- Turning the Google Docs calendar page sideways
- Adding the month title and weekday row
- Making every day box the same size
- Numbering the days and adding plans
- Colour coding your Google Docs calendar
- Planning content with a Google Docs calendar
- Weekly or yearly calendar layouts in Google Docs
- Reusing your Google Docs calendar each month
- If your Google Docs calendar won't print neatly
- Frequently asked questions
To make a calendar in Google Docs, turn the page sideways in File, Page setup, then insert a table with 7 columns and 7 rows: one row for weekday names and six for the weeks. The step people forget is setting a row height in Table options, so the day boxes look like a real calendar.
A printable month on one page is still one of the most useful planning tools going. I like one for content planning: blog posts on Tuesdays, newsletter on Thursdays, launch dates in a bright colour so they can't be missed. Pin it by the desk or share it with whoever helps you post.
Google Docs doesn't come with a calendar button, and its help pages don't describe a built-in calendar template. But a calendar is really just a grid of seven columns, and Docs handles grids very well. Here's how I put one together.
Turning the Google Docs calendar page sideways
A month fits far better across the page than down it, so start with orientation. Google's page setup help gives the steps:
- Open a new document on a computer.
- Click File, then Page setup.
- Check that Pages is selected at the top.
- Under Orientation, choose the wide, sideways option rather than portrait.
- Narrow the margins so the grid has more room, then click OK.
If you're adding a calendar to an existing portrait document, you don't have to flip the whole thing. Google says a single document can mix layouts: highlight the content, right-click and choose the option that changes the page to the wide orientation.
Adding the month title and weekday row
- Type the month name at the top, and style it as a Title or Heading so it stands out.
- Click Insert, then Table.
- Choose 7 columns and 7 rows: one row for weekday names and six for the weeks.
- Type the weekday names across the first row, starting with Monday or Sunday, whichever you're used to.
Six week rows sounds like one too many, but some months spill across six weeks once you line up the first day. Delete the spare row afterwards if your month only needs five.
Making every day box the same size
Out of the box, table rows are only as tall as the text in them, which looks nothing like a calendar. To fix it, select every row except the weekday row, then open Format, Table, then Table options. Google's help says you can enter a row height and column width there for all the highlighted cells.
| Setting | What I'd choose for a month view |
|---|---|
| Row height | Tall enough to write two or three lines in each day |
| Column width | Equal widths that fill the page between the margins |
| Vertical alignment | Top, so the date sits in the corner |
| Cell padding | A little, so text doesn't touch the lines |
If the columns still look uneven, right-click the table and choose Distribute columns. Google says that makes them all the same size.
Numbering the days and adding plans
Find the weekday the month starts on and type 1 in that box, then carry on along the row and down the grid. I put the number in bold and any plans on the line below in normal text, so the date always stands out.
- Leave the boxes before the 1st and after the last day empty, or shade them grey.
- Use short labels such as Blog, Email or Live, rather than full sentences.
- Add recurring items to every matching weekday before anything one-off.
Colour coding your Google Docs calendar
This is where a homemade calendar beats a plain printout. Select a cell and use Fill color in the toolbar to shade it. Google's colour help says Fill color changes the colour of selected table cells, and Highlight color works on text in Docs.
| Colour | Example use |
|---|---|
| Soft green | Content going out |
| Soft yellow | Client deadlines |
| Soft pink | Launches or events |
| Light grey | Days off or days outside the month |
Keep the shades light so the text stays readable when printed. To soften the grid itself, select the table and use the border colour and border width controls in the toolbar.
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Planning content with a Google Docs calendar
A month on one page is ideal for spotting gaps: three posts crammed into one week and nothing the next. Once the month looks balanced, I'd copy the details into whichever scheduling tool you use. If your team works in Microsoft tools, my guide to sharing a calendar in Outlook covers how to give everyone the live version.
For a longer content list with statuses, a spreadsheet is better than a document, and my walkthrough of checkboxes in Google Sheets shows how to tick each piece off as it goes live.
Weekly or yearly calendar layouts in Google Docs
The same method stretches in both directions. For a week planner, insert a table with 7 columns and just 2 rows, one for the day names and one tall row for plans, and make that second row as tall as the page allows. For a year at a glance, give each month its own small table, two or three to a row on a sideways page, with only the dates and no room for notes. Year views are better for spotting school holidays and quiet weeks than for daily planning.
Reusing your Google Docs calendar each month
Once the first month looks right, don't rebuild it. Make a copy of the document for the following month, change the title, clear the old plans and renumber the days from the new starting weekday. If a sideways page is part of your house style, Google says Set as default in Page setup applies those settings to new documents you create.
If your Google Docs calendar won't print neatly
- Grid runs onto a second page: reduce the row height a touch or narrow the margins.
- Table looks shrunk on paper: Google's print help says wide tables are shrunk to fit the page, so make sure the columns sit inside the margins.
- Orientation option missing: you may be in pageless format. Switch to Pages under Format.
- Colours look heavy: choose lighter fills and check the print preview first.
Frequently asked questions
Does Google Docs have a calendar template?
Google's help doesn't describe a built-in calendar template in Google Docs. You can make one with a table of seven columns.
How many rows do I need for a monthly calendar?
Seven: one for weekday names and six for weeks, since some months stretch across six weeks. Delete the spare row if you don't need it.
How do I make all the day boxes the same size?
Select the rows, open Format, Table, Table options, and enter a row height and column width. You can also right-click and choose Distribute columns.
How do I turn the calendar page sideways?
Click File, then Page setup, choose the wide option under Orientation instead of portrait, and click OK.
Can I colour code days?
Yes. Select a cell and use Fill color in the toolbar.
