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Google Calendar

How to Block Time on Google Calendar (Focus Time)

Google Calendar offers three ways to declare you're unavailable: a regular busy event, a <em>Focus Time</em> block (which auto-declines meetings), or <em>Out of Office</em> (which auto-declines and sends a custom decline message).

Step-by-step

  1. Click on an empty slot in your calendar.
  2. In the event form, click the type selector and pick Focus Time or Out of Office instead of Event.
  3. Focus Time: set a title (e.g., "Deep work"), then tick Automatically decline meetings. You can choose to decline only new meetings, or also existing ones.
  4. Out of Office: set the date range, the auto-decline message, and (optionally) whether to mark yourself as Away in Chat.
  5. Save. Anyone trying to invite you during that block sees you as busy or gets an auto-decline.

Workspace-only feature

Focus Time and Out of Office are only available in Google Workspace accounts (work/school). Personal Gmail accounts can only create regular busy events.

Recurring focus time

Focus Time supports the same recurrence options as regular events. A common pattern: every weekday morning from 9–11am for focused work, set to auto-decline. This is one of the highest-ROI calendar habits for knowledge workers.

Related guides

Frequently asked questions

What does the meeting organizer see if Focus Time auto-declines?
A standard decline notification — they don't see that it was automatic. They can re-invite at a different time.
Will my focus time appear as busy in Outlook or Apple Calendar?
Yes — it shows as a normal busy block to anyone viewing your free/busy info.