Guides › Meetings & Calendar
Protect time for focused work every week
Set up recurring focus blocks in your calendar that decline clashing meetings, sized and placed to suit how you work.
When to use it
Set up once, review monthly
Step by step
Work out your best hours
Ask your AI assistant to help you decide where focus time should go.
Prompt to copyHelp me plan weekly focus time. My usual meetings: [e.g. Mon 10am team, Wed 2pm 1:1s]. My best concentration time: [e.g. mornings]. Work I need deep focus for: [tasks]. Suggest 3 to 4 recurring focus blocks per week, each 90 minutes to 2 hours, avoiding my meetings. Give each a clear name that tells colleagues what I'm doing, and a one-line note for the event description explaining how to reach me if it's urgent.Create the blocks
In Google Calendar, choose 'Focus time' as the event type if your account has it, which can auto-decline meetings. In Outlook, create a recurring event marked as Busy, or use Viva Insights focus time if your plan includes it.
Silence notifications
Turn on Do Not Disturb on your phone and computer during the blocks, and pause chat notifications in Slack or Teams.
What you get
Tue 9:00-11:00 Focus: quarterly report. Thu 9:00-11:00 Focus: client proposals. Fri 13:30-15:00 Focus: planning next week. Description: 'Heads-down time. For anything urgent, call me on my mobile.'
Tips
- Treat focus blocks like a meeting with your most important client: move them, don't delete them.