How to Integrate Google Calendar with Notion for Effective Scheduling

Managing your schedule effectively is crucial for staying organized and maximizing productivity. Notion, a powerful all-in-one Workspace tool, offers a versatile platform for organizing tasks and projects. One way to supercharge your scheduling process is by integrating Google Calendar with Notion. In this article, we’ll explore updated methods to bring your Google Calendar events into Notion, enabling you to consolidate your planning and stay on track.

Note: Notion still does not offer a native two-way sync with Google Calendar. However, you have two practical options: embedding a live view of your Google Calendar or using third-party automation tools (such as Zapier or Make) to sync events between platforms.

Why Integrate Google Calendar with Notion?

Integrating Google Calendar with Notion streamlines your workflow and brings several benefits to your scheduling process:

1. Centralized Workspace: Combine your calendar events with your Notion pages and projects, creating a single hub for organizing your plans and tasks.
2. Real-time View: Whether using an embedded calendar or automated sync via third-party tools, you can display up-to-date events from Google Calendar within Notion without disrupting your workflow.
3. Seamless Collaboration: Share your calendar views or synced events with team members in Notion to boost transparency and enhance communication across projects.

Let’s dive into the steps for both embedding a live Google Calendar view and setting up an automated sync.

Method 1: Embedding a Live Google Calendar in Notion

This method displays a real-time view of your Google Calendar within Notion. It’s ideal if you simply want to reference your calendar without needing to create or edit events directly in Notion.

1. Make Your Google Calendar Public:

• Open Google Calendar and navigate to your calendar settings.
• Enable public access (ensure it fits your privacy requirements) and copy the embed link provided.

1. Embed in Notion:

• Open your Notion workspace and navigate to the page where you want the calendar to appear.
• Click on the "+" button to add a new block and select the "Embed" option.
• Paste the Google Calendar embed link into the block. Notion will display your calendar in an inline view that updates automatically.

Method 2: Automating Sync with Third-Party Tools

For those who want a deeper integration—allowing actions in either Google Calendar or Notion to reflect on the other platform—consider using automation tools like Zapier or Make (formerly Integromat) with the updated Notion API.

1. Set Up the Automation:

• Create an account with your chosen automation tool if you haven’t already.
• Connect both your Notion and Google Calendar accounts to the tool.

1. Design Your Workflow:

• Create a workflow (or “Zap”) that triggers when new events are added in Google Calendar.
• Define an action that creates a corresponding entry in a designated Notion database.
• Similarly, set up workflows for updating or deleting events. These automation tools can also run in reverse—from Notion to Google Calendar—depending on your needs.

1. Test and Activate:

• Run your automation workflow to ensure that events sync accurately between platforms.
• Adjust property mappings and settings if needed to ensure a smooth exchange of data.

Customizing and Organizing Your Google Calendar Events in Notion

After your Google Calendar is embedded or synced, you can further customize how events are displayed:

1. Change the View:

• For an embedded calendar, adjust its settings (e.g., "Month," "Week," or "Day" view) directly from the Google Calendar interface.
• For synced events in a Notion database, switch between calendar, table, or list views by using the options menu (accessed via the "..." icon on the top right of your database).

1. Customize Event Display:

• Click on any event in a synced database to modify its properties.
• Add details such as visibility settings, color labels, reminders, or additional notes using Notion’s rich text editor.
• Learn more about reminders in Notion by visiting this guide on setting reminders.

1. Organize Events Using Tags or Properties:

• Leverage Notion's tagging and property features to categorize events (for example, "Meeting," "Deadline," or "Personal").
• This makes filtering and locating events based on specific criteria easier.

1. Collaborate and Share:

• Share your Notion page containing the embedded or synced calendar with team members to promote transparency and keep everyone aligned.

Managing Events in Google Calendar or Notion

With the integration set up, you have the flexibility to manage your events from either platform:

1. Managing in Google Calendar:

• Update, add, or delete events directly from Google Calendar. These changes will reflect in Notion according to your chosen integration method.

1. Managing in Notion:

• Create or edit events in Notion (if you have set up automation) to have those changes sync to Google Calendar and appear consistently across your devices.

Conclusion

Integrating Google Calendar with Notion unlocks a world of possibilities for efficiently managing your schedule. By centralizing your calendar events and tasks, you can streamline your workflow, collaborate seamlessly with team members, and maintain a holistic view of your productivity. Whether you choose to embed a live calendar or automate event syncs using third-party tools, following these updated steps will help you maximize your scheduling potential with Google Calendar and Notion.

Happy scheduling!