Good project management is key, especially if you’re managing a large project with multiple people. One area I’m sure you want to check off the list first is scheduling. That’s because there’s nothing worse than someone missing an important deadline or change request.
I have found that using the best calendar tools for project management saves me tons of time and headaches. To manage your time, schedule meetings and follow through with deadlines, you need tools to help you organize without losing track of important details.
Teamup
Teamup offers shared calendars for groups to simplify organizing, scheduling and communication. Businesses can choose from free and paid plans. Further, Teamup offers a live demo of its software, as well as a three-day trial, so you can see for yourself if this app is a good fit for your team.
This program was built specifically for groups, and its calendars are easy to use. Calendars are organized by color, and they can easily and securely be shared with other team members through a secure URL.
“I spent ages looking for a good shared calendar to manage events and holidays for a spread-out team of people,” said Ben Taylor, founder of homeworkingclub.com. “I eventually opted for … Teamup. It gave me the ability to set up lots of different even categories, [it] allowed staff to pull their choice of calendars into their own software using ICS feeds, and [it] even comes with an app for iOS and Android.”
Fantastical 2 — A Calendar Software with a Great Design
Image Source: entrepreneurshiplife.com
Fantastical 2 landed as number five on our list, and the reason for that is primarily fantastic design. When the app developers were choosing the name for this iOS app, they coined the name which describes this calendar app perfectly, or should we say, fantastically.
This app looks the best on Desktop, but because of the great design and interface, Fantastical 2 will get the job done across all iOS and macOS devices, including Apple Watch.
The color palette can be intense, but it’s neither overwhelming nor makes working hard on your eyes. Even on the watch version, the interface allows you to add many details to your events, such as locations of those events, notes, and even links, plus everything is accessible and well organized. You can even add extensions and fully integrate the app into your pre-built Apple system.
One of the coolest and probably the best-known features of this calendar making software is the natural-language event creation. When you start writing something like “Dinner with Cindy at 8 pm at Metropolitan”, the app will automatically put your words into the calendar fields and even attach all relevant information available such as addresses, and availability of the other person.
Key Features
- Easy Integration with Other Apple Software
- Available on All Apple Devices
- Fantastic Design
- Free Version Available
- Automatic Availability Check
- Weather Forecast
- Parser Auto-Complete Suggestions
- Travel Time for Events
Pricing
A free version with limited options is available, while Pro plans start at $3.33 per month if billed yearly, but if you want to pay per month, the price is $4.99.
Woven — A Digital Calendar with Built-in Group Polls
Image Source: woven.com
Promoted as the calendar with the most powerful scheduling tools, we can say that Woven is living up to those expectations. It is calendar management software available on both iOS and Android devices, which gives it an edge over the competition available on only one of those platforms.
Its goal is to bring all your personal, family, and work meetings to one place and help you to manage time more efficiently. Syncing Woven with both Gmail and Outlook accounts is possible, which reveals yet another useful layer of this app.
In the background of the app, you can add some widgets and also adjust the color mode—for users enthusiastic about dark mode, it’s available in Woven.
However, the best feature of this calendar making software is most definitely the ability to create group polls. Group polls are used to determine the availability of all participants for the meeting. With it, you can agree on the best time for everyone and if you encounter difficulties, even share the current availability with your colleagues.
Key Features
- Built-In Group Polls
- Dark Mode
- Availability Sharing
- Available for Both iOS and Android
- Smart Time Finding
- Integrated Scheduling Links
- Smart Templates
- iOS Integration
Teamweek
With a lengthy list of features such as team timelines, zoom levels, project roadmaps and a sharing timeline, Teamweek makes it easy to collaborate with your team. Its free plan works for a team with up to five people, and its mobile app lets you collaborate on the go. Paid plans start at $39 per month for up to 10 people, and include projects roadmaps, annual view and custom colors.
“This is a visual resource for planning, managing and scheduling our team’s projects,” said Alexis Davis, founder and CEO of H.K. Productions. “It serves as an open calendar, so everyone knows who’s working on what, when and how far we are from reaching our intended goals. I think intention, communication, transparency, and everyone’s awareness of their roles and responsibilities is essential when choosing the right technology for your team’s productivity.”
Google Calendar
Google Calendar is one free app which is super easy to use without compromising on any functionalities. The interface comes with a simple layout where everything is nicely organized. Swiftly add calendar events or advanced events in just a few key hits. Moreover, it sends repeated reminders, so that you do not miss on any important events and tasks.
Google Calendar can integrate with various video meeting tools like zoom, duo and the likes.
Some of its other great features include,
- Ability to send emails and messages to yourself;
- Option to update the priority of certain events (free or busy);
- Option to share your calendars with each other;
- Ability to sync to any app on your system;
- Absolutely free of cost.
