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Syncing Google Calendar: here's how it works, as a coach too

Syncing Google Calendar: here's how it works, as a coach too

The coach checks his calendar on his smartphone

Syncing Google Calendar means your appointments stay the same across all your devices and in all your apps. If you create a session on your laptop, it also shows up on your phone. On Android and iPhone you set this up with your Google account in the settings. With Outlook it works in one direction by default. If syncing doesn't work, it's usually down to a disabled calendar, an outdated app or your internet connection. Below you'll read what to do for each device. We'll also show you how, as a coach, you can prevent sessions from appearing twice or going missing.

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In short

  • Syncing is different from viewing. With a connected Google account you can view and change appointments. With a calendar link (iCal) you can only view them.
  • On Android and Samsung you turn on the Calendar switch for your Google account. Then tap Sync now if needed.
  • On the iPhone you add your Google account under Settings > Calendar > Accounts and turn on Calendars.
  • Outlook and Google Calendar can only be linked in one direction without an extra tool. For changes in both directions you need an additional connection.
  • For coaches: work with a central calendar and choose a syncing method per calendar. That's how you avoid duplicate or missed sessions.

Table of contents

Syncing or just viewing: the difference

Many problems arise because two ways of linking get mixed up. According to Google Calendar Help on syncing with other programs, there are two options:

  1. Syncing via your Google account. You see your appointments in another app and you can change them there too. The change comes back to Google Calendar.
  2. Fetching via an iCal link. This is a secret web address for your calendar. Another app uses it to read your appointments, but you can only view them there.

The difference matters for a coach. Suppose a coachee reschedules a session and you change the time in Outlook. If Google Calendar is only in there via an iCal link, nothing changes in Google. You then have two calendars that contradict each other.

An iCal link also doesn't refresh immediately. There can be some time between a change and the moment you see it in the other app. So anyone planning new appointments based on that calendar could offer a time slot that's already taken.

Google Calendar on your Android or Samsung phone

On an Android phone, Google Calendar syncs via the Google account on your device. Usually it's already there, because you need it for the Play Store.

How to turn it on with a Samsung Galaxy

Samsung describes the steps for their own Calendar app like this:

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Choose Accounts and backup.
  3. Tap Manage accounts and choose your Google account.
  4. Tap Sync account.
  5. Check that Calendar is turned on.
  6. Tap Sync now if needed.

Do you use multiple Google accounts, for example a personal account and an account for your practice? Then check for each account separately whether Calendar is turned on. It often happens that only the first account syncs.

Other Android phones

On other brands the menus are sometimes named slightly differently, but the idea is the same. You add your Google account via Settings > Accounts > Add account > Google. Then you turn on Calendar in the account settings. If you use the Google Calendar app itself, open the menu at the top left and check that the checkbox is ticked for every calendar you want to see.

Google Calendar on your iPhone or iPad

On an iPhone you can do two things. You install the Google Calendar app, or you put your Google appointments in Apple's Calendar app. For the second option, Google Calendar Help for iPhone and iPad gives these steps:

  1. Open Settings on your iPhone.
  2. Scroll to Calendar and tap it.
  3. Tap Accounts > Add account > Google.
  4. Enter your email address and tap Next.
  5. Enter your password. If you use two-step verification on an older version of iOS, enter an app password.
  6. Tap Next.
  7. Do you only want to sync your calendar? Then turn off Mail and Contacts.
  8. Open the Calendar app. Your Google appointments are now in it.

Is your Google account already on your iPhone? Then tap that account and turn on the switch for Calendars. On newer versions of iOS you'll find this, according to iCulture, under Settings > Apps > Calendar > Calendar accounts.

What to watch out for with Apple Calendar

Not everything from Google Calendar works in Apple's Calendar app. According to Google, email notifications for appointments don't work there. You also can't create new Google calendars or book meeting rooms in Apple Calendar. If, as a coach, you want to receive an email for every session, use the Google Calendar app or the web version.

If you create an appointment in Apple Calendar, pay attention to which calendar you choose. An appointment in your iCloud calendar or in a calendar that only exists on your iPhone won't end up in Google Calendar. So always choose your Google calendar if you want the appointment to appear everywhere.

On the Mac you choose under Refresh Calendars how often Apple Calendar fetches new data. iCulture recommends not syncing more calendars than you really use. The more calendars, the slower the app and the greater the chance of syncing errors.

Linking Outlook and Google Calendar

Many coaches work with two calendars. For example, Outlook for a client or organization, and Google Calendar for their own practice. Those two don't talk to each other automatically.

Putting Google Calendar into Outlook

STRATO explains how to do this. In Google Calendar you copy the secret address in iCal format. You'll find it in the calendar's settings. In Outlook you paste that address via Home > Add Calendar > From Internet. Changes in Google Calendar then also become visible in Outlook. It doesn't work the other way around.

Putting Outlook into Google Calendar

The reverse route is also possible. You publish your calendar in Outlook on the web, copy the ICS link and add it to Google Calendar under Other calendars. According to Proximus, you then see the appointments from Outlook in Google Calendar, but not the other way around. If you want to be able to make changes in both directions, you need an additional program. Such programs usually aren't free.

Method Direction Can you make changes? Suitable for
Adding a Google account to your phone Two directions Yes Your own phone or tablet
iCal link from Google to Outlook One direction No, viewing only Seeing your practice calendar in a work calendar
ICS link from Outlook to Google One direction No, viewing only Seeing a client's appointments
Additional linking program Two directions Yes Those who need to plan in both calendars
Coaching software with two-way linking Two directions Yes Coaches who book sessions from one place

Proximus also gives one practical piece of advice: work with a central calendar as much as possible. If you import one calendar into another, you see them together in one app. But changes then don't go back and forth automatically.

