How to Color Code Google Calendar (Calendars and Events)

A colour-coded calendar tells you how your week looks before you read a single event. Client calls in one colour, content work in another, personal appointments in a third, and you can see at a glance whether you've got room for that extra project or whether Thursday is already a write-off.

Two ways to colour code: by calendar or by event

Method	Best for	How
Colour a whole calendar	Separating work, personal and team calendars	Three dots next to the calendar, choose one
Colour a single event	Highlighting types of work inside one calendar	Right-click the event, pick a colour
Labels (work accounts)	Tracking where your time goes	Edit event, select the colour, add a label

How to change the colour of a whole calendar

1. Open Google Calendar on a computer.
2. On the left, under My calendars, point to the calendar you want to change.
3. Click the three dots that appear.
4. Pick a colour, or click the plus sign to choose a custom one.

Every event on that calendar changes colour at once, including past events. This is the simplest system: one calendar for clients, one for your own work, one shared with family, each in its own colour.

How to change the colour of one event

1. Right-click the event on your calendar.
2. Choose a new colour from the list.

You can also open the event, click edit and select the colour next to the calendar name. The event keeps that colour even though it stays on the same calendar.

A colour system that works for a small business

• Red for client meetings and calls that can't move.
• Blue for focused work: writing, proposals, building things.
• Green for marketing: content, social, newsletters.
• Yellow for admin, finance and email time.
• Grey for personal appointments and breaks.

The exact colours don't matter. What matters is using no more than five or six, and sticking to them. Too many colours and the calendar becomes a rainbow you have to decode.

The catch: colour is personal unless you use labels

Colours you set are mainly for your own view. If you invite someone to an event, the colour you chose doesn't follow the event into their calendar. On work or school accounts, Google adds labels: when you edit an event and select its colour, you can give that colour a name like Client work, and then see how much time each label takes up in Time Insights. Google notes that labels are visible to anyone with permission to make changes to your calendar, so name them as if a colleague might read them.

Changing the overall colour set

Google Calendar also lets you change the colour palette itself. On a computer, go to Settings, then Appearance, and choose a colour set and density. These options only appear on a computer, and Google says your background has to be set to Light before you can change the colour set. Density is worth a look too: Compact fits more events on the screen, which helps on a busy week.

Colour coding on your phone

Colours you set on your computer show on your phone because they're saved to your account. You can also change a calendar's colour in the app's settings, and change the colour of a single event when you edit it. For setting up a full colour system, though, the computer is quicker.

Make colour coding a weekly habit

1. Every Friday, look at next week and colour anything you've added without thinking.
2. Check the balance: if it's all red, you've got no time to do the work you've sold.
3. Move or protect blue blocks before the week fills up.

For more on planning your time around the work that grows your business, see my time management tools.

Colour coding a shared team calendar

If your team shares one calendar, agree the colours together and write them down in the calendar's description, so everyone uses red for the same thing. Because event colours are personal views, the most reliable way to give a team the same picture is to split work into separate calendars, such as Sales, Content and Delivery, and share each one. Everyone then sees the same divisions, even if they choose their own shades.

It also makes permissions easier. You can let a freelancer edit the Content calendar without giving them access to client meetings.

What to do when colours stop helping

If you look at your calendar and can't tell what a colour means, the system has drifted. Go back to five categories, recolour the next two weeks, and delete any calendars you no longer use. It's better to have three colours you trust than ten you ignore.

My verdict

Colour coding is the quickest productivity upgrade in Google Calendar. Use separate calendars with their own colours for the big divisions, right-click individual events for the rest, and keep it to five or six colours you'll remember. On a work account, name your colours as labels and let Time Insights show you where the week went. If you plan content around the calendar too, my guide to calendar marketing pairs nicely with this.

Frequently asked questions

Can my whole team use the same colours?

Colours are personal, so the most reliable option is separate shared calendars for each type of work.

How do I change the colour of a Google Calendar?

Point to the calendar under My calendars, click the three dots and pick a colour.

Can I colour code individual events in Google Calendar?

Yes. Right-click the event and choose a colour.

Do event colours show for the people I invite?

No. Colours are for your own view of the calendar.

Why can't I change the colour set in Google Calendar?

It's only available on a computer and your background has to be set to Light.

What are labels in Google Calendar?

On work or school accounts, you can name event colours as labels and see how much time each takes in Time Insights.