Use focus time in Google Calendar

To reduce distractions while you work, you can schedule a focus time event in Google Calendar.

When you schedule a focus time event, you can:

• Mute chat notifications.
• Automatically decline meetings.

Learn who can use focus time

To schedule a focus time event, you must have a work or school account:

• Google Workspace for Business Standard and Plus
• Google Workspace for Enterprise Standard and Plus
• Google Workspace for Education
• Google Workspace for Nonprofits

Schedule focus time

Important: You can only create focus time events from the Day and Week views. The events must have a specific start and end time.

1. On your computer, open Google Calendar.
2. Click the time at which you want to schedule a focus time event.
3. At the top of the event, click Focus time.
4. Select when you want your event to begin and end.
5. Set your focus time preferences:
   • To receive notifications for Chat messages, next to 'Do not disturb', deselect the box.
   • To automatically decline meetings during focus time, next to 'Automatically decline meetings', tick the box.
6. Click Save.

Tips:

• When you deselect Do not disturb, this becomes the default setting for new focus time events.
• By default, focus time declines new and existing meetings. However, you can update your focus time settings to 'Only decline new meetings'.

Edit or delete focus time

1. On your computer, open Google Calendar.
2. Click the focus time event.
   • Focus time events are marked with headphones .
3. Select an option:
   • To edit the event:
     1. Click Edit .
     2. Make your edits.
     3. Click Save.
   • To delete the event, click Delete event .

Change how meetings are declined during focus time

1. Click the focus time event.
2. Click Edit .
3. Under 'Automatically decline meetings', select:
   • Only new meeting invitations
   • New and existing meetings
4. Click Save.

Repeat a focus time event

1. Click the focus time event.
2. Click Edit .
3. Next to 'Does not repeat', click the down arrow .
4. Select how often you want to repeat your focus time event.
5. Click Save.

Change the privacy settings on a focus time event

1. Click the focus time event.
2. Click Edit .
3. Under the calendar name, click Default visibility.
4. Next to 'Default visibility', click the down arrow .
5. Select Public or Private.

Change the colour of a focus time event

1. Click the focus time event.
2. Click Edit .
3. Click Colour .
4. Select a colour.
5. Click Save.

Tip: Your colour selection is saved for future focus time events.

Learn about focus time and chat notifications

• You can only choose to mute chat notifications if:
  • Your organisation turns on Chat.
  • The focus time block is less than 24 hours.
• The first time that you use focus time, 'Do not disturb' for chat notifications is turned on by default.
• When you create or edit focus time, you can turn off chat notifications.

Related resources

• Set your working hours and location
• Modify Google Calendar notifications