Time-blocking works because it replaces vague intentions (“I’ll work on the proposal”) with a concrete appointment on your calendar (“Proposal, deep work, 10:00–12:00”). When you combine Google Calendar (best for scheduling) with Notion (best for tasks, documents, and dashboards), you get a system that moves from plan → execution → review without duplicating effort. This guide shows small and medium teams—and ambitious solo pros—how to wire the two together and run a reliable weekly rhythm. We’ll cover native options, practical automations, templates, and troubleshooting so you end with a smooth, ~two-way workflow and a calendar that reflects reality.
What “good” looks like
- One source of truth for time: your Google Calendar (GC) shows every commitment and time block.
- One source of truth for work: your Notion database holds tasks, projects, and notes.
- Lightweight linking: each calendar block points to a Notion page; each important task has a scheduled slot.
- A weekly ritual: plan on Friday/Monday, protect focus hours, and review outcomes.
Integration options (choose your path)
Not all teams need the same level of sync. Pick the least complex option that covers your use case.
- Notion Calendar app (formerly Cron)
Connect your Google account and Notion workspace. Create or edit GC events from Notion Calendar; attach Notion pages to events and open them in one click. Great for hands-on time-blocking with minimal glue. - Embed & link
Keep GC as the calendar of record and embed calendar views (or event links) in Notion dashboards. Add event URLs to a property on relevant tasks. Minimal setup; manual but robust. - Automation via Zapier/Make + Notion API
Create event ↔ task bridges:- When a Notion task is marked Scheduled, create a GC event.
- When a GC event with a special tag is created, make a Notion task and link them.
Best for teams that want semi-automatic scheduling.
- One-way iCal subscribes (fallback)
Subscribe to a GC iCal feed in Notion Calendar or embed a read-only calendar. Simple, but edits are not two-way.
Tip: Start with Notion Calendar + manual linking. Add automations only after two weeks, when the workflow is stable.
Step 1 — Prepare your Notion workspace
Create a Tasks database that can drive time-blocking.
Recommended properties
- Name (title): clear verb first (“Draft Q4 proposal”).
- Status (select): Backlog, Next, Scheduled, In Progress, Done, Waiting.
- Effort (number/select): 15m, 30m, 60m, 90m, 120m, 180m, 240m.
- Priority (select): P1, P2, P3.
- Project (relation): link to a Projects database.
- Due (date): when it must be finished.
- Scheduled Start (date & time): when the block begins (optional if you schedule from GC).
- Duration (mins) (number): for math.
- Event Link (URL): the GC event link (added later).
- Notes (rich text): quick context or meeting agenda.
Helpful formulas
- End time from Scheduled Start + Duration:
dateAdd(prop("Scheduled Start"), prop("Duration (mins)"), "minutes") - Overdue flag (true/false) if not done and Due in the past:
if(and(prop("Status") != "Done", prop("Due") != empty(), prop("Due") < now()), true, false)
Create views:
- Today: Status is Next or Scheduled, Due within 0 days OR Scheduled Start is today.
- This Week: Due within 7 days OR Scheduled Start within 7 days.
- Backlog: Status Backlog/Next, no Scheduled Start.
- By Project: grouped by relation.
Step 2 — Connect Google Calendar with Notion Calendar
- Install Notion Calendar on desktop/mobile.
- Connect your Google account(s). Pick color-coding per calendar (Work, Personal, Team).
- Connect your Notion workspace. You can link events to Notion pages and open them from the event sidebar.
- Configure working hours, meeting buffer (e.g., 10 minutes), and focus mode.
- Add keyboard shortcuts you’ll actually use (e.g.,
Cto create event,Eto edit,⌘/Ctrl+Dto duplicate).
Why this matters: Notion Calendar gives you the fastest path from “I should do X” to “X is blocked on my calendar,” while keeping the Notion page one click away.
Step 3 — Make time-blocking feel natural
Blocking from Notion Calendar
- Create an event named with a verb + deliverable: “Write: case study intro”.
- In the event description or attachment field, attach the Notion task page (search by title).
- Use event colors to distinguish Deep Work vs Meetings vs Admin.
- Add location (“Office/Quiet room/Offline”) and notification (5–10 min before).
Blocking from a Notion task
- Open a task page → click Open in Notion Calendar (or copy the page link, paste into a new event).
- Add exact start time and Duration; paste the event URL back into the task’s Event Link property.
Recurring work
- For habits (e.g., “Plan tomorrow”), create a template task with Status = Scheduled and a GC recurring event (“Every weekday 5:30 pm”). Link them once; then you only check the task off daily.
Meetings with prep
- Create two linked items:
- GC event “Client sync” (30m) with attached Notion page “Client sync – 2025-09-08 Notes”.
- A preceding prep block (15m) colored as Deep Work; description = the same Notion notes page.
Step 4 — Optional automations (when manual is not enough)
Automation A — Schedule from Notion to GC (Zapier/Make)
- Trigger: Notion item updated where Status becomes Scheduled and has Scheduled Start & Duration.
- Action: Create Google Calendar event with Title = Task Name, Start = Scheduled Start, End = Start + Duration, Description = task URL, Guests = Assignee’s email.
- Update: Send the returned event link back to Event Link.
Automation B — Create Notion tasks from new GC events
- Trigger: New GC event with a special keyword like
[INBOX]in the title (or events on a specific calendar). - Action: Create Notion task with Status = Next, Due = event end, Scheduled Start = event start, Event Link = GC event URL, Notes = event description.
