Tip: When you're giving a presentation in Slides, you already know how to navigate to a specific slide, add closed captions, use the built in Q&A feature, see participants while you present and even send a link to your slides in preso mode afterwards so participants can re-review (one of my most popular tips!) And you know how to use the laser pointer. But what if you want to make permanent marks on the slide as you're talking??

Use the pen in Slideshow mode!

How to use: In Slides where you're presenting, go to Slideshow > Start slideshow> then three dots > Turn on the pen

Keyboard Shortcut of the Week: Shift + L in slideshow mode in Slides: Turn on the pen

Tip: You already know that you can create new Drive files quickly by simply typing sheets.new, doc.new, slides.new, etc. into your address bar. You may even know that you can start a new compose window by typing email.new. But now you can also start a meeting this way! Who "new"?? 😉

How to use: In your Chrome address bar, type meet.new and a new meeting is started! Quickly add others or share the link for someone to join. That's it!

Keyboard Shortcut of the Week: Cmmd/Ctrl + T in Chrome: Open a new tab

Tip: You already know by typing @ in Docs you can get to useful things like drafting an email, creating meeting notes, checklists, or creating a dropdown menu. But what if you just want to have a little fun? 

Play Tic-Tac-Toe with other Doc collaborators! ❌⭕❌

How to use: In a Doc type @tictactoe . Click on the game and even customize the emoji's you want to use for your game! Have fun! 

Keyboard Shortcut of the Week: ⌘/Cntrl + / in Docs: Show common keyboard shortcuts

Tip: You already know how to transfer an existing video call to your phone but let's say you're sitting at your computer and decide you need to make a call. Your phone is in the other room. 

No need to go get it, just make the phone call right from Meet!

How to use: Start a meeting (go to meet.new in your browser). From there, click on Show everyone, then Add people, then click on Call. From there choose your country, type in your phone number, and press Call! 📞

Keyboard Shortcut of the Week: ⌘/Ctrl + e in Meet: Turn off camera while making a phone call

Tip: You already know how to facilitate a poll in Meet. But what if, instead of a meeting,  you'd like to take a poll within Docs? Maybe you have few design ideas displayed and you'd like to get a vote from everyone who reviews the Doc?

Use a poll! 

How to use: In your Doc type @Poll. From there, add poll items and even sort by most votes!

Keyboard Shortcut of the Week: @ in Docs: a wholllle lot of things 

Tip: Let's say you're working on a new Sheet for your presentation tomorrow. It's a budget or project outline or a timeline view of your project.  And you remember you want to attach it to the event tomorrow. Now need to back out to your Calendar. 

Do it right within the Sheet itself!

How to use: In a Sheet go to Insert > Smart chips > Calendar event. From there select the correct event on your calendar. Then click on the Calendar chip and click "attach to event!" That's it!* Your event will show in the cal invite. 

Keyboard Shortcut of the Week: Cmmd/Cntrl + Shift + down arrow: Select entire column in Sheets

Tip: One of my top 3 most popular tips of the past 8 years is how to Draft an Email in Docs. You can add collaborators, craft the email, and then simply click one button to pull it up within Gmail and send. 

Now you can do the same for a calendar invite - draft it in Docs first! 

How to use: Open a new doc (go/newdoc or doc.new ) and type @calendar event draft. From there add details like start and end time, description, guests, etc. You can also add collaborators to your Doc, who can then collaborate on your calendar invite. 

When you're finished click the Calendar button and it will automatically pull the details into a Calendar invite. Press save! That's it!*

*If you draft the event for someone else to add to calendar, make sure they are the one who clicks the calendar icon to pull the invite to their calendar. If you manage someone else's calendar (A/EBP), after you click the Calendar button, drop down to that person's calendar before pressing save for the event. 

Keyboard Shortcut of the Week: Cmmd/Cntrl + S in Calendar invite draft: Save invite and add to Calendar

Tip: You already know how to rotate text in Sheets, but if you want some text to be vertical or "up and down" in Docs? 

How to use: In a Doc, go to Insert>Drawing. Create a text box then highlight the box and click Actions > Rotate. From there press Save & Close and your "drawing" of text will be inserted into your document. Drag it around and change text alignment options to get it right where you need it to be!

Keyboard Shortcut of the Week: Ctrl + Option + i in Docs: Open Insert menu

Tip: Are you emailing back and forth with someone and decide it's time to meet? Then flipping back and forth to your calendar to offer times, only to have to wait for this person's response THEN schedule an invite? 

Skip a few steps with offer times to meet in Gmail! 

How to use: In an email compose or reply window, click the Set up a time to meet button > Offer times to meet. On the right side panel, select the event duration and select multiple times in the calendar grid (you can select times across different days and even add event details like title.) Finally click Click Add to email and Send. The recipient will receive an email with clickable time slots (in their time zone).

When the recipient selects and clicks a time for the event, the event is automatically created and added to your calendar and a confirmation email is also sent with the event details.*

*only works for 1:1 meetings and on your primary calendar. Read more here. 

Keyboard Shortcut of the Week: Tab + Enter in Gmail compose: Send email 

Tip: You already know how to use Dropdown in Docs and may even be using my Project Management template in Sheets that includes dropdowns!

If you want to add your own dropdown option to your sheet cells, easily insert them with the @ menu!  

How to use: In a Sheet go to a cell and type @. From there choose Dropdown menu. Customize colors, dropdowns, look and more! 

I use dropdowns in my Holiday Shopping Template I made for organizing gifts this holiday season - feel free to use the template yourself! *Tip: Next year, just make a copy of the tab and change the name to 2024 then easily see whomever you bought gifts for last year so you're sure not to forget anyone!

Keyboard Shortcut of the Week: @ in Sheets: Open dropdown menu

Tip: Did someone ping you something you need to remember for later? Get a chat during a meeting and forgot to respond?? After a long conversation in one of your Spaces, do you need to isolate one message that you want to reference later? 

You may already love using stars in Gmail. Or stars in Drive. And you might already love to forward a chat to your inbox, but what if instead of adding another email to your list, you just want to star the chat to come back to it later instead? 

⭐️You can!⭐️

How to use: Hover over a chat message and click the 3 dots. From there click "Star message" . 

Then, in your chat screen, click on Starred chats to see everything you've starred!

Keyboard Shortcut of the Week: : in Chat line: Show Emoji picker