Moreover, you do not even need to check if your spouse is busy or your friends have planned for any trip. Simply download the Google Calendar and stay informed at all times without any hassle.
Google Calendar is an integrated online calendar designed for teams. This calendar integrates seamlessly with other G-Suite products, including Gmail, Drive, Contacts, Sites and Hangouts. This app can be accessed on laptops, tablets and phones.
“I use the Google Calendar app to book all my appointments with clients,” said Ana Santos, UX Consultant. “It’s also handy for video meetings because it syncs with Google hangouts if we assign a video conferencing option to the event.”
Santos’ favorite feature is Google Calendar’s ability to sync your calendar across all devices and browsers if you’re logged in with your Google account.
Price: free to use
Chronos Calendar +
If you are a looking for a calendar that focuses majorly on the looks, then it has to e the Chronos Calendar+. It’s a chic calendar app with a host of features while maintaining its elegance. It’s loaded with attractive features and also provides integration with all the calendars on your device.
It provides support for multiple languages (more than 30) and offers holiday correction for different countries. Moreover, you can also customize the calendar in rich live tile format and also the calendar look. What’s more? It also features integrated holidays and other different special days for more than 70 countries, which is unique in itself.
Explore ore with Zodiac signs and moon phases. Smart add feature and the option to see the calendar in multiple views are some of the other major features to look upto.
Price: $2.49
Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft Outlook is a lot more than just emails. It also integrates calendar along with contacts, task, and much more, all under one roof. The calendar function allows you to stay organized more conveniently. From booking conference rooms to keep a track of RSVPs for meetings, all that is possible directly from your calendar.
You can also share the calendars that help you to make plans and synchronize schedules, and even view the availability of your colleagues. Moreover, it offers company level security and keeps your sensitive data secure by working round the clock. Best of all, your travel schedules and bill due dates, are automatically taken up by the calendar and sends you regular reminders so that, you do not miss on your important events.
Price: 30-days free trial available; Upgrade starts from $70/Yr/PC
Asana
Asana is more than a shared calendar app. While it has calendar features, it also makes it easy to manage team projects and tasks. The Timeline feature shows every piece of a project, how it all fits together and helps you track changes. Asana has a mobile app and has more than 100 integrations.
Asana doesn’t have a free plan, but it offers free trials and a lite version.
“Asana isn’t just a calendar … it’s an enterprise resource planner that includes a shared calendar function, but it also provides other collaboration tools we require,” said David Alexander, designer, developer and digital marketer at Mazepress. “The pro of this approach includes having task management, communication and reporting tools all within a single interface … put simply, it’s one of the tools I couldn’t live without.”
Calendly
Calendly is automated scheduling software that works with your calendar to automatically check your availability. It helps schedule meetings without a lot of back-and-forth emails. Other features include the ability to schedule buffer time between meetings, time zone detection, compatibility with apps like Salesforce, GoToMeeting and Zapier, and it grows with your team.
“I use Calendly. I like to set up my podcast interviews,” said Michelle Ngome, host of the Networking With Michelle Show. “There is a free and a paid version. The free version allows you to use one category, while [with] the paid version, you can set up multiple categories. Plus, you can customize the URL.”
Ngome said her favorite feature is that it syncs with Google Calendar, and she can schedule personal appointments in Google without updating her schedule on Calendly. The program integrates with Outlook, Office 365 and iCloud calendar.
iCloud
iCloud isn’t just for storage, it also features a simple-to-use calendar that integrates fully with any Apple device. The iCloud calendar app allows your team to schedule meetings, share information and communicate with ease. You can also toggle your calendar view to “Today” to view your daily tasks and projects at a glance. Its functionality is straightforward and very similar to Google’s calendar, making it a popular choice.
The one downside of this app: Like most Apple products, it loses a lot of functionality for non-Apple computers as well as Android devices. Overall, this calendar app is best if your entire team uses Apple products.
Thunderbird Lightning Calendar
Thunderbird Lightning Calendar is regarded as one of the most powerful calendar apps for Linux users, though it also features Windows and Mac capabilities. Thunderbird’s display includes tabs for your email, calendar and tasks, and users can easily navigate between these tabs to stay organized and in communication throughout the day.
The calendar offers several different views, including a summary of everything on your schedule for a single day, as well as a search function with time filters and preset event categories. Lightning Calendar integrates seamlessly with both Thunderbird and SeaMonkey email services. While it’s not the fanciest shared calendar app on the list, Thunderbird Lightning Calendar is a useful all-in-one tool to keep you and your team on track.
Conclusion
A good calendar management tool allows you to save time by staying on top of your schedule, tracking your tasks and synchronizing your activities with other specific tools.