Google Calendar's 'focus time' can auto-block meeting requests

Excessive meetings were already a problem before the pandemic, and they're even more of a problem as remote work enters the mainstream. How do you set aside time for your own projects? As The Verge reports, Google has a simple answer: make it clear you should be left alone. It's rolling out a "focus time" feature in Google Calendar that not only indicates your status, but can optionally auto-block meeting requests for that time slot.

You can choose a special color for focus time. Those moments will also be included in your Time Insights to help you improve your meeting-to-work ratio. The feature will take up to 15 days to reach Google Workspace users on the rapid track, and those offices on scheduled releases will see their change starting November 3rd.

Google is ultimately hopping on a trend. Microsoft included a Focus Sessions feature in Windows 11 to help people work in shorter but more effective spurts. With that said, you probably won't complain about another tool. This could make the difference between a last-minute delay and meeting a deadline.