Having a digital calendar is practically a necessity when dealing with modern life. Whether you use it as a makeshift to-do list, or whether you collaborate on large projects with multiple people via a shared calendar, Google Calendar can fulfill most of your timekeeping needs on its own.
Similarly, having a note-saving app like Evernote can be a major time saver. MakeUseOf has a whole guide dedicated to getting the most out of the service, and it ranks with Google Drive and Dropbox as an invaluable storage and archiving solution for everything from your photos and notes to your audio and video files.
So what happens when you want to combine the two?
Say, that you want to literally save the date whenever you add something to your Google calendar? There are a number of reasons why you might want to sync these two services, and there are an equal number of ways to sync them!
Here are a few things you can use to get the most out of both your Evernote account and your Google calendar!
Save the Date with 4 Powerful Tools
Combining your saved notes with calendar events can be a big time-saver no matter what the occasion. Business meeting events can now have the complete notes or schedules attached for easy perusal. Daily errand reminders on your phone can come with a grocery list from your Evernote.
For example, say you’re planning your wedding and are using a shared Google calendar to coordinate events with your guests. Naturally, this will require you to share lots of very specific information that might not fit within the confines of the calendar’s event template.
Depending on how elaborate your wedding is, and how many apps and websites you use in the planning, you’ll probably have detailed notes. Suppose you want to share the to-do list or schedule with your party? With the following apps, you can do that and more.
If This Then That
If This Then That is the name of a “recipe” service that allows you to link your apps and automate your operations. IFTTT recipes make it very easy to update multiple services at once. But, as we’ve mentioned before, this is the just the tip of the IFTTT iceberg!
An IFTTT recipe can be one of the simplest ways to link your Evernote account and your Google Calendar, depending on what you want to do. It can also be very customizable, but if you’re not clear on what you’re doing, it might be confusing.
Luckily, there are several ready-made recipes on the site that can get you started. Here’s an IFTTT recipe that will create journal entries for you automatically when you create a new event in your Calendar.
Event noted
If you want a service that is designed to work within Evernote specifically, and you don’t mind things being a little simple, then Event noted might be the connection you’re looking for.
With Event noted, you can create a note with the “Event” tag, and a Calendar event will be created. There is a link in the event to your Evernote journal. You can also add dates to existing notes, making this a simple-yet-powerful tool for those who want to simplify their scheduling.
Even noted also links to the note in the calendar description. This is helpful for recording more detailed notes that might not fit in the notes field of your calendar.
However, it doesn’t always work. With multiple Calendars synced to the same Google account, it can be very picky.This is because it creates a separate Calendar called “Event noted”. But if you are comfortable with the formatting, Event noted can be a great tool for linking your Calendar to important event notes.
Zap It with Zapier
Zapier works similarly to IFTTT recipes, automating app tasks to make life easier. It works with a different class of apps, though, and is really well-suited to business tasks. When you want a service designed to work specifically with Slack, Trello, and Salesforce, Zapier should be your first port of call.
The app connections offered in Zapier are more customizable than the average IFTTT recipe, so you can usually find what you’re looking for in the existing Zaps. There are almost 300 Zaps for Google Calendar and Evernote alone, though not all of those Zaps connect the two services. Still, almost every combination of trigger and action is available in the Zaps.
But in the off-chance you can’t find what you need, you can put together your own Zap. I created a simple Zap that would create an Evernote reminder whenever I make an event in my Google Calendar. There were a lot of different options available, and it’s relatively simple to do.
It’s very similar to IFTTT, but one of the biggest differences between the two is that Zapier can automate multi-stepped tasks, as opposed to just “trigger” and “action” with IFTTT.
Zapier comes with a free trial that allows you access to as many tasks and Zaps as you like. After that, you have the option of going with a free plan, which limits the number of Zaps you can use per month, or you can pay for more extensive access.
Cronofy Calendar Connector
The above options are very useful, but they can all be somewhat complicated. There are other options if you don’t want to have to go through the trouble of setting up a Zap or an IFTTT combination.
Cronofy doesn’t offer a great deal of customization, but it still works perfectly and can be a great asset for someone who doesn’t necessarily need a complicated set up to set up an Evernote bridge with Google Calendar.
Cronofy connects Evernote with a number of different calendars, including Google Calendar. It creates a Calendar event when you create a reminder in Evernote. You can edit the note by editing the event, and vice versa. It’s much more direct than some of the other services on this page and it’s far from sophisticated, but little details — such as the fact that the event links to the note and any information it contains — can make this a useful shortcut.
As a side note, Cronofy offers more extensive services for developers who want to use their calendar integration API for more customization, connection, and for more users. Their starter developer kit is free and works with up to 20 users, and there are pricing plans for those who want to incorporate more users.
Do You Need More Customization?
If none of the above methods give you quite the control or customization you need, then consider using the Get Things Done script available as a Google Apps Script download.
There are two benefits to using this script. First, you don’t have to use any third-party software in order to get your two accounts synced. For those concerned about security loopholes with the other apps, this could be the solution.
Second, this allows you to have more control over the events and notes created, including what kind of reminder (if any) you get for the event. For those with very specific needs, this script could fill the gap left by all the rest of these programs.
However, using this script involves multiple steps and familiarity with Google Apps Script language. I admit that I didn’t grasp the mechanics of using the script, but I wanted to include it on this list for those who do.
Source: www.makeuseof.com
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