By Dan Moren
June 18, 2018 10:53 AM PT
WhenWorks is a new tool for scheduling your availability
Note: This story has not been updated for several years.
If you’re the kind of person who constantly has to refer to their calendar whenever somebody asks if you’re free at a specific time, then the brand new WhenWorks, the latest venture from BusyMac co-founder John Chaffee, is something you might appreciate. It’s a combination app and web service that lets you easily schedule appointments with people.
When you download the app and create an account, you’ll be able to create various types of events (meetings, phone calls, lunches, etc.), setting information like how long the event is, when your availability window is, and how long you want between events. WhenWorks then generates a link to your page on their website that you can send out to your invitee and let them select a time that works with your existing calendar. (It integrates with Apple’s iCloud calendars, Office 365, Google Calendar, and Outlook.com.)
You can also add pre-event questions for your guest (such as a phone number or contact info about where to reach them). When they select a time, the event will automatically be added to the calendar of your choice.
Overall, WhenWorks is a simple idea that’s well executed in an attractive app. I’ve been playing with it for the last week or two leading up to its release. It does currently have some shortcomings, primarily among them the inability to schedule events for more than two people, but if you need to schedule a lot of one-on-one meetings and appointments, this could be a huge timesaver.
If you want to give it a whirl, you can download a 14-day fully featured free trial of the app from the App Store. After the trial expires, you can still schedule up to 5 events per month for free; a $5/month subscription unlocks unlimited events.
[Dan Moren is the East Coast Bureau Chief of Six Colors, as well as an author, podcaster, and two-time Jeopardy! champion. You can find him on Mastodon at @dmoren@zeppelin.flights or reach him by email at dan@sixcolors.com. His next novel, the sci-fi adventure Eternity's Tomb, will be released in November 2026.]
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