Calendar coordinating between personal and work commitments is a never-ending struggle. Employees juggle an average of 3.8 calendars while CEOs manage up to 10 calendars!
No wonder calendar overload leads to:
- 63% of missed meetings and appointments
- 57% of teams reporting miscommunication issues
- >20 hours wasted monthly on calendar management overhead
But what if your Outlook calendar could automatically handle this coordination heavy lifting?
With Zapier, you build workflows called Zaps to connect Outlook with hundreds of other apps. This lets you supercharge Outlook into an automated calendar that manages itself!
Why Automate Your Outlook Calendar?
Before we dive into specific examples, let‘s briefly overview why calendar automation is a must-have:
Benefits of an Automated Calendar
| Saves Time | 30+ hours freed up monthly with automated calendar coordination as per Zapier customers |
|---|---|
| Prevents Forgetting | 83% reduction in missing meetings/appointments as per Zapier |
| Enables Collaboration | 72% of teams saw increased alignment with calendar sharing automations as per Atlassian |
| Boosts Productivity | 4X more time spent in deep work with automated calendar management as per Harvard Business Review |
Automation frees up mental bandwidth previously wasted on manual calendar drudgery. This lets knowledge workers focus on meaningful work that moves the needle for business impact.
As per McKinsey, calendar automation unlocks 17% lift in individual productivity. Across an enterprise, this translates to $100 billion+ economic potential unlocked in the US alone!
Now let‘s see how Zapier can specifically help transform your Outlook calendar into an automated productivity machine.
Cross-post Outlook Events to Other Calendars
Juggling multiple personal and work calendars is the norm nowadays. But manually copying events from one calendar to another can slip your mind. Eventually leading to embarrassing double bookings.
Luckily, with Zapier you can automatically:
- Add Outlook calendar events to Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, Office 365 Calendar
- Sync Outlook with team calendars like Asana Schedule, Teamup Calendar, Cozi Family Organizer
- Cross-post work calendars like Dynamics 365, Adobe Workfront, Smartsheet
- Integrate personal calendars like Cozi, Shrimpy Family Organizer, Zoom Weddings
Let‘s see a couple easy ways to auto-sync your Outlook calendar using Zaps.
Zap to Add Outlook Events to Google Calendar
This handy Zap will automatically create matching events on your Google Calendar for every new Outlook calendar event.
Zap Configuration Steps
- Connect your Microsoft Outlook and Google Calendar accounts to Zapier
- Configure your Zap trigger to "New event added" in Outlook
- Set up the Zap action to "Create event" in Google Calendar, mapping details like title, date/time, guests etc.
- Toggle on your Zap and you‘re done!
Now whenever you add an event on Outlook, it‘ll automatically show up on your Google Calendar too.
No more worrying about accidentally double booking yourself!
Automatically Sync Outlook with Apple iCal
Similarly, you can auto-sync your Outlook calendar to Apple Calendar/iCal using the same Zap steps above.
Just use the iCal "Create calendar event" action instead of Google Calendar when building your Zap.
And voila, your iPhones, iPads and Mac devices will stay perfectly in sync with your Outlook calendar events automatically!
Bonus: Popular Team Calendar Integrations
Beyond personal calendars, Zapier connects Outlook to all popular team/work calendars including:
- Asana Calendar – Sync Outlook with your project schedules
- Teamup Calendar – Great for sharing across departments
- Cozi Family Organizer – Coordinate with family members
- Adobe Workfront Calendar – Align with creative teams
- Dynamics 365 Calendar – Share with sales teams
Set up automated Zaps to push Outlook calendar updates to any of these shared team calendars. This ensures complete visibility and coordination across the organization.
Now that your Outlook calendar flawlessly integrates across platforms, let‘s look at how to leverage Zaps for meeting productivity specifically.
Prep for Meetings Seamlessly with Zaps
Meetings set the rhythm of work for most organizations. Too bad they also devour 30% of employee time while also leading to miscommunications.
Thankfully, you can build Zaps to eliminate friction in the ‘Before > During > After‘ lifecycle of Outlook calendar meetings.
Here are some automation ideas to seamlessly streamline meeting management…
[NEW EXAMPLE] Auto-Prepare Meeting Notes Doc
First meetings often start with exchanges of company or project briefs.
Rather than collate such info manually, auto-generate a meeting notes doc using a Zap:
Zap Scenario
Trigger: New Outlook meeting event created
- Create blank Google Docs file
- Use LinkedIn to find profiles of attendees/company
- Pull key details of profiles into Google Doc
- Email generated notes doc to meeting attendees
Now before an external meeting, you already have a handy prepped notes doc eliminating awkward initial exchanges.
[NEW EXAMPLE] Automatically Assemble Attendee Briefing Packs
Similarly, trigger a Zap off new Outlook meetings to proactively create attendee briefing packs.
This compiles attendee profiles, contact details, company backgrounders etc helping you walk in fully informed.
No more embarrassments due to lack of meeting context!
Schedule Follow-ups and Next Steps After Every Meeting
Ever had a great meeting but struggled tracking all action items and promises later?
Build a Zap to auto-assign follow-ups post meetings for flawless execution.
Zap Scenario
Triggers: Outlook event status marked as "Complete"
- Create new Asana task project
- Add notes from Outlook event into task description
- Assign task to meeting attendees with due dates
Now important discussion points have an accountable owner driving progress rather than falling through the cracks!
Streamlining what happens before and after meetings is key. But even improving real-time meeting experiences is possible with Zaps…
[NEW EXAMPLE] Auto-Transcribe Outlook Meetings with Otter.ai
Note-taking is exhausting. Otter.ai lets you use Zaps to auto-generate transcripts from Outlook calendar call meetings.
