Time management with a calendar and task list
For anyone whose day is a mix of meetings, requests and routine jobs: office and operations staff, coordinators, customer service and team members. No prerequisites; you need a work calendar and a task list (the examples use Google Calendar and Google Tasks, and Microsoft Outlook with To Do). You'll capture every commitment in one list with a clear next action, block calendar time for the work that matters, set up recurring items, reminders and focus time, plan a day and a week against the hours you actually have, and replan honestly when something urgent lands. Feature availability depends on your account type and what your administrator has turned on. For choosing between competing requests, continue with 'Prioritising competing requests: urgency vs impact'. Your organisation's calendar etiquette and privacy rules apply on top.
- Level
- Beginner
- Length
- About 80 minutes
- Contents
- 5 lessons · final exam
- Status
- Published · updated 10 Oct 2026
Skills you'll practise
- Capture every commitment in one trusted task list with a clear next action, due date and reminder
- Schedule time blocks on your calendar for priority tasks, with realistic durations and buffers
- Set up recurring tasks and events, reminders and focus time so routine work isn't forgotten
- Plan a day and a week by matching task estimates to free calendar time and choosing what to defer
- Replan your calendar and task list when work changes, and tell the people affected
Course outline
- 1.Capturing every commitment in one trusted task listLesson · 15 min
- 2.Scheduling time blocks for priority tasks with realistic durations and buffersLesson · 15 min
- 3.Setting up recurring tasks, reminders and focus timeLesson · 15 min
- 4.Planning a day and a week against free calendar timeLesson · 15 min
- 5.Replanning when work changes and telling the people affectedLesson · 12 min
- 6.Time management with a calendar and task list: knowledge checkKnowledge check · 13 questions
- 7.Time management with a calendar and task list: practical exerciseKnowledge check · 1 question
- 8.Final exam10 questions · passing it completes the course, so people who already know the material can test out
Sources it draws on
The lessons and questions are written from these references, so learners can go back to the original.
- Google Tasks Help: Learn about Google Tasks (capture tasks, details and subtasks, tasks from Gmail and Calendar, due dates and notifications)
- Google Calendar Help: Create an event
- Google Calendar Help: Create a recurring event
- Google Calendar Help: Use focus time in Google Calendar
- Google Calendar Help: Set your working hours & location (includes out of office)
- Microsoft Support: Create or schedule an appointment (Outlook)
- Microsoft Support: Use calendar categories and reminders in Outlook
- Microsoft Support: Manage tasks with To Do in Outlook
- Microsoft Support: Use My Day with To Do in Outlook
- Microsoft Support: Drag a task to your calendar with To Do in Outlook
- Microsoft Support: My Day and suggestions (Microsoft To Do)
- Microsoft Support: Set your work hours and location in Outlook
- Microsoft Support: Focus plan for Viva Insights
See it with your own jobs and topics
Tell us about your team and we'll walk you through setup, from choosing jobs to your first skills check.