Overview

The hardest part of scheduling multi-person meetings is finding a time when everyone is available. Claude can help you analyze attendees' schedules, identify available time slots, and generate professional meeting invitations.

Use Cases

Cross-department meeting scheduling
Client meeting appointments
Team recurring meeting time determination
Large event schedule planning

Steps

Step 1: Gather Attendee Information

List required attendees and constraints.

I need to schedule a project review meeting:
Attendees: Zhang San, Li Si, Wang Wu, Zhao Liu
Duration: 2 hours
Time range: This week (January 15-19)
Preferred time: Weekdays 9:00-18:00
Avoid: Lunch time 12:00-13:30
Please list possible time slots

Step 2: Analyze Schedule Conflicts

If you have calendar files, analyze them directly.

I exported attendees' calendars:
- ~/calendars/zhangsan.ics
- ~/calendars/lisi.ics
- ~/calendars/wangwu.ics
Please analyze all 2-hour time slots this week when everyone is available,
sort by recommendation (considering time slot reasonableness)

Step 3: Select Best Time

Weigh various factors to choose the most suitable time.

From the available time slots, please recommend the best choice:
Considerations:
- Avoid Monday morning (everyone needs to prepare for weekly meetings)
- Avoid Friday afternoon (affects weekend)
- Prefer morning slots (more energy)
- Allow prep time (not right after other meetings)
Provide top 3 recommended times with reasons

Step 4: Generate Meeting Invitation

Create formal meeting invitation content.

Please generate a meeting invitation email:
Meeting: Project X Review
Time: Wednesday, January 17, 14:00-16:00
Location: Conference Room A, 3F (online access supported)
Attendees: Zhang San, Li Si, Wang Wu, Zhao Liu

Email content should include:
- Meeting purpose and agenda
- Time and location (with Tencent Meeting link)
- Materials to prepare
- Attendance confirmation request
- Calendar invite file (.ics)

Step 5: Handle Time Zone Differences

For international/cross-timezone meetings.

Attendee locations:
- Beijing: Zhang San, Li Si
- New York: John
- London: Sarah

Please find times in Beijing evening or next morning,
ensuring New York and London are both within working hours (9:00-18:00),
Meeting duration: 1 hour, list available times this week,
and include corresponding times for all time zones in the invitation

Warning: When scheduling cross-timezone meetings, rotate "inconvenient times" fairly to avoid always having the same timezone join during non-working hours.

Tip: Using polling tools (like Doodle, When2meet) can more efficiently find the best time. Have Claude generate the polling options list and email content to send.

Common Questions

Q: What if there's no time when everyone is available? A: Consider: 1) Extend the time range; 2) Shorten meeting duration; 3) Split into separate meetings; 4) Have less critical attendees participate asynchronously (watch recording).

Q: How to handle last-minute cancellations and rescheduling? A: Claude can generate rescheduling notification emails and re-analyze available times. It's recommended to confirm 1-2 days before the meeting to avoid last-minute changes.

Q: Can I import Google Calendar or Outlook calendars? A: You can export to .ics files for Claude to analyze. Some calendar apps also support API access, and Claude can write scripts to automatically retrieve schedules.