Sundial Chrome Extension: Streamlining Scheduling

Key Takeaways:

• The Sundial extension can convert open time slots into written text that you can paste anywhere. You can customize your work hours and minimum meeting times in the settings.
• When someone emails you to meet, use the View on Calendar feature in Gmail to see available times on your Google Calendar with Sundial overlays.
• Add coworkers’ calendars to Google Calendar for group scheduling, and Sundial will check their availability.

What is the Sundial Chrome Extension?

Sundial is a Chrome browser extension that streamlines the scheduling process, making it faster and more efficient. After installing Sundial, it appears in the left column of your Google Calendar. It allows adjusting timezones by searching for a city, country, or timezone abbreviation and updating the timezone accordingly.

Other benefits of the Sundial extension are:

• It offers customization options.
• When you get a meeting email, Sundial displays available times on your Google Calendar, factoring in time zones.
• It allows for group scheduling, considering their availability when suggesting open times.
• It also helps you to mark events as available to indicate availability.
• Sundial is free, but the free tier appends a short message to user emails, requiring a $5/month subscription to remove this by upgrading to Sundial Pro.

It is the ideal scheduling option for executive assistants, account executives, and recruiters. It allows them to maintain proper scheduling etiquette and avoid pretentious and impersonal messaging.

How to Install Sundial?

1. Open the Chrome Web Store on your computer browser.
2. Then, search for the Sundial extension and click the Add to Chrome button.
   
3. Afterward, click the Add extension on the pop-up to confirm the installation.
   
4. Finally, wait for the extension to install.
   
5. To access it, click the extension icon and access it from there.
   

How Does the Sundial Extension Work?

After installing Sundial, it appears in the left column of your Google Calendar, confirming that it is active and ready for scheduling. Once confirmed, you can begin to use it for your various scheduling tasks, as shown in the steps below:

Converting Open Google Calendar Time Slots to Written Texts

1. Open Google Calendar.
2. Then, click any available time slot and click Add time to set a time on the corresponding pop-up.
   
3. After adding the time, click the Copy time slot button.
   
4. Once copied, you can paste it wherever you intend to use it.
   

Converting Multiple Open Calendar Time Slots to Written Texts

1. Open your Google Calendar.
2. Then, click and drag over available time slots and click Add time to set a time on the corresponding pop-up.
   
3. Once time is added, click the Copy time slot button.
   
4. Once copied, you can paste it wherever you intend to use it. It should look like the screenshot below.
   
5. Another way to do it is to select the time slots and save them one by one, as shown in Solution 1 above, and then schedule or paste them after the selection is complete.
   
6. It should append the time slots as shown in the screenshot below.
   

Group Scheduling with Sundial

1. Open your Google Calendar, click the Search for people search box, then search or select the people you want to schedule with.
   
2. Then, select the available time slots and click Add time to set a time on the corresponding pop-up.
   
3. Once time is added, click the Copy time slot button.
   

Schedule Meeting from Meeting Email

1. When you receive an email from to meet, click the View on Google Calendar option on the top of the message in Gmail.
   
2. Afterward, Sundial will read the meeting request and display available times on your Google Calendar, adjusting for any timezone differences.

Adjust Time Zones With Sundial

1. After scheduling, click the Adjust timezone box.
   
2. Then, enter the city of interest and click the city. The corresponding timezone will be copied.
   
3. You can then make the scheduling and paste it anywhere you like.
   

Pricing

This extension comes with a Free and Professional plan.

The Professional plan costs $5/month and offers unlimited written time and overlay uses
and removes the Scheduling by Sundial branding. It also incorporates all features of the Free plan like:

• Copy written times to clipboard
• Timezone adjustments
• Calendar overlays

Pros and Cons of Sundial?

The Sundial Chrome extension has the following pros and cons:

If you are looking for more productive ways to manage a busy day, you should consider Google Chrome’s productivity features and also adding the Zoom app to your Google calendar for meetings.