Connect a Google or Microsoft calendar

You must be signed in as a supervisor and have access to the Google or Microsoft account you want to connect.

Connect the account

A connected calendar can help prevent double bookings and can receive newly scheduled Motivo events.

1. Select Settings > Calendar.
2. Under Connect your calendar, find Google or Outlook and select Connect.
3. Sign in to the calendar provider in the window that opens.
4. Review and approve the requested calendar access. The connection cannot work if the required access is declined.
5. Return to Motivo and choose a calendar under Add events.
6. Under Check conflicts, select every calendar whose busy events should block a time.
7. Review the rest of the page and select Save changes.

You can connect both a Google account and a Microsoft account. After connecting, each provider's calendars appear as choices for adding events and checking conflicts.

What Motivo does with the connection

The calendar selected under Add events receives new Motivo sessions and intro calls. Calendars selected under Check conflicts are checked for busy times when Motivo calculates your availability.

The calendar that receives events and the calendars checked for conflicts can be different. A calendar can also serve both purposes.

Review what a calendar holds before you connect it. Motivo checks connected calendars for busy times, so avoid connecting a calendar whose events carry client names or any other protected health information.

Who can see a Motivo event on your calendar

Motivo marks every event it creates as private, on both Google and Outlook. Anyone you have shared your calendar with sees only that you are busy at that time.

That setting is doing real work, because the event does contain names. On your calendar the title reads "Motivo session with Jane Doe", a group session names the first two attendees and counts the rest, and the description lists everyone attending. So if you have given someone access to your full event details, an assistant or a practice partner for instance, they will see those names. Check your sharing settings if that matters to you.

A supervisee's own copy of the event names you rather than the other people in the session.

When conflicts are checked

Motivo reads your conflict calendars at the moment someone views your available times, not on a schedule. A meeting you add to your calendar this minute blocks that slot for the next person who looks.

Important sync limits

Only Motivo bookings created after you connect the calendar are added to it. Earlier sessions and intro calls are not added retroactively.

Changes made to a session in Motivo update its external calendar event. Editing the external calendar event does not change the session in Motivo. Reschedule or cancel from your Motivo account so every participant receives the correct update.

If the provider sign-in window closes before you finish, return to Calendar and select Connect again. If a connected account later loses access, use Reconnect rather than creating a separate Motivo account.