How To Connect Slack To Your Google Calendar

Slack + Google is one of the most popular combinations for both work and personal use.

Whereas Microsoft Teams users often stick with Outlook, Word, Excel, etc., if you’re a Slack user running a calendar, it’s likely Google.

Note: if you’re a Slack user using Outlook, check out this guide to integrating Slack and Outlook.

Slack, however, doesn’t have any built-in calendar functions so your best bet is to integrate Slack and Google Calendar.

Does Slack integrate with Google Calendar?

Yes. Slack does integrate with Google Calendar.

Renowned for its many Slack integrations, it’s no surprise to see Slack has an integration for one of the most popular calendars.

Once you integrate Slack with Google Calendar, you can achieve the following:

• View your entire schedule for the day from the Google Calendar Home tab or via /gcal commands

• Get reminders for meetings

• RSVP to invitations

• Join a meeting from Slack to anywhere (e.g Teams, Webex, Zoom, Meet)

• Keep teammates aware of your status

• Avoid interruptions during meetings

Now, at first glance, “keeping teammates aware of your status” and “avoiding interruptions during meetings” sound like the same thing right?

But as you’ll find out in just a moment, the Slack and Google Calendar integration brings these kinds of nuances to your workflows.

Read on to learn how to integrate Slack with Google Calendar…

How to integrate Slack with Google Calendar

You can use the Google Calendar integration for Slack in two steps: install the app and connect your Google account.

Install the Google Calendar app to your workspace

Anyone can install the app for a workspace. And they can do it from:

A browser:

1. Head over to the Slack App Directory for Google Calendar, select your preferred workspace, and hit Add to Slack.

2. Click Allow to grant Google Calendar access, then select your preferred Google account.

3. You’ll be redirected to the Slack desktop client.

All installed! But you can also do this from the Slack desktop client directly if you prefer.

The Slack desktop client

1. Click the “+” (Add apps) icon under the Apps tab.

If you can’t find the Apps tab, click More at the top of the sidebar, then click Apps.

2. Type “Google Calendar” in the search tab then click Add on the Google Calendar app card.

3. You’ll be redirected to your browser. Click Add to Slack.

4. Grant Google Calendar access by hitting Allow, then select your preferred Google account.

5. You’ll be redirected to the Slack desktop client.

Here’s a tip: you can add the Google Calendar app to workspaces from your admin dashboard after installing the app at the org level.

This feature is accessible to Org Owners or Org Admins in the Slack Enterprise Grid plan.

Connect your Google Calendar account to Slack

Once one person in a workspace installs the app, every other person can connect their accounts to Slack.

If the Google Calendar app has just been added to your workspace, you can connect your account on the desktop client in four simple steps:

1. Follow this directory, Apps > Google Calendar > Home, then click Connect an account.

2. You’ll be redirected to your browser. Click Allow, then sign in with your Google account.

3. You will then be redirected back to the Slack desktop client.

You can connect your account from Android or iOS devices if you have the Slack mobile app installed:

1. From the Home tab, you can click Google Calendar or

click Jump to… at the top.

2. Search for Google Calendar and select Google Calendar.

3. Click Connect an account and you’ll be redirected to the in-app browser.

4. Grant Google Calendar access to your workspace by hitting Allow.

5. Your Google Calendar account is now connected to Slack!

How to get Slack to show you are in a meeting

Setting your Slack status to automatically update when you’re in a meeting and avoid interruptions from teammates is easy.

You’ll get a welcome message when you connect your Google Calendar account to Slack.

The message has a Turn on button that’ll activate the Slack status update feature for Google Calendar meetings when you click it.

And just like that, you’re in business!

But if we’re being honest, avoiding interruptions during meetings with this feature really isn’t up to you – it’s up to your teammates to not hit Send on those messages.

The real question you have is “how do I turn off team message notifications during a meeting?”. But only during a meeting.

Now, this is where Slack’s many integrations come in handy.

You can improve your work life if you know how to sift through and find the best Slack apps and integrations. 

Here’s a use case:

Google Calendar integration for Slack use case: avoid messages during meetings

To avoid messages during meetings, you can set up your Slack status to notify your teammates when you’re busy.

You can take it a step further by integrating a third-party app that will monitor your activity and manage the task of blocking message notifications when you’re in a meeting.

Let’s use Clockwise as an example here. First, you have to set it up.

1. Head over to the Apps tab in Slack and click Add apps.

2. Type “Clockwise” in the search tab and hit Add. You’ll be redirected to the browser.

3. Click Add to Slack.

4. Select Allow.

5. You’ll be required to sign in with your Google work account then click Allow to grant Clockwise access to your Google account.

6. Clockwise is now set up with your Google account on Slack.

The next step is to activate the automatic Do Not Disturb feature on Clockwise.

Go to the Slack settings on Clockwise and under Turn on Do Not Disturb, click the dropdown and select In meetings.

Get a complete overview of this feature below:

You’ve now turned on automatic DND for meetings that will block Slack notifications only while you’re in a meeting.

Here’s a tip: you can use the Google Calendar for Teams Events app to create shared calendars for the team and post notifications to a Slack shared channel.

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