- Tidy-up: Auto-remove
[INBOX]from the GC title to keep it clean.
Automation C — Done on calendar → Done in Notion
- Trigger: Event ends and has label “Deep Work” (not all tools expose this; alternative: run every hour and check events that ended in the last 60 min with a certain calendar).
- Action: Set linked Notion task to Done and stamp a Completed At property.
Keep automations visible and few. Name them clearly (“Notion→GC schedule”, “GC→Notion inbox”). Review failures weekly.
Step 5 — Your weekly planning ritual (90 minutes)
1) Audit last week
- Open Notion Calendar’s past week. Drag any unfinished blocks to this week or convert them to tasks.
- In Notion, filter Done last 7 days; tag wins and learnings in a quick “Weekly Review” page.
2) Capacity math
- Subtract fixed commitments (meetings, commute, family).
- Decide your Focus Hours target (e.g., 16h/week).
- Add a Notion formula to compute planned focus ratio:
round( (prop("Planned Focus (hrs)") / prop("Total Available (hrs)")) * 100 ) + "%"
3) Prioritize
- Pick the top 3 outcomes for the week (three Epics/Projects or “rocks”).
- Pull only tasks that advance those outcomes into the This Week view.
4) Block it
- Create anchor blocks first (morning deep work, afternoon admin).
- Place project blocks for the top outcomes.
- Leave white space (15–20% of your week) for spillover.
5) Protect it
- Turn on Focus in Notion Calendar during deep work; auto-decline meetings if your org allows.
- Share your availability policy in your status (“Deep work 9–11; DM for urgent”).
Step 6 — Daily execution loop (15 minutes)
- Start of day: Check Today view in Notion, then open Notion Calendar. Drag blocks if priorities changed. Add a tiny “win of the day” note on your daily page.
- Between blocks: Convert completed calendar blocks to Done on the linked Notion task. If you didn’t finish, resize the block and adjust the task’s estimate; avoid vague “do later”.
- End of day: Quick review, then schedule tomorrow’s first deep-work block (decision ahead of time).
Step 7 — Meeting notes that don’t get lost
- Create a Notes database in Notion with properties: Date, Attendees, Related Project, Decisions (checkbox or text), Action Items (relation to Tasks).
- From the GC event, attach or create the corresponding Notion note page.
- During the call, capture decisions and create action items inline. They appear instantly in your Tasks database.
Step 8 — Dashboards that answer real questions
Build a Weekly HQ page in Notion:
- Calendar embed (or open Notion Calendar with a hotkey).
- Linked databases:
- This Week tasks by project.
- Focus blocks total (roll up Duration for blocks labeled Deep Work).
- Meetings count (events labeled Meeting).
- Outcomes database with a formula: progress = completed tasks / planned tasks.
- A Progress bar formula for each outcome (use a percentage or emoji meter).
- A small retrospective section with prompts: What helped? What hindered? What will I change next week?
Time-blocking best practices
- Name blocks as deliverables, not activities (Write draft, not Writing).
- Batch context: group similar tasks to reduce switching.
- Color code consistently across calendars (Deep Work = blue, Meetings = green, Admin = gray).
- Respect energy cycles: put demanding work in your peak hours.
- Pad transitions: 10-minute buffers prevent cascading delays.
- Keep blocks atomic: 25–90 minutes max; long blocks invite procrastination.
- Schedule overflow Friday: a flexible catch-up window avoids weekend creep.
Troubleshooting & guardrails
- Double-booking: In Notion Calendar, make overlapping events visually obvious; if you use separate “Focus” calendars, set them to busy so others see you’re unavailable.
- Too many events to drag: Create a template week with standard deep-work anchors; duplicate and adjust rather than rebuilding every Monday.
- Tasks never get scheduled: Add an automation or rule: A task cannot move to In Progress unless it has a Scheduled Start.
- Calendar clutter: Move tiny reminders back into Notion tasks; only time-block what truly requires a slot.
- Team visibility: Use a shared “Focus” calendar for the team so colleagues see protected windows without details.
Example templates to copy
Notion — Tasks template
- Properties prefilled: Status = Next, Effort = 60m, Duration = 60.
- Page body with checklists: Definition of done, Links, Risks, Next tiny step.
Notion — Weekly review page
- Linked views: Done last 7 days, Missed blocks, Top 3 for next week.
- Prompts: What will I stop doing? What will I automate? What will I batch?
Notion Calendar — Calendars
- Work (meetings), Focus (deep work), Admin, Personal. Toggle visibility to reduce noise.
Team patterns
- Agency: create shared calendars Client Time and Internal Focus. Blocks link back to Notion tasks under each client project; monthly review surfaces time per client vs retainer.
- Marketing squad: campaign tasks spawn calendar blocks for production, review, and publishing; meeting notes templates capture decisions and feed a “Campaign Log”.
- Founders: schedule investor updates, product deep work, and hiring interviews as color-coded streams; weekly dashboard shows % focus vs meetings and progress on three quarterly outcomes.
The payoff
When Google Calendar and Notion work in tandem, your week stops being a guessing game. You start with clear outcomes, translate them into visible blocks, work from one screen with the right page a click away, and close the loop with a short review. The system is simple enough to keep using and structured enough to trust—the sweet spot for real productivity.