Set Up Google Workspace Business Starter and Create Time Blocks

Google Workspace Business Starter costs 6.60 euros per user per month with annual billing.

Create Workspace account

Sign up at workspace.google.com with your own domain and select the Business Starter plan. The system sets up mailboxes, Drive and Calendar automatically. Skip this step and all data stays in a private Gmail account with no sharing option for colleagues.

Set calendar sharing

Open Google Calendar, click the gear icon and choose Settings. Go to “Share calendar” and enter colleagues’ email addresses with “Make changes” rights. Without sharing, others see only free/busy times, not the actual blocks.

Create first time blocks

Click Create, choose Event and enter fixed blocks such as “Project A – 9:00–11:00”. Repeat for “Project B – 13:00–15:00”. Set recurrence to weekly. Without recurrence you must rebuild every Monday.

Apply color coding

Right-click the event, pick a color from the palette and save it as default for that calendar. Colors appear instantly in the week view. Missing colors make it hard to track more than three active projects.

Configure notifications

Open event settings and set reminder to 15 minutes before plus email notification one day ahead. Test with a single event. Without the email reminder the block is easy to overlook.

Block external appointments

Import existing events from the old calendar via .ics file. Mark each imported event as “Out of office” and color it gray. Skip the import and double bookings remain possible.

Run weekly review

Every Friday at 16:00 open the calendar, move unused blocks and create new ones for the following week. The process takes eight to twelve minutes. Skip the review and after a few weeks part of the planned time no longer fits.

Step that often fails

Many users create blocks but forget to share the calendar with assistants or partners. The blocks then exist only in their own view and outside bookings destroy the structure within days.