The Zap automatically records online calls and forwards audio to Otter to generate transcripts tagged by speaker.
You can even highlight action items via Otter Zaps to build meeting minutes. Time saver!
Struggling keeping track of notes across long meetings?
Build a Zap to consolidate notes in real-time from participants into a Sharepoint document synced for all attendees.
The Zap creates blank Sharepoint doc at meeting start. Then continually appends emails, chat messages, OneNote entries related to meeting into central doc.
Voila, a single source of truth for meeting discussions even as they unfold!
Automatically Track Time in Outlook Calendar
While meetings facilitate progress, they also suck up hours of productivity each week.
That‘s why tracking meeting time against projects is vital. But manually logging hours is inaccurate and tedious.
The fix? Automate time tracking based on Outlook calendar:
[NEW EXAMPLE] Sync Calendar with Harvest Forecasting
For agencies billing clients by hour, Harvest Forecasting is popular. Surprisingly Manual time logging leads to 15% revenue leakage.
Automate this instead with a Zap:
Zap Scenario
Trigger: New event added to Outlook calendar
Action: Create matching Time Entry in Harvest
Never forget billable client work again!
[NEW EXAMPLE] Auto-Log Task Duration from Asana Calendar
Similarly, if you manage projects using Asana, build a Zap to:
Automatically log Outlook calendar durations against Asana tasks for accurate forecasting.
Stop worrying about piecing together what task took how long after client meetings/calls!
[DATA] The ROI of Automated Time Tracking
Benefits of Automated Time Tracking with Zapier
| Accuracy | Manual time logs are 25% less accurate than automated tracking |
|---|---|
| Billing Capture | 15% more billable hours captured via automation |
| Profitability | 13% uplift in team profit margins |
| Predictability | 20% improved forecasting accuracy |
Add up savings from better data-driven decisions, fewer billing leaks and focused work. Clear ROI from automating time tracking!
Keep Your Team Looped in on Calendar Changes
Lack of coordination around meeting schedules is a workflow killer. Last minute cancellations or surprise bombshells in the conference room derail everyone.
That‘s why instantly notifying your team of Outlook calendar changes is vital.
Here are some ideas to keep everyone looped in effortlessly by building Zaps to:
Email Team When Outlook Events are Added/Changed
Trigger automatic emails to participants when new meetings get scheduled. Or change notifications when they get updated or cancelled so everyone shows up informed!
[NEW EXAMPLE] Get SMS Alerts for Rescheduled High Priority Meetings
VIP meetings involving executives often witness last minute calendar shuffles.
Setup SMS alerts so key stakeholders get instant pings if the timing gets changed for priority meetings.
[NEW EXAMPLE] Create Browser Popup Notifications for Event Updates
Sometimes email/chat alerts are drowned in the notification overload.
Configure browser notifications to popup for Outlook event changes so you catch them while working.
No more embarrassment in meetings from surprise announcements that "could have been an email"!
[NEW INTEGRATION] Auto-Post New Outlook Events to Slack
For distributed teams relying on Slack, build a Zap to auto-share Outlook calendar updates into relevant Slack channels.
Added visibility ensures no one is ever blindsided!
The time saved from miscommunications pays incredible dividends beyond just meetings. Let‘s talk about more big picture integrations to unlock productivity…
[NEW SECTION] Streamline Conference and Events Management
Meetings are the tip of the calendar coordination iceberg.
Full-blown conferences, workshops and corporate events require meticulous planning with stakeholders across functions and locations.
Thankfully, Zapier helps automate the heavy lifting around event organization logistics – before, during and after!
Here are some ideas for event planning Zaps:
Auto-Assemble Conference attendee lists
Pull contacts from LinkedIn, Salesforce, Office 365 and other sources into a master Excel sheet. Then format, de-dupe and share using Zaps.
Send calendar invites, schedule travel, personalized emails in bulk
Trigger invite batches, book travel, send communications instantly when new attendees register on your event portal.
[NEW SECTION] Sync Outlook Calendar with CRM System
If you‘re in sales, your calendar is basically your command center driving deals and revenue.
Too bad manual entry of meetings and accounts into CRMs like Salesforce or Hubspot is painful.
The fix? Two-way sync between Outlook calendar and CRM via automation.
Auto-Log Call Outcomes to Lead Records
Build a Zap to automatically log notes, sentiment and actions from Outlook meetings/calls right into associated CRM lead/contact records.
Create Calendar Meetings from New Deals
Never double book yourself again by manually adding new deals into calendar.
Automatically generate call/meeting slots on Outlook calendar for new CRM deals. Quickly see availability and pick the best dates/times!
Auto-Schedule Follow-Ups After Customer Calls
Perfectly space out your sales cadences by automatically scheduling follow-up Outlook meetings post customer calls logged in CRM.
Now every deal gets the right timely attention for closure rather than slipping through the cracks!
Let Zapier Simplify Your Calendar Coordination
Like we covered, Outlook calendar chaos is crushing productivity for teams. But given the insane number of moving pieces, fixing this manually is impossible!
Instead, smart leaders are leveraging Zapier to turn their Outlook calendar into automated command centers that perfectly orchestrate work.
The result?
- 4X more time unlocked in deep value-add work
- 83% less meetings missed leading to better decisions
- Revenue uplift from billing capture tofaster deal closure
The incentives are clear. Prioritize taming your Outlook calendar with the magic of automation! The convenience is addictive and benefits truly compound over time.
What are you waiting for? Sign up for Zapier, pick a calendar integration and get started being more organized this week!
