Introduction
If you’re reading this, you probably know that Google decided to remove the Google Calendar Goals feature in November 2022, and People. Are. Upset. In this article, we’ll explain what Google Calendar Goals was, and how you can get similar functionality in 2024.
What was Google Calendar Goals?
Google Calendar Goals was a feature in Google Calendar that let you tell Google something you wanted to accomplish a certain number of times a week, and then Google Calendar would automatically schedule time for that task directly into your calendar.
This could be used for things like “work out”, “learn French”, or “walk the dog”. Things that you want to do regularly, but the exact time of day that you do it doesn’t really matter.
Why was Google Calendar Goals helpful?
Anyone who has heard of “time blocking” knows that scheduling time for your tasks is an extremely effective time management strategy, because you’re much more likely to get tasks done if they’re on your calendar.
However, time blocking has one critical downfall: when something comes up or you get behind, you have to manually rearrange the events you created for your tasks, like this:
This can get extremely tedious and discourage you from planning your day with time blocks in the first place.
Google Calendar Goals was solving this problem by dynamically scheduling your repeating tasks, and it was helping people get more done and achieve their goals.
So why was it shut down?
While Google never gave an official reason for shutting down Google Calendar Goals, there is speculation that it was shut down because of low adoption and Google making Calendar a more workplace-focused tool.
What is the closest alternative in 2024?
The closest alternative to Google Calendar Goals in 2024 is FlowSavvy, an app that has the auto-scheduling capabilities you love from Goals, and much, much more.
FlowSavvy is designed to be powerful enough for even the busiest schedules, yet simple to use. It syncs seamlessly with Google Calendar and automatically blocks time for both repeating tasks/habits and one-off tasks, something Goals never even supported.
Other features that make FlowSavvy the best Google Calendar Goals alternative:
- Takes your priorities and deadlines into account to automatically build your schedule
- Automatically rebuilds your schedule whenever you make a change (no more manually shifting all your time blocks!)
- Fully featured web, iOS, and Android apps
- Highly customizable scheduling hours (work, personal, etc)
- And so much more!
How to use FlowSavvy like Google Calendar Goals
Let’s take an example of a goal you might have put in Google Calendar Goals, and see how it would look in FlowSavvy. We’ll use the example of exercising 3 times per week.
In FlowSavvy, you just create a task, set it to repeat 3 days a week, and it will automatically find a time for each workout!
Along with that, FlowSavvy has even more customizability than Goals ever did. For this workout example, you could tell FlowSavvy that you want to work out sometime from 7am to 12am or 5pm to 9pm on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, or every other day, or any other custom repeating rule you can think of.
If plans change or you get behind, FlowSavvy automatically finds a new time for your tasks and goals, so you don’t have to worry about anything falling through the cracks.
Conclusion
Although Google Calendar Goals has been shut down, FlowSavvy can still help you auto-schedule your week, and it’s here to stay! If you’re looking for an app that auto-schedules your goals like Google Calendar Goals, FlowSavvy is the easiest way to get started with auto-scheduling.
Create a free account today, tell FlowSavvy what’s on your plate, and watch it automatically plan time for your tasks!