Block Time in Your Calendar to Read This

It’s about a calendar app

Managing a schedule day to day can be challenging, especially if it’s a day filled with meetings.

Apart from the traditional paper diary, our devices have the ability to help us manage where we’re meant to be, at what time, and who we are meeting — all without needing to think about it.

There are a number of calendar apps available; from the pre-installed app on your phone. That could be Google Calendar on Android, or the Apple Calendar on iOS, ipadOS and macOS, or it could be any one of a number of 3rd party apps.

I’ve made no secret of the fact that my favourite is Fantastical. Having been a user since 2016, it has grown and developed into a powerhouse of an application.

I should note that this is an Apple-based product; built for all devices; the MacBook, iPad, iPhone and Watch.

It’s not free, and it isn’t particularly cheap. Let’s take a look at the features.

1. You have multiple views — either by the day, the week, the month, the quarter or the entire year. No matter what device you’re using, Fantastical will give you the view you want. See a quick overview of your calendar with the Fantastical DayTicker and Calendar views, and browse comprehensive full-screen views of your day, week, month, quarter, or year when you need more detail.
2. File and photo attachments — Quickly upload files or images directly from Fantastical to your iCloud, Google, or Exchange events. Attachments are accessible across all devices that sync with your calendar accounts.
3. Add conference calls — With a single click or tap, Fantastical will automatically generate a conference call and add all of the details to your event! Even better, all invitees to the event will receive the meeting invite and the conference call details. Supported services are Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, Zoom, and Webex.
4. All upcoming events with a conference call will automatically show a badge in the list, Day, and Week views. Best of all, events with a conference call will show a Join button in the list plus the Day and Week views so you can quickly join your conference call with a single click or tap when the call is about to begin. The macOS version also has a Join icon in the menu bar. Fantastical takes some of the work out of working from home.
5. Calendar sets let you group different calendars and task lists together, letting you quickly toggle them all on and off at once. Best of all, you can automatically have a calendar set automatically activated based on your location or at a specific time. I love that at 5pm, my calendar reverts to my personal account.
6. As well as its own tasks, you can integrate with iOS Reminders or Todoist, for complete two-way management of your to-do list. Mark it as ‘done’ in one app and it will update and synchronise in the other.
7. Design and complete your projects directly in Fantastical. Add tasks alongside calendar events and complete them when you’ve accomplished the task. Tasks notify you when they’re due, and overdue tasks carry over to future dates. You’ll never forget about a task again.
8. Fantastical integrates a detailed 10-day weather forecast directly into all calendar views, with further details on demand. Sunrise and sunset times are also displayed so you plan your day perfectly. Plus, events with locations will display the weather details for that specific location on the location map.
9. Fantastical has its own powerful engine for CalDAV and Microsoft Exchange: This means you can add your calendar accounts directly into Fantastical. Fantastical supports iCloud, Google, Microsoft Exchange, Outlook.com, Office 365, Yahoo!, fruux, Meetup, as well as any other CalDAV account.
10. Choose the time zones that are relevant to you and easily see the converted time on Fantastical’s handy time zone card right in the event. Scheduling events in multiple time zones is now quick, easy, and helpful.

Flexibits — the company behind Fantastical — have been working furiously to build on this app and recently introduced a couple of new features:

• Openings. This allows you to set times you are available for people to book meetings with you. Essentially, you block times in your calendar, giving others the chance to book, safe in the knowledge that the time they select is available.
• Proposals. Send invitations with a choice of dates and times. Let the invitees ‘vote’ on their preferred option, and you can then select the most popular.

I’ve also found the support from Fantastical to be brilliant. On the odd occasion that I’ve encountered a problem, they’ve been quick to respond, and more importantly, provide the assistance I need.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, it’s not a cheap app, but it is certainly worth it.

There are so many features in the app that it’s impossible to do it any justice.

If you’re looking for a new way to use your calendar (and you have Apple devices) then I definitely recommend you take a look.

I am not affiliated in any way and received no compensation either for this post or if you sign up. This is purely a personal recommendation.

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