Move aside, “See you later!” There’s a new phrase in town: “Find us a time on my Google Calendar.” Like clockwork, I’ll bump into a friend on campus, exchanging the usual, “How are you?” and ending with the ritual, yet always rushed, “OK, we haveto catch up soon.”
It’s easy to say you’ll catch up, grab lunch and go on that hike saved in your TikTok saved folder since freshman year. But how often do plans actually materialize from those chance encounters on Sproul Plaza? Too often, I’ve been both the perpetrator and victim in these situations. We hug, promise to “do this soon” and walk in opposite directions. We forget to follow up over text and wait until the next encounter to repeat it all over again. Just another plan suspended in vague intention, left to rot in the graveyard of “almosts.”
At some point last year, in a move that felt faintly corporate, I decided to approach my social life from the same logistical perspective utilized in scheduling club meetings, advisor appointments and office hours with professors. I began to rely on my Google Calendar not just for lectures and deadlines, but for dinners, walks and weekend plans. I often joke that if something isn’t on my GCal, it simply doesn’t exist. Perhaps I’ve become far too dependent on the tool, but I truly use it to organize my entire life: classes, club meetings, meals, excursions, laundry reminders, Zumba classes and the list goes on.
In college, proximity is our greatest gift. It’s the only time in our lives that we will be within only a couple miles radius of our best friends at any given moment. We live in the same apartments, study in the same libraries and cross paths daily. The barrier to connection isn’t geography — it’s coordination. We all lead busy lives filled with classes, extracurriculars and social obligations. So how do we find the time to hang out with our friends or catch up with old roommates? The answer: Google Calendar.
Among my friends and acquaintances, sharing calendars has eliminated the endless back-and-forth of scheduling. Google Calendar’s ability to layer multiple schedules allows us to instantly identify overlapping free time, making it easier to prioritize gathering in person. When my two friends and I decided we wanted to grab Philz Coffee together, I pulled up Google Calendar, typed in their email addresses and sent the invite for our outing. It’s our hope to continue this tradition every Wednesday morning.
Meetings don’t have to feel corporate and professional. I used to picture a boardroom full of suited-up professionals when I heard the word “meeting.” My first memory of a “meeting” was at 4-years-old when I would accompany my mother after school at her very serious meetings. I would sit on the perimeter, content with my cold, catered sandwich and bag of Lay’s chips, as the adults nodded and discussed grown-up topics around the conference table. But now I know meetings come in all shapes and sizes. We sign off “look forward to meeting you soon” on coffee chat invitations. We text each other where and when to “meet” when coordinating nights out. And we attend meetings for our clubs every week. “Meetings” can be as informal as matcha at Binge Coffee House — or as formal as business-professional attire.
In this era of modern technology, tools, such as Google Calendar are designed to make both our lives and meeting each other easier. Just last week, my five friends and I scheduled a meeting with our future apartment’s leasing manager. During this hour-long meeting at the Class of 1914 Fountain on campus, we asked every question we had, from leasing dates to appliance replacements. Our meeting completely eliminated the inconvenience of texting back and forth. Meeting in person empowered us to engage in a real and natural conversation with our property manager. Questions not documented on our shared “Questions to Ask” note naturally arose, allowing us to get everything answered by the manager in one fell swoop. When offered, I’ll always choose an in-person meeting over a virtual meeting. Face-to-face interaction is always a privilege, and now is the time to experience it.
I also believe that Google Calendar scheduling removes the awkwardness of texting an old pal, “So nice to see you today! We should hang out!” Perhaps I’m ageist, but I would prefer to avoid texting any of my friends this way — it reads all-too mature for my liking. Instead, let’s rely on technology and on our Google Calendars. My go-to: Find a time both of you are free, send an invite and follow up with a text requesting them to accept. Lean in to the intimacy of Google Calendar and commit yourself to those plans. So what are you waiting for? Open Google Calendar and schedule a time to make more meaningful connections and memories.