When we talk about your Google Calendar, what’s the first thing that pops in your head?
Birthdays 🎂 and Holidays ✈️!
But sometimes, you need a calendar that does more.
Like a marketing or editorial calendar, or maybe a business-related weekly calendar.
In these instances, Google Docs can be helpful.
And the fun part is, you can create a Google Docs calendar yourself.
In this article, we’ll show you how to create a calendar in Google Docs and even highlight some template options. We’ll also discuss some Google Docs calendar limitations and suggest a project management software alternative.
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Ready to make a Google Docs calendar?
Here we go!
Summarize this article for me pleaseHow to Make a Calendar in Google Docs?
A Google Docs calendar is like any other calendar. 📅
The only difference is you make it in a Google Docs file.
Here’s how to turn that blank, boring document into your very own calendar. 😎
Step 1: Open a new Google document
Just like accessing any other Google app, ensure that you’re logged in using your personal Google account or Google Workspace account to use Google Docs.
To begin, open a new Google Doc from the Google Docs home page.
We know you see a template gallery there, but unfortunately, the Google Docs app makers decided not to add a calendar template to it.
So don’t waste your time there, and select a blank doc to begin.
After the document opens, name it what you need it to be, or you’ll have a tough time finding it later. 🔍
For now, let’s call this Google Doc file ‘Monthly Calendar.’
Note: You can use the same steps to create a daily, weekly, or yearly calendar too.
Now enter the name of the month you want at the start of the document.
Let’s stick to January.
Step 2: Insert a table
A calendar won’t look like itself without those squares, right?
Since you’re making a monthly calendar, let’s add 7 x 6 squares. Seven is the number of days in a week, and six was the number of weeks January 2021 was spread across.
Go to Insert > Table > then move your cursor to highlight 7 x 6, and then click to insert the table. This should fit in your weekends too.
Step 3: Add the dates and tasks
Before you add the dates, insert a 7 x 1 table above the table you just created. This will give you space to add the days of the week.
Now that you have the days of the week, open your computer or mobile’s calendar for reference and start inserting the dates accordingly.
Here, we used January 2021 for reference.
Starting to look a lot like a calendar, isn’t it?
Now add the tasks or events.
Let’s say this is your content calendar.
You can add tasks like:
- Social media posts: Facebook posts, Twitter updates, Instagram stories
- Blog posts: add your publication dates
- Content marketing meeting: add to the appropriate date to schedule
Step 4: Personalize your calendar
This step is the most F-U-N!
Put on your creative hats and make the calendar beautiful.
Here are some ideas:
- Throw in some colors to coordinate similar days, tasks, and events
- Change fonts, font size, or add bold/italic formatting to highlight them
- Resize your calendar squares (table cells) to add space wherever you need
These are simply some suggestions.
You might just discover that you’re more creative than you give yourself credit for. 😎
After you’re done formatting your calendar, it may look something like this:
And the good news is, you can always change your calendar formatting later if you need to.
Step 5: Flip your doc’s orientation to landscape
This step is not compulsory, but it’s supposed to make your calendar legible.
Additionally, landscape orientation gives you more space to add task details.
Go to File > Page setup, and a Page setup dialogue box will pop up. Select Landscape under Orientation and click OK.
And that’s a wrap.
Congratulations, you have created a calendar in Google Docs all by yourself! 🥳
All that’s left to do is, share your calendar and start working with your team. To do this, click on the Share button in the top right corner and add the email addresses of your team members.
But hold up. Did you know you can totally cut out the entire manual process of creating a calendar from scratch?
You heard it. And the solution is templates!
If you’re looking for a calendar template Google Docs may not be helpful, but the internet never fails.
Whether it’s a lesson plan, content marketing, or editorial calendar template for Google Docs, you’ll find them all.
Related 👉 How to Make a Timeline in Google Docs
Summarize this article for me please3 Calendar Templates for Google Docs
Don’t go looking for a Google Doc calendar template because we’ve found three options for you.
Use any of these yourself to save tons of time and effort.
1. Weekly schedule template
This weekly digital planner template is great to schedule any calendar event, such as meetings, to-dos, etc., by time.
You can also use the same template in a Google Sheet file too.
Download this weekly schedule Google Docs template.
2. Social media calendar template
If you need a social media editorial calendar for all platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, etc., this template should do.
This is another template that works with both a Google Doc and Google spreadsheet.
Download this social media Google Docs and Google Sheets calendar template.
3. Weekly event calendar template
This template can help you keep track of every calendar event in a specific week.
Download this weekly event Google Docs calendar template.
Summarize this article for me please3 Limitations of Creating a Calendar in Google Docs
We want you to ask yourself a question:
Is it really smart to use a document creation tool for making a calendar?
