5 Ways To Get The Most Out Of Your Apple Watch Calendar
When done right, calendars can make living in our chaotic, modern world with so many things that constantly demand our attention a little more bearable. But the thing about calendars is that they're only as useful as how well they're integrated into our daily lives. Whether it is a physical calendar or a digital one, it takes commitment to regularly update them as your needs change and plans evolve with time. Thankfully, the Apple Watch can help keep your calendar alive by letting you access it directly on your wrist.
With so many ways to customize your Apple Watch, it's unsurprising that optimizing your on-the-go scheduling requirements is one of them. Most people are probably aware that you can check your iPhone's Calendar app through your Apple Watch, but you'd be surprised to know that Apple hasn't been slowing down with improved features in its recent OS updates. For example, there are plenty of new cool Watch faces that have popped up, with some of them having complications designed to help put your calendar at the forefront or make it easier to navigate. That being said, you should probably update your watchOS to the latest version as soon as possible.
So, if you're ready to get a better hold of your time (and your life), here are some ways to get the most out of your Apple Watch calendar today.
Find a better view
With the hustle and bustle of life, scheduling time to see friends and family can be a nightmare. If we're not careful, we'll get trapped in everyday tasks and fail to see that years can pass pretty quickly. While it's important to view your day-to-day tasks, having a bird's eye view can change how you spend your time. Thankfully, you can switch calendar views on your Apple Watch in just a few taps. Here's how:
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On your Apple Watch, press the Digital Crown.
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Select the Calendar app.
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Tap the more (or three dots) icon.
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Under View Options, select your preferred view.
On your Apple Watch, there are three views that you can use to view your Calendar entries: Up Next, List, and Day. With the Up Next view, you can view the events due to happen within the week, which makes it a great view when you're just trying to get through the day. On the other hand, the List view shows you events from two weeks before the present day and up to two years later. Lastly, the Day, Week, or Month view lets you see a color-coded view of your calendar across a set period. Using the Day view, you can easily switch to the Week or the Month view by tapping the arrow pointing left icon in the upper-left corner of the screen and turning the Digital Crown to view succeeding months.
Manage events quickly
Although nothing beats the speed and accuracy of making calendar events on your iPhone or Mac, it's possible to manage events on your Apple Watch while you're on the go. To add an event on your Calendar app via Apple Watch:
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On the side of your Apple Watch, press the Digital Crown.
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On your home screen, tap the Calendar app icon.
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At the bottom of the screen, tap the more (or three dots) icon.
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In the upper portion of the screen, select + New Event.
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Key in your primary event details, such as title, start date, end date, time, and invitees.
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At the bottom of the screen, tap Add to finalize your new calendar entry.
In earlier versions of the watchOS, it was not possible to make changes to your Calendar app event through your Apple Watch. However, from watchOS 10 onwards, it's now possible to make changes to the calendar with the Apple Watch. Just tap the event you want to edit, then Edit. Confirm your changes by tapping the check button. To delete an event on your Apple Watch calendar, select the event and tap Delete. Confirm your decision by choosing Delete again.
Make sure you're never late for an event
When it comes to staying true to your scheduling commitments, part of it is factoring in how to actually get there on time. Thankfully, Apple introduced the Travel Time feature, which can help you manage your travel time in between appointments better.
Bear in mind that for the Travel Time feature to work on your Apple Calendar automatically, you will need to type in the location of the event. Afterward, your Apple Watch, Calendar, and Maps will work together to determine your location and calculate the ideal time, factoring in traffic and transport options, to remind you to get moving to the next one.
To use the Travel Time feature, launch the Calendar app on your Apple Watch. In the upper-right corner, tap the plus (+) button, fill in your event details, and tap Travel Time. In the next section, toggle on the button next to Travel Time.
If you don't trust the accuracy of GPS in your area, you can manually opt to change the starting location. On your Apple Watch's Calendar app, tap an existing event. Then, in the upper right corner, tap Edit > Travel Time > Starting Location and type your starting point.
Alternatively, you can also select your estimated travel time from five minutes to two hours. Unfortunately, the Time Travel feature has a few limitations. For example, it doesn't let you use it if you're setting an "All Day" event or make multiple reminders.
Fix your calendar notifications
Although most people tend to use their calendars more passively, like choosing when to check it on their phones, your Apple Watch lets it engage with you more actively, especially with notifications. However, notifications can create some degree of anxiety, especially when you don't know how to create boundaries with them. So, if you don't want that little red dot on your Apple Watch to control your life, here's how you can make your calendar notifications work for you.
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On your iPhone, which is paired with your Apple Watch, open the Watch app.
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In the lower-left portion of your screen, tap My Watch.
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Below My Faces, tap Notifications.
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In the Notifications tab, scroll down until you see the Calendar app.
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Under Notifications, tap Custom.
Depending on your preferences, you can make changes on this screen to turn on or off notifications for alerts, upcoming events, invitations, invitee responses, and shared calendar changes. When you receive a calendar invitation, you can also confirm your attendance by tapping Accept, Decline, or Maybe on the notification itself. Alternatively, you can also locate the request in your notification list, tap it, and respond from there.
Get Siri to help
One of the best things about Apple Watch ownership is its promise of a somewhat hands-free lifestyle. After all, you get a lot of functionalities, like making changes to your calendar, that you have on your iPhone without having to take it out of your pocket. However, most people still need a finger or two to interact with it, which isn't ideal when you're driving, cooking, or doing any activity that requires two hands.
To take it a step further, you can use Apple's built-in virtual assistant, Siri, for a truly hands-free experience with Raise to Speak. To enable Raise to Speak, simply launch the Settings app on your Apple Watch. Then, select Siri and turn on the Raise to Speak.
Afterward, you can easily ask Siri to make changes to your calendar by saying "Hey Siri" or pressing and holding the digital crown until the indicator appears on the screen. To start with, you can create events by saying "Hey Siri, create a calendar invite with Mike tomorrow at 2 pm." Or, you can even ask Siri what your upcoming event is.
If you prefer ChatGPT on your wrist, instead of Siri, there's also a way you can replace ChatGPT with Siri on your Apple Watch. On the other hand, if you start to regret giving a virtual assistant unfiltered access to your entire life, it's easy to deactivate Siri on your Apple Watch.