Using Google Calendar as a Journal

by Ken Burnstein on May 30, 2009

google-calendarI’m working on a future post about the benefits of using Google Calender for both personal and work scheduling and organization, but wanted to talk about one feature that I’ve just started using that I thought was really cool, so I wanted to share it.

I’ve set up several calendars in Google Calendar to separate things like personal events, work events, individual projects, and set up shared calendars for family, friends and project collaborators, which I can turn off and on at will.

I recently set up a new calendar I labeled “Journal”.  I’m now able to keep a running journal by simply adding a calendar entry in the “Journal” calendar, either as one big entry (which I can open and update during the day) by setting it as an “all day” event, or as a time specific entry.  (So far, it’s been much easier for me to use the “all day” format.)

When I’m not using the journal, I can uncheck that calender, and it’s invisible and out of the way.  I can then go back to any point in time, turn on the Journal calendar, and see exactly what i did that day.

Super simple to set up and use, and the added benefit is that it’s completely integrated into the same calendar that I pretty much live in on a daily basis.

Would love to hear your comments on this use of Google Calendar, or any other creative ways you may be using it.

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  • sanchiro
    Ken:

    I have added this tip to my Favorites in IE for quick reference. I went back to Google Calendar and added a couple other calendars. I think I took a wrong turn though because when I click on my new calendars, the Task List there at the right side remains the same always. I want to have a Family Calendar where I write down tasks, like Help the Boys with Homework, or Get house cabling set up for Television, as familiy tasks or goals that I want to work on. That works, but what if i want my own personal and private goals too, where I don't want my family to see them nor do I want them included on that task list? How do I make more than one task list, so that I can share some task lists and hide others? Did I miss something here?
  • Hi Sanchiro,

    Thanks for your question. If I understand you correctly, you would like to enter tasks into the Google Calender Task lists and be able to separate them based on individual shared calendars you have set up. So far, it doesn't look like this is possible. It appears that your task list is only visible to you and is not able to be shared. The "Tasks" calendar shows up on the left in your list of available calendars. You can turn its visibility on and off, and change its color, but not share it. You are able to create separate Task lists by clicking the menu button at the bottom of the task list and clicking "new list". You can also use this menu to select which list is visible.

    There are several workarounds for this. You can enter the tasks in your shared calendars as un-timed events so that they will show up in a separate box at the top of each day, and then delete them as they are completed. You can also set up and share tasks using one of the many stand alone task managers which integrate with Google Calendar, such as http://www.rememberthemilk.com/ and http://www.toodledo.com/ I have used both, and they are excellent options.

    Hope this helps. Please let me know if you have any additional questions.

    -Ken
  • sanchiro
    Ken:

    Thanks. I will take a look at the two links you shared. I guess I just need
    to play with the calendar sharing issue a while and see how it works, among
    family. I know it shows I can share calendars so I just figured that since
    the calendar and the task list both display in the same window that by
    sharing a particular calendar, it would also necessarily take along the task
    list too, but I am understanding that it just shares access to the calendar.


    I never noticed the New List item there at the bottom. Clearly I need to
    explore more with this. I am excited at what this can do for me.

    Cool Stuff!!

    Thanks!
  • Greg
    It would be great if there was an inbuilt timer in the Create Even dialog box that showed the exact current time, and with start and stop buttons, like Microsoft Outlook has for creating new journal entries.
  • Hi Greg,

    Good idea. If you're using Windows 7 or Vista, there is a timer you can use with Gcal described here: http://lifehacker.com/5146263/gcaltasks-gadget-...

    (Unfortunately, I have not been able to find a solution for this yet for Mac users) If you happen to use Windows 7/Vista and try this timer out, please let me know how it works for you.
  • Nathan Adams
    Wow! Awesome! Genius! Really. I basically live in Google Calendar. I schedule everything with it. It's great but I find myself needing to jot down "extra' information and your Tip makes total sense. I am going to immediately begin to try this new technique. Who would have ever thought combining Calendar events with Journal entries. Very Nice Tip!
  • Jane
    Is it possible to archive this journal...export in some way. Not that Google would ever go anywhere, but if you wanted to take your archived entries off line?
  • Hi Jane,

    I did some research, and have not been able to find a way to export Gcal files into Word docs, CSV files etc. I still think the best ways are to either enable "offline" mode, which syncs the calendar to your computer, or to use the "sync" feature, as I described in the comment above.

    To use the "offline" feature, just click the link at the upper right. You then need to make sure you click on "settings", then the "offline" tab, and click the check box next to your "Journal" calendar as well as any other calendars you want to access offline. These are not checked by default.

    Hope this helps. I'll post here if I find another way to export or archive Gcal files. Thanks!
  • Chloe: Thanks for the kind words!

    Maren: As far as I know, Google will keep the calendar history forever, as in Gmail, but there's no way to guarantee this. There are several ways that I know of to save the Calendar entries (Including the journal)

    1. Enable Offline mode in Google Calender. You can do this by clicking on the "offline" link at the top of the Gcal window. This will sync a copy of Gcal to your desktop.

    2. Enable the Gcal Sync feature by clicking on the "sync" link, also in the top bar. You will then have the option of syncing with Outlook for Windows, iCal on the Mac, Mozilla Sunbird and several mobile devices.

    3. Use a third party sync tool such as Calgoo Connect and Plaxo. (I've not personally used these, so can't give any feedback on them.)

    For anything that's vitally important, I would always recommend keeping a copy in a separate app on your computer and backing up regularly. Hope this helps.
  • Maren
    How long into the past will Google save your journal entries? Do you have a method for saving for posterity?
  • Nice one, Ken! Great idea. Thanks for sharing.
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