It’s like using a spreadsheet to do tiny calculations. It doesn’t make sense when we already have a thing called a calculator, right?.
Similarly, using Google Docs to create a calendar doesn’t make sense when there are several calendar tools available instead.
Let’s show you why else it doesn’t work:
1. Not designed for calendar use
We’ll let the cat 🐈 out of the bag. Google Docs isn’t meant for calendars.
You can write a blog post, type out your thoughts…if you got words, Google Docs is your friend, just like Microsoft Word.
Bonus: Check out our guide on creating a calendar in Microsoft Word! 💜
But logging some dates? Nope.
Not even reminders.
2. Offline access is not convenient
Google’s biggest advantage is that everything in the Google Workspace is online.
But sometimes, this poses a problem.
To access your files without an internet connection, you have to plan way ahead. You’ll need to decide which files you want to use when the internet is down.
From what we gather, offline access is supposed to help in emergencies.
But Google is asking you to foretell the emergencies and decide what should be available offline.
It looks like you’ll first need help from a crystal-gazer or become one yourself. 🔮
3. No workflow capabilities
Google Docs is not a calendar; we’ve established that.
But guess what? It’s not a project manager either.
A business or project calendar must have certain capabilities like scheduling, creating tasks, assigning them, managing resources, setting priorities, visualizing a workflow, etc.
A Google Doc calendar has none of that!
It means your manually-made calendar on Google Docs is as good as your wall calendar.
Fortunately, there’s a simple solution to all these drawbacks: ClickUp!
It’s one of the world’s highest-rated productivity tool, trusted by several teams in small, medium, and large organizations.
Summarize this article for me pleaseCreate Effortless Calendars With ClickUp
With ClickUp, you get a calendar that can do it all.
Really?
Yup, we’re talking about our Calendar view.
This view lets you:
- Plan projects
- Schedule tasks
- Manage resources
- Set priorities
- And more!
In the Calendar view, you can decide the time span you wish to see.
You can zoom in to see tasks at the day level and zoom out for a bird’s eye view of the entire month.
When it comes to scheduling and rescheduling tasks, all you need to do is drag and drop them on the calendar.
Simple.
But we absolutely understand that you may want different ways to view your tasks.
That’s why ClickUp has several other options for you:
- Gantt chart view: plan, schedule, and assign tasks on an interactive Gantt chart
- Table view: view tasks in a spreadsheet format
- Timeline view: visualize your project plan in a linear format
- Activity view: view all the happenings in different ClickUp places like Spaces, Lists, and Folders
- Mind Maps: sketch out your ideas and workflows on a blank canvas
One of the coolest aspects about ClickUp is, you can easily sync your favorite calendar with our calendar, whether it’s your Outlook, Google, or Apple Calendar.
The best out of that lot is the Google Calendar sync.
Why?
Because it has 2-way sync, meaning changes in any Google Calendar event will reflect in ClickUp and vice-versa.
You can even carry your calendar in your pockets and:
All thanks to our mobile app’s Calendar view.
In the mobile app, choose to filter your Calendar view by day, week, month, work week (Monday to Friday only), month, or schedule (multi-day continuous layout).
And for quick and easy reference, all of the tasks that appear on your Calendar view in the mobile app are colored based on the task’s status!
Speaking of calendars, we’re not going to forget about Reminders. You can not only set reminders for yourself but also delegate them to others!
The bottom line is, ClickUp can be your calendar app and a lot of other things at the same time.
Here’s a glimpse at some of ClickUp’s features to give you an idea:
- Receive and send emails right from your project management software with the Email ClickApp
- Work without the internet connection with our offline mode
- Create custom workflows with task statuses
- Save a template for Docs, views, statuses, etc.
- Create and collaborate in real-time on wikis and knowledge bases with Docs
- Take your work with you with ClickUp mobile apps (iOS and Android)
- Use team templates to start using a pre-built workflow and save time
- Assign a single task to multiple people with multiple assignees
Summarize this article for me pleaseCount the Days to Success with ClickUp
A Google Docs calendar is just a regular calendar with no workflow functionalities.
Sounds like a lot of effort to create something you already have on your mobile phone!
Instead, look for a calendar that can do more than give you space to fill in task details or show the day and date.
Like ClickUp, an online calendar and project management app.
Unlike Google Docs, it lets you set reminders, schedule tasks, manage resources, track time, plan projects, and so much more.
Now we have only one question:
Are you ready to manage multiple projects and never your miss due dates?
Then get ClickUp for free today!
Related help guides:
- How to make a calendar in Google Sheets
- How to make a calendar in Excel
- How to make a flowchart in Google Docs
- How to make a mind map in Google Docs
Everything you need to stay organized and get work done.
