Household Calendar
Overview
The Tsang household uses a shared calendar to plan events thanks to @ for starting this off. The two key people who use the calendars at the moment is my partner and myself (jokingly the Tsang Corporation shareholders). I’ll go through how it’s setup and when a shared calendar is used v.s sending invites.
Google Calendar
The Tsang corporation uses G Suite so it’s natural we setup a shared calendar in Gmail. The Calendar has full read/write access for both of us to allow each person to manage events in the calendar and the ability to see them as well.
Shared Calendar v.s Invites
Generally, any shared events are put in the shared calendar. For example, after school clubs for the children, weekends away, holidays, etc.
Events which are solo affairs such as nights out, gym classes,etc are kept outside of the shared calendar and sent as an invite to notify the other person they are not available. For us this includes hobbies like cycling for example.
It can be useful to share calendars between work and personal. If you don’t use Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) then this may get you halfway.
This will require you to make your calendar public so anyone with the URL can view your calendar so be aware.
Follow the steps to make your calendar public https://support.google.com/calendar/answer/37083
Then follow the steps to share your calendar as a link. Copy the link to the public iCal address.
If you’re using Outlook, subscribe to the calendar by following these instructions: https://support.office.com/en-gb/article/import-or-subscribe-to-a-calendar-in-outlook-com-cff1429c-5af6-41ec-a5b4-74f2c278e98c
Tips
Each person should set the shared calendar the same colour and agree on the colour highlights. For example I override the brown default with “banana” colour for when I’m working from home so it stands out as a For Your Information (FYI) rather than mixed in with other browns. It also means it won’t clash with any other private calendar colours that you may not see.
For events yet to be confirmed(TBC) it’s always best to put them in as TBC or place holders and update the event later with the mindset that it’s better to plan for it than to forget. If the event doesn’t go ahead then it’s removed freeing up the time. If it does go ahead, the TBC or placeholder words are removed to show it has been confirmed.
If it’s person specific, always add your name or initials otherwise assume it’s for both shareholders. Exception to this is if the event was sent as an invite as opposed to added to the shared calendar.
The person who puts it in the calendar first gets priority if a conflict arises. Obviously, there’s some compromise to this depending on the circumstances but as a general rule that is how it goes in the Tsang HQ.
Summary
We have been using the system and it has been refined over almost 2 years and it has been generally working well. The challenges have been having the disciple to put things in the diary and as long as everyone agrees the priority it quickly serves as a reminder when conflicts do arrive.
