How To Block Time in Apple Calendar - A Step by Step Guide

If Apple Calendar is your go-to app for managing your schedule, this article will help you learn how to block time in Apple Calendar, along with the limitations and tools you could use to better manage your calendars.

What is Apple Calendar Time Blocking?

As the name suggests, Apple Calendar Time Blocking means creating time blocks (events) in Apple Calendar for meetings, tasks, and personal or professional occupations.

This technique is based on the premise that your day is planned ahead by dedicating slots on your calendar for your day-to-day activities, tasks, and work appointments.

How to block time in Apple Calendar (web)?

To block time in the Apple Calendar web app, please follow these steps:

1. Open Apple Calendar on the web

You can open Apple Calendar on the web by following this URL: https://www.icloud.com/calendar/

2. Select the Apple Calendar to block time to

You can connect multiple calendars to Apple Calendar, so before creating an event, you have to select the Calendar in which the event will be created.

3. Double-click under a block inside the calendar (or click the plus (+) icon)

In Apple Calendar, an event can be created by double-clicking on a time slot on the calendar or by clicking the + icon on the top-right of the screen.

4. Set the meeting details (title, description, notes, and more)

The last step is to fill in the meeting details according to the occupation details for which you want to block time in your Apple Calendar.

Note that Apple Calendar doesn’t offer as many features as other calendar clients like Google Calendar or Outlook. For instance, you can’t mark the event as private, assign colors, etc.

How to block time in Apple Calendar on your Mac Device?

The process of blocking time on Apple Calendar MacOS is similar to Apple Calendar web:

1. Open Apple Calendar on your MacOS device

2. Check the Calendar to block time to

Apple Calendar on MacOS also allows you to import multiple accounts, such as Google, iCloud, and Outlook. Before you block time on Apple Calendar, make sure to select which calendar you want to block time to.

You can also select the calendar to block time when creating the event, but selecting the calendar is more straightforward when you’ll block more than one-time slot.

3. Double-click a calendar cell to create a meeting

Similar to the web version of Apple Calendar, you can create a meeting by double clicking a cell of the calendar. This is very in line with the way that MacOS and Apple Devices work in general - double taping means that you’re taking an action, such as opening a folder or creating an event in this case.

4. Fill in the meeting details

Apple Calendar on Mac has features similar to those of the web version, allowing you to set the meeting title, description, recurrence rules, notifications, and more.

How to block time in Apple Calendar on your iPhone?

1. Open the Calendar App on your iPhone

2. Create a new event by clicking the plus (+)

Unlike the MacOS or the web version of Apple Calendar, you can’t create events by double tapping on the screen due to the size of the iPhone (small screen real estate 😅). Instead, you have to click the plus (+) icon on the top right of the screen.

3. Enter the meeting details

The meeting details are similar to the other platforms discussed above. Please make sure to select the calendar to block time under the “Calendar” section of the New Event Modal.

Why is Blocking time in Apple Calendar Important?

Blocking time in Apple Calendar is important because:

1. Helps you stay organized

Blocking time in Apple Calendar helps you keep track of your tasks and appointments, ensuring you don't forget anything important. Furthermore, you’ll have a clear overview of your schedule and keep track of what needs to be done.

2. Helps avoid overbookings

Blocking time in Apple Calendar prevents you from scheduling too many meetings or tasks at once, helping you maintain a balanced schedule. This way, you know when to say no and won’t get over-flooded with meetings or work.

What are the challenges of Blocking Time in Apple Calendar?

1. Time-consuming to block time on multiple calendars

You can use Apple Calendar to block time on one specific calendar, but things get pretty complex when you manage more than one calendar, as it’s almost the case.

Say you have a personal iCloud Calendar and a work Outlook Calendar. You block time on your iCloud Calendar for a personal commitment, but that time also has to be reflected in your Outlook Calendar so coworkers know you’re busy.

This means that you’ll have to block time on all calendars manually.

2. Hard to block time for everything

The hard part of blocking time on Apple Calendar is that you need a set schedule beforehand. This means that you’ll need to plan for everything, so your calendar is blocked and you can focus on each time slot.

There is a high chance that you’ll either underestimate or overestimate your tasks, so it will take time for you to get used to blocking time for everything in Apple Calendar.

3. Lack of flexibility

Given that you’ll define all activities in Apple Calendar, note that you won’t have as much flexibility compared to your Calendar being empty (no meetings).

A tip would be to leave some slots open for unexpected meetings or work.

How to block time across multiple Apple Calendars?

Unfortunately, there is no native way to block time across multiple Apple Calendars.

To learn more about syncing calendars, please read our Calendar Sync Guide.

We also wrote specific calendar syncing guides, according to the calendars you want to sync:

• If you manage multiple iCloud and Google Calendars and want to auto-block time in all of them, please read How to Sync iCloud with Google Calendar.
• If you manage multiple iCloud and Outlook Calendars and want to auto-block time in all of them, please read How to Sync iCloud with Outlook.

If you manage multiple Outlook and Google Calendars, please read our article on How To Sync Outlook with Google Calendar and how to sync Google Calendar with Outlook.

Automatically blocking time across multiple Apple Calendars

OneCal is a must if you rely on your Apple Calendar on a daily basis, or manage multiple calendars, regardless of the provider.

Using OneCal, you won’t have to worry about meetings scattered across calendars, manual updates, or missed appointments. OneCal can take care of all that automatically, letting you focus on what’s important.

Sign Up for OneCal for free, no credit card needed, to sync calendars across all providers, easily get booked, manage your team, and more.