The response so far has been amazing, and Chad has been working tirelessly to bring new users off the waitlist and onto Bloks (p.s. sign up if you haven’t already).
In case you missed it (or are still waiting to get access), here’s what we’ve added to Bloks over the past few weeks.
The Smart Directory 📇
This is probably the feature we’ve been most excited about:
In Bloks, you’ll notice a logo on the left side of the app that looks like a person standing in front of a building.
Click it, and you’ll get access to the Smart Directory, which automatically gives you an overview of the companies you interact with and all the notes, calendar events, emails, people, and associated attachments.
Think of it almost like a lightweight CRM that provides insights into the companies you’ve recently met with or have meetings with in the future.
In addition to organizing company pages, the Smart Directory gives you info on the people you’ve been in contact with and the hashtags you’ve recently used.
That way, you can quickly see the notes, events, emails, and attachments associated with contacts and easily sort through notes by topics without scrolling through the main feed.
Calendar Events Carousel 🗓️
Here’s another feature that’s perfect for any salesperson, project manager, consultant, or person in an external-facing role who has a lot of meetings.
Swipe through the Events Carousel at the top of Bloks to see all the meetings on your schedule.
Before your next meeting, tap on the event to reference any notes, emails, and attachments that may be relevant (as well as see who’s attending).
And, when it’s time for your next meeting, you can launch your Hangout or Zoom call straight from the carousel and quickly jot down any notes, so they’re easy to find after your meeting (no more remembering to add them to Google Calendar).
Here’s a quick walkthrough if you haven’t used it yet in Bloks:
Quick Action Bar 🚀
You’re not always near a computer when an important thought or idea comes to mind.
If you’re like us, sometimes you’re in between meetings—running a quick errand or picking up the kids from hockey practice—when something pops into your head.
If you’re using Bloks on iOS or Android, you’ll notice the note creation icon now expands, allowing you to quickly create a to-do list, take a photo, copy something from your clipboard, create a voice memo using speech-to-text, and add it directly to your notes in Bloks.
The System Tray 📥
Your notes and calendar should always be at your fingertips.
That’s why we’ve integrated Bloks closely with your MacOS desktop, so you can quickly create and find notes, see what’s on your schedule and who you’re meeting with, and join meetings, straight from the menu bar, without searching for the app or opening your calendar.
Give these features a try. And, as always, let us know what you think.
Get in touch with Chad or message us on Discord to let us know how we’re doing.
If you’re still not on Bloks, click here to get early access. Visit our Changelog to see what else is new.
Whether you’re a sales superstar, in-demand consultant, busy recruiter, or someone who simply needs to schedule a lot of meetings, one thing’s for sure—you’ve probably booked a lot of them over the past two years.
Hybrid work has forced the majority of our meetings online, and while we appreciate being able to wear sweatpants during normal work hours, the time-consuming ballet that is sharing your availability, finding a time to meet, and adding it to your calendar isn’t quite as enjoyable.
Speaking with everyone from solopreneurs to seasoned professionals, it seems like a lot of people find meeting scheduling software either costly, impersonal, or just plain boring. And Calendly and other alternatives don’t always cut it.
We hear you.
Everyone is different, and so is how they work. Making good first impressions is important, and you shouldn’t have to pay a premium for them or basic customizations and integrations with your meeting booking system.
Nook Calendar’s meeting proposal feature is already used by tons of high-performing teams for selecting and proposing meeting times outside of their organization.
Now, we’re making things even easier by letting you build personal pages with shareable calendar-booking links, right in Nook Calendar. Add them to your LinkedIn profile, email signature, website, or messages when finding a time to meet.
We think it’s the best meeting scheduling software out there, and we’re excited for you to give it a try, so let’s get started.
Here’s How to Set Up a Personal Booking Page in Nook Calendar
First off, if you’re new to Nook Calendar—hello! (If you’re already a Nook user, you can skip ahead.)
You’re going to start by syncing your calendar—either from Google Calendar or Microsoft Outlook—and entering your work email address.
Once you approve any necessary permissions, you’ll set up your People Bar. Search for any connections and add the people you interact with the most when scheduling meetings.
From there, you can add any additional calendars you want to see (add your personal one, if you like, to further prevent any overlaps when scheduling meetings), integrate with Zoom (so you can launch calls straight from your calendar), and choose your preferred display setting—select Match OS, Light Mode, or Dark Mode.
Launch Nook Calendar, and you’re ready to set up your online meeting scheduler.
Now, the fun begins
You’re going to start by claiming your unique URL for sharing your meeting availability page.
Your first name appears by default, but really, it can be anything. We recommend using your full name (e.g., /john-smith).
(You can always change your URL in the future, as long as it’s still available.)
From there, you want to complete your profile.
Your profile pic is automatically pulled in from your Microsoft or GCal account.
But you can add your name, job title, welcome message, and links to social media profiles or professional website, so guests know a bit more about you when booking a meeting.
Then, you can start setting your weekly availability.
Nook Calendar defaults to traditional time blocks—9–12 a.m. and 1–5 p.m. These are the hours someone can book a meeting from your personal page. Adjust them based on your availability.
Your timezone is automatically set to your local time, but you can change it if you primarily work with people in a different timezone and it’s better to visualize that when setting your availability.
Choose which calendar you want to accept meetings in—it can only be booked in one, but Nook Calendar will automatically reference your availability in other calendars you’ve synced to prevent double-bookings when someone schedules a meeting.
Now, it’s time to set up some paramaters.
You can set up your preferred meeting duration in either 15, 30, 45-minute or one-hour increments (or a custom time).
You can also add buffer time to give yourself a break between meetings, or set a lead time of up to 24 hours, so no one can book any last-minute meetings.
And you’re all set! You can preview what the page will look like, then share it with contacts or add it to your LinkedIn profile (we suggest adding it as a secondary URL), email signature, and anywhere else you do business.
Once someone books time in your calendar, you’ll receive an email and get a notification in the Pulse.
If you ever need to make any changes, you can access your personal meeting page in the bottom of the Magic Panel and make any adjustments—either to your weekly availability or personal information.
You can also remove your availability by simply creating events in Nook Calendar and marking them as Busy to block off time and prevent any bookings.
Nook Calendar’s new personal pages for sharing meeting availability are available on Web, iOS, and Android.
If you have any questions or thoughts, we’d love to hear them. Hit us up in our Slack Community or contact us through Support.
