For ages, it was a nightmare to easily set up appointments, and you’d have to rely on services like Calendly to do so. However, recently, Google Calendar started offering a bookable appointment schedule.

I’ve started using that in my work context as well, but it’s available to any free Google Calendar user. You can easily:

• Change the appointment duration
• Set a schedule and add exceptions
• Automatically set the location (incl. Google Meet)

Especially the latter is even easier done by just adding another event. If you’ve got something else scheduled, it won’t be available for others to book a slot.

At Automattic, I use the appointment system both internally—offering weekly “office hours” to the 100 people in our division—and externally, having an easy link ready for people who want a call with me.

Here are the instructions on how to set it up. I hope it can make your life easier as well.