Calendar & Scheduling

What's Changing

The Notes Calendar becomes Outlook Calendar. Your calendar now lives inside Outlook (the same app as your email) and also inside Microsoft Teams. Same purpose, same concept - just a new home.

What Stays the Same

• Your appointments and meetings - they're all migrated over
• Meeting invites - send and receive them the same way
• Shared calendars - still viewable and shareable
• Reminders and notifications - still pop up before meetings
• Recurring events - they transfer as-is

Finding Your Calendar

In Outlook (Desktop or Web)

1. Open Outlook
2. Click the Calendar icon at the bottom of the left sidebar
3. Your full calendar appears with all your events

In Teams

1. Open Microsoft Teams
2. Click Calendar in the left sidebar
3. You'll see today's meetings with a Join button when it's time

On Your Phone

1. Open the Outlook app
2. Tap the Calendar tab at the bottom
3. Swipe left/right to change days

Notes Calendar to Outlook Calendar - Quick Comparison

Common Tasks

Scheduling a Meeting

1. Click New Event (or New Meeting in Teams)
2. Add a title, date, and time
3. Add attendees by typing their names
4. Use Scheduling Assistant to find a time when everyone is free
5. Add a Teams meeting link if you want a video call option (click "Teams Meeting" toggle)
6. Click Send

Viewing a Colleague's Calendar

1. In Outlook Calendar, click Add Calendar > From Directory
2. Search for your colleague's name
3. Their calendar appears side by side with yours (busy/free times only, unless they've shared details)

Setting a Reminder

• When creating an event, set the Reminder dropdown to your preferred time (15 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, etc.)
• Default reminders apply to all new events

Scheduling Assistant - Your Best Friend for Group Meetings

If you used Find Available Times in Notes, the Scheduling Assistant will feel familiar - with a clearer visual layout:

1. When creating a new meeting, click the Scheduling Assistant tab
2. You'll see a timeline for each attendee showing their free/busy blocks
3. Green = free, Blue/Purple = busy, Striped = tentative
4. Drag the meeting block left or right to find a slot where everyone is available
5. Outlook will also suggest times at the top where all attendees are free

This is especially useful for booking meetings with people spread across different offices and lock stations - no more back-and-forth emails asking "when are you free?"

Required vs Optional Attendees

When adding people to a meeting:

• Required - they need to be there. If they decline, you'll see a notification
• Optional - they're welcome to attend but the meeting happens without them

This helps attendees prioritize. An engineer who's "optional" on a planning meeting knows they can skip it if an operational issue needs their attention.

Recurring Meetings

For weekly team meetings or monthly reviews:

1. Create a new meeting as usual
2. Click the Recurrence or Repeat option
3. Choose Weekly, Monthly, or a custom pattern
4. Set an end date or "No end date"

To change just one occurrence (e.g., "this week's meeting is moved to Thursday"): open the event, and choose "Edit this event" instead of "Edit series."

Room Booking

Notes let you book rooms and resources, and Outlook does too. If your office has bookable rooms (boardroom, training room):

1. When creating a meeting, look for "Add a room" or type the room name in the Location field
2. Rooms show up like people in the Scheduling Assistant - you can see if they're free or booked
3. Once you add the room, it's reserved automatically when you send the invite

Ask the SLSMC IT Service Desk which rooms are set up for booking at your location.

Calendar Sharing

Let a colleague see your schedule without giving them edit access:

1. Right-click My Calendar in the left sidebar
2. Select Sharing and Permissions
3. Add the person and choose what they can see (free/busy only, titles, or full details)

This is useful for managers who need to see their team's availability, or assistants who coordinate schedules.

RSVP Etiquette

When you get a meeting invite, always respond:

• Accept - you'll be there
• Tentative - you might be there (shows as striped on your calendar)
• Decline - you can't make it (optionally add a reason)

Responding helps the organizer plan. An unanswered invite shows as "None" on their tracking, which creates uncertainty.

Tips for SLSMC Staff

• Every Teams meeting automatically gets a calendar event - no need to create separate entries
• Use Scheduling Assistant when booking meetings with multiple people - it shows everyone's availability at a glance
• Colour-code your events using Categories (right-click an event > Categorize) to tell apart operational meetings, internal meetings, and personal time
• The Outlook app on your phone shows your calendar and email in one place - convenient for checking your schedule when you're away from your desk
• Your Outlook Calendar and Teams Calendar are the same - book in one and it appears in both

Need Help?

1. Most calendar features work just like the Notes Calendar - try the same steps
2. Contact the SLSMC IT Service Desk