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How To Have The Best Semester Yet: Master Time Management with Google Calendar 📅 (Part 2)

Updated: Dec 18, 2025

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Your student is staring a new semester and you want this go around to be different.


No more missed deadlines and last-minute panic. But, how?


In this post, you’ll learn why it matters to use a calendar, how to use a calendar in Google to keep track of school and life, plus extra Google calendar tips to make you and your student's life easier.👇


NOTE: This post is part of a series called "How To Have The Best Semester Yet." Each of these posts is drawn from the course, The Semester Success Blueprint, which is designed for parents or educators to work alongside students with ADHD or Autism, to help prepare them for a successful school semester. Learn more about the course by clicking here.


If you want to go back or skip ahead and read the other posts in this series, click on the links below:



Table of Contents


Why Use a Calendar From The Start of The Semester?

There is no getting around it. Students need a way to track their assignments and make plans BEYOND just keeping it in their head.


This is called creating an external brain and it is a key strategy for students with impaired working memory.


The reasons to use a calendar are many including:


  • Frees up cognitive space to focus on more challenging tasks

  • Helps you plan your day

  • Teaches you how to make accurate time estimates

  • And more!



Using a calendar at the start of a new semester turns a vague “I’ll keep up this time” into a clear plan, so deadlines don’t sneak up and blow up as stress (or bad grades) two weeks later.


Common Mistakes Made When Using a Digital Calendar

Mistake #1: They treat the calendar like a “maybe list”

The student puts some things in (a few due dates, maybe one practice), but keeps the rest in their head or in random places like a teacher’s LMS, a notes app, or sticky notes.


That creates gaps, and gaps create surprises.


For example, a student adds “Math test Friday” but forgets to add “study group Wednesday” and “quiz retake window closes Thursday,” then acts shocked when the week becomes a dumpster fire.


Mistake #2: They only calendar deadlines, not the work time

Digital calendars are great at telling you when something is due, but they don’t magically create time to do it.


If students don’t schedule work blocks, the calendar becomes a list of impending doom instead of a plan.


It's not that effective for a student to add “English essay due Sunday 11:59 PM,” but never schedules two writing sessions.


Mistake #3: They don’t build in reminders and travel/transition time

Students assume they’ll “remember” and underestimate how long things take.


Without alerts and buffer time, they show up late, miss materials, or skip tasks because switching activities feels harder than it should.


How to Use Google Calendar

Let's go through the step by step approach for how to use a calendar (something not often discussed in school).👇


Step 1: Log in to Google Calendar

You can log in to Google Calendar by going to google.com then clicking on what I call the "waffle" in the upright corner.


The waffle is the 9 dots which will open up all your Google applications.

From there, you will see all the Google applications, and you can then click on the calendar.


You can also go to the link, https://calendar.google.com/ , and log in directly from there.


Google Chrome homepage with green background. Menu open with app icons like Gmail and Calendar. Red arrows indicate clicking actions.

Step 2: Create a new event

Using a calendar helps you visually see how much time there is in the day and not plan things that you cannot make time to do.


Using a calendar is known by many names including:



You can do so many things with a calendar event like:


  • Add an attachment

  • Share a Zoom link

  • Let someone else know where you will be and when


Watch this short video on how to create an event in Google Calendar so you can plan out your idea, get more assignments done, communicate more effectively, and learn how to make accurate time estimates.👇



Step 3: Turn on calendar notifications

The last key to making sure your calendar is useful is to turn on notifications.


On whatever device you are using (iPhone, Macbook, iPad), go into settings --> Google Calendar and allow notifications.


This will ensure your device will alert you when an event is coming up.


You can also click on the event and change the notification settings to:


  • 10 minutes before

  • 1 week before

  • And more!


Other Helpful Google Calendar Tips


Create separate calendars for different purposes

If you are a geek for color coding, you can create separate calendars by hovering over the calendars on the left side and clicking "create new calendar".


How to create a new calendar on Gmail
How to create a new calendar on Gmail

Drag tasks into your calendar

You can also drag tasks from your Tasks list into Google Calendar.


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Please note that you cannot change the length of these "mini-events" and that you will need to download the Tasks application on your phone or iPad in order to get notifications for tasks.


To learn how use Google Tasks, watch this video:



FAQs


What should my student put in the calendar first so it actually works?

Start with the “non-negotiables” that don’t move: class schedule, practices, work shifts, appointments, and big due dates.


Then add the work blocks (when they’ll actually do the assignments).

Is Google Calendar enough, or do we also need a planner or task list?

Google Calendar is best for time-specific things (events, due dates, work blocks, reminders).


A task list is helpful for “sometime this week” items, but the magic happens when the important tasks get dragged into the calendar as actual work time.


How do we prevent the calendar from becoming ignored after the first week?

Create one daily “calendar check” routine tied to something they already do (right after breakfast, right after school, or before bed), and keep it short.


If they only open it when they’re already in trouble, their brain will learn that the calendar equals pain and will avoid it like a haunted house.


The Bottom Line

When your student starts planning and time-blocking at the start of a new semester, the chances of missed deadlines go down exponentially.


Here's the 3 steps create a schedule in Google Calendar effectively:


  1. Log into Google and access the calendar

  2. Create a calendar event

  3. Turn on notifications


Hope this helps 🤙🏻





This article is a part of the larger category of:



Related articles:


P.S. If you want to work on executive function skills with your students, consider joining hundreds of other educators and parents who have completed my Semester Success Blueprint Course. In less than 2 hours, this comprehensive course will teach you and your student the system I developed to help hundreds of students learn how to manage school effectively and raise their self-awareness and engagement with school.





About Me

A white man in a cream sweater and jeans sits smiling against a brick wall, giving a relaxed and content vibe in an outdoor setting.

Hey! I'm Sean 👋


I'm a former public school special education teacher who realized that executive function skills are more important than knowing when George Washington crossed the Potomac.


Since then, I've made it my mission to teach anyone who will listen about how to develop these key life skills.


In 2020, I founded Executive Function Specialists to ensure all students with ADHD and Autism have access to high-quality online executive function coaching services. We offer online EF coaching and courses to help students and families.


Realizing I could only reach so many people through coaching, in 2021 I started the Executive Function Coaching Academy which trains schools, educators, and individuals to learn the key strategies to improve executive function skills for students.


In 2023, I co-founded of UpSkill Specialists, to provide neurodivergent adults with high-quality executive function coaching services.


When not pursuing my passions through work, I love spending time with my family, getting exercise, and growing my brain through reading. You can connect with me on LinkedIn.


Want me to speak on executive function skills at your event? Learn more about my speaking topics here. 

 
 
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