I let Claude run my Google Calendar for a week; it's a win with one big catch

For a week, I let Claude manage my Google Calendar, using its full read and write access to my schedule. Initially, I wondered why I should entrust it with such sensitive tasks, but by the end of the week, I realized its capabilities. Finding a time slot when three specific colleagues were all free was no sweat for Claude, as it pulled data from our shared Google Workspace calendars.

I even set a rule that each event should have at least 30 minutes of buffer time before and after other meetings. Claude handled additional complex rules effortlessly, like moving an event from Friday afternoon to Thursday at 10 AM, and converting time zones for an international call.

Claude could also manage tasks and handle recurring meetings, although it lacks a specialized tool for recurrence rules. Thus, I had to manually handle those edits. I used Claude to manage my inbox, accepting or declining meetings based on predefined criteria - accepting direct invites from my manager, declining nonessential meetings, and playing defense in my focus blocks.

It could even handle email threads and Google Drive files to make better decisions. However, Claude's biggest limitation is its inability to triage conflicting meetings due to lack of full context. It won't be able to decide whether a critical client call or a regular team sync is more important. Claude proved its worth in managing my calendar, but like any tool, it has its limits.