Sharing your calendar with a colleague or assistant

Do you work with an assistant or a second coach? Then you might want them to be able to see your calendar. That's different from syncing: you're giving someone else access to your calendar.

According to Google Calendar Help on sharing, you do this on the computer like so:

  1. Open Google Calendar and go to the calendar's settings.
  2. Choose Settings and sharing.
  3. Add the person you want to share with.
  4. Choose which permissions that person gets, for example view only or also make changes.

In the app you choose from five levels. The lowest only shows whether you're free or busy. The highest also lets someone determine who the calendar is shared with. You can revoke access again at any time via the same menu.

When sharing, think about your coachees' privacy. Does an appointment contain a coachee's name or the topic of the session? Then everyone with read access sees that too. According to Google on shared calendars, appointments get the same permissions as the calendar, but you can adjust the visibility per appointment. So give a colleague who only needs to plan the right to see free and busy, rather than more. Don't put sensitive details in the title of an appointment.

Don't see a shared calendar on your phone? Then open the menu in the Google Calendar app and check whether the checkbox for that calendar is ticked. On an iPhone you often still need to enable shared calendars separately.

When syncing doesn't work

Is a new appointment not showing up on your phone? Then go through these steps, in this order. They come from Google's help page on syncing problems with the Google Calendar app.

  1. Check your internet connection. Turn wifi or mobile data off and on again briefly.
  2. Update the app. An old version of the Calendar app sometimes doesn't sync properly.
  3. Check whether the calendar is visible. Open the menu in the app and check that the checkbox for the right calendar is ticked.
  4. Check whether syncing is turned on. Go to your phone's account settings and check whether Calendar is turned on for your Google account.
  5. Look at the storage space. If your phone is full, the app can't store new data.
  6. Clear the app's storage. Only do this as a last step. Your appointments are in your Google account, so they'll come back afterwards.

On Android, battery saving can also play a role. Some phones limit apps that run in the background. In that case, put the Calendar app in the list of apps that aren't limited.

On an iPhone it sometimes helps to remove your Google account and add it again. Your appointments stay saved in Google, so you won't lose anything.

Looking for an old session? According to Google, the Calendar app syncs appointments up to a maximum of one year back. You'll find older appointments via calendar.google.com in your browser.

Duplicate appointments

Do you see every session twice? Then you've usually linked the same calendar in two ways. For example via your Google account and also via an iCal link. Choose one method per calendar and remove the other. This also applies to booking software: don't link your calendar in one direction and in two directions at the same time.

Google Calendar in a coaching practice

For a coach, the calendar is more than a list of appointments. A missed session costs revenue and trust. A double booking gives a coachee the feeling that you've lost track. These choices help.

Create a separate calendar for your practice. Put coaching sessions in a dedicated Google calendar, alongside your personal calendar. You can then share the practice calendar separately, show it separately and link it separately to other software.

Choose a central calendar. Decide which calendar is the real one. All other calendars only show what's in that one. That way you always know where to reschedule a session.

Use buffers. With Appointment scheduling in Google Calendar you create a booking page where coachees choose a time themselves. There you can set a gap between sessions and a maximum number of bookings per day. That gives you time to finish notes and prepare for the next session.

Set out what happens when rescheduling. A synced calendar doesn't solve a coachee cancelling an hour in advance. Clear agreements about cancelling do help. With our cancellation policy generator you put them on paper quickly.

Four practical calendar agreements for coaches

Keep session content out of the calendar. A calendar is good for times, not for what was discussed in a session. Notes, goals and action points are better kept in a place that belongs to the coachee, such as session notes software.

How we view calendars in a coaching practice

We speak to many coaches who hold their week together with a Google calendar, an Outlook calendar from a client, a booking link and a separate list of reminders. It works, until a coachee reschedules a session and one of those places doesn't get updated.

That's why we didn't build the calendar in Exantur as a separate component. Coachees book a session online. They automatically get a reminder. The session is placed in your Google Calendar or Outlook in two directions, so what you reschedule in your own calendar is also correct in Exantur. With the Zoom integration, the video link is right there.

More importantly: the session doesn't stand alone. It belongs to the right coachee and the right journey. Your notes, goals, action points and check-ins between sessions sit next to it. For us, a calendar is only properly set up when you know where your coachee stands at every appointment.

Martijn

Your calendar and your coaching in one place

Do you no longer want to manage your calendar separately from your coaching work? Exantur is practice management software for coaches. You get online booking with automatic reminders, two-way synchronization with Google Calendar and Outlook, a Zoom integration and invoicing via your own Stripe account, with no commission for Exantur. On top of that, you track goals, progress and accountability per coachee. Accountability here means: seeing whether a coachee actually carries out the agreed actions between sessions. Your data is stored in the EU, in Frankfurt. Subscriptions start at €19 per month or €190 per year for Mini. View all subscriptions and prices and start with a free trial.

Frequently asked questions

Why doesn't an appointment from my laptop show up on my phone?

Usually calendar syncing is turned off for your Google account on your phone, or the checkbox for that calendar isn't ticked in the app. Also check that you created the appointment in your Google calendar and not in a calendar that only exists on your laptop. If it still doesn't work after that, update the app and check your internet connection.

Can I sync Outlook and Google Calendar in both directions?

Not with the standard features alone. An iCal or ICS link works in one direction: you can view the appointments but not change them. For two directions you need an additional program, or software that connects to both calendars itself.

It doesn't happen immediately. There can be some time between a change and the moment you see it. That's why you shouldn't use such a link as your only source if you plan new sessions based on it.

Is it safe to share my calendar with an assistant?

You can, as long as you choose the right permissions. Only give access to free and busy if someone doesn't need to see details. Don't put sensitive information about coachees in the title of an appointment, because anyone with read access will see it.

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