and a new event will be generated so that you can complete the details and save the event to your Calendar. 

4. Find an event in Google Calendar

If you are looking for a specific event in Google Calendar, you can press the “/” key and it will activate the search box. There, you can type in your search terms and allow Calendar to find the information that you seek. 

5. Refresh calendar 

Use the “R” button to refresh your calendar. This is ideal when you have a slow connection, have made changes, or just want to make sure that you have the latest version. If you share a calendar with coworkers or others, this can also help you keep up with their changes and additions to the calendar. 

6. Go to current day 

This one’s pretty easy to remember: “T” for today. No other keys are needed. Just press “T” when you’re on your calendar’s monthly or weekly page, or anywhere else in the calendar, and it will navigate to today’s date and give you a full rundown of the events. 

7. Go to settings 

Instead of navigating to the gear icon at the top of the page, you can simply press “S” to open the settings in your Google Calendar. Then, you can make adjustments, view all the shortcuts, and more. 

8. Go to previous date range

Pressing “P” or “K” will take you to the previous date range in your calendar without having to navigate or scroll through with the mouse. This can be handy for tracking dates and information, or quickly scrolling through the calendar. 

9. Go to next date range

To navigate to the next range of dates, press “J” or “N” and your calendar will take you forward the appropriate amount of time. Again, it saves a lot of time and effort compared to clicking around to find what you need. 

10. View event 

Once you’ve created an event, if you need to edit it or you just want to check the details, press “E” and Google Calendar will bring up the event in question so that you can make the necessary adjustments. You can press delete or backspace to get rid of events, and the escape key will get you back to the calendar.

While Google Calendar is improving your productivity, why not boost your lead intake solutions?

As you’re more efficient with your new calendar, you’re going to see a big influx of new leads and opportunities coming your way. You need to be prepared with a 24/7 answering service that’s ready to field calls at any time of day or night. In addition to that, you should partner with a team like the dedicated virtual receptionists at Smith.ai for things like appointment scheduling, lead screening and intake, and even outreach campaigns when you’re still tweaking your marketing strategy. 

Plus, it all includes a custom-tailored strategy to manage every last detail for you, no matter what your needs might be. We take pride in delivering productive, efficient solutions to companies so that they can focus their efforts elsewhere (like on clients, for example). 

To learn more, schedule a consultation to discuss how the 24/7 virtual receptionists at Smith.ai can help you improve lead intake and more. You’ll also find us at hello@smith.ai if you want to reach us directly with questions or needs.

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