Understanding Integration Between Motion and Your External Calendar: Event and Task Syncing

Motion's seamless integration with external calendars, such as Google, Microsoft Outlook, and iCloud provides a powerful tool for managing your schedule. This article delves into the specifics of the connection between Motion and your external calendar, focusing on the synchronization of tasks and events.

Bidirectional Event Sync

A significant feature of Motion's integration with external calendars is the bidirectional syncing of events. This means when you create an event in Motion, it automatically populates in your linked Google, Microsoft Outlook, or iCloud calendar. Conversely, any event you schedule in your external calendar will reflect in your Motion calendar. This two-way synchronization keeps your schedule updated across platforms, ensuring you never miss an appointment.

Unidirectional Task Sync

However, the synchronization of tasks works differently. When you create AI-powered, auto-scheduled tasks in Motion, these tasks are also displayed in your linked Google or Microsoft Outlook calendar. They're scheduled optimally and will shift around on your external calendar as Motion's AI determines the best time slots for completion.

Yet, tasks created directly on your Google or Microsoft calendar won't appear in your Motion calendar. This unidirectional sync is due to the unique, AI-driven nature of Motion's task scheduling. Motion's tasks consider several parameters such as task duration, task deadline, deadline type, priority, custom schedules, and chunking preferences. These elements are crucial for the AI to optimize your schedule and aren't usually provided when creating tasks on external calendars.

Let's illustrate this with an example:

Consider Alex, a Motion user. Alex sets up a task in Motion, specifying it as a high-priority item that needs two hours to complete and should be finished within a week. He chooses not to chunk the task, meaning it should be completed in one sitting. Motion's AI then takes these factors into account and schedules the task in an optimal slot on Alex's calendar. Consequently, this task appears on Alex's main calendar at the same time slot.

However, if Alex were to create a task directly in his Google Calendar, this task wouldn't show up in Motion. This is because Motion's AI requires those unique parameters to efficiently schedule and manage tasks, and these parameters can't be defined in the same way in an external calendar.

Google Calendar

Motion

In conclusion, understanding the connection between Motion and your external calendar is key to effective schedule management. The bidirectional sync for events ensures your appointments stay coordinated across platforms, while the unidirectional sync for tasks leverages Motion's AI to optimize your schedule effectively. By using these features, you can streamline your workflow and maximize your productivity.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) 🤔

Does Motion sync my connected calendars?

• No, Motion does not duplicate events from one calendar to another. It does not block out time across your connected calendars.

I added an event on my iCloud calendar. Why don’t I see it on my Motion calendar?

• It typically takes up to 10 minutes for new iCloud events to sync with Motion. Furthermore, once the algorithm recalculates, any tasks overlapping with the event should adjust accordingly within up to 5 minutes. If your iCloud events and tasks don’t sync properly in Motion after a few minutes, please don’t hesitate to reach out to support.

How do I turn on task syncing?

• Navigate to Settings > Auto-scheduling. Click this link to learn more.

I have multiple connected calendars. Can I select the calendar where tasks are displayed?

• No. Tasks are only displayed in the designated main calendar.