How to show your personal calendar as Busy at work
Colleagues book meetings over your dentist appointment because your work calendar can't see your personal one. Here are the ways to fix that, from built-in options to fully automatic.
Updated November 11, 2026
Why it happens
When someone looks for a time to meet you, their calendar checks your work calendar only. Your personal plans live in another account, so the slot looks free. You need your personal events to show up as Busy in the work calendar, without your colleagues seeing what they are.
Option 1: Outlook's "Add personal calendars"
If your workplace uses Microsoft 365, Outlook can link one personal calendar to your work account.
- In Outlook on the web or the new Outlook, open Calendar.
- Choose Add calendar, then Add personal calendars.
- Sign in to your personal Outlook.com or Google account.
Where it falls short: it links one personal account, only Outlook's own scheduling sees it, your IT admin can turn it off, and nothing travels the other way, so your personal calendar still doesn't know about work.
Option 2: Share your personal Google calendar with your work account
If work and home are both Google, you can share your personal calendar with your work address.
- In your personal Google Calendar on the web, find your calendar under My calendars, choose More (⋮), then Settings and sharing.
- Under Shared with, choose Add people and groups, enter your work address and pick See only free/busy (hide details), then Send.
- Open the email in your work account and click the link. The calendar appears under Other calendars.
Where it falls short: you can see your personal plans at work, but colleagues checking your availability usually see only your main work calendar. The time still looks free to them.
Option 3: Copy events by hand
Add a "Busy" event to your work calendar for every personal appointment. It works anywhere, but it's easy to forget one, and when plans move you have to move the copy too.
Option 4: Let Syncydo add the holds
Connect your work and personal calendars to Syncydo. Whenever something lands in your personal calendar, Syncydo adds a private hold that says only Busy to your work calendar, and the other way around. Move or cancel the appointment and the hold moves or disappears with it.
- Works across Google Calendar, Outlook and Microsoft 365, Apple Calendar, Zoho and Android calendars, in any mix.
- Colleagues see Busy, never the title. You can change the wording on Plus.
- Invitations you haven't accepted don't block time until you say yes.
- Free for two calendars. Holds update every 15 minutes on the free plan and within seconds on Plus and Pro.
Questions
Will my colleagues see what my personal appointment is?
No. The hold says Busy. Only you see the real event, in your own personal calendar.
My work account is Microsoft 365 and it asks for an admin's approval. What now?
Many workplaces need IT to approve new apps. Send your IT admin syncydo.com/it-admins: they can approve Syncydo for everyone in one step.
Does this work if my personal calendar is on my iPhone?
Yes. The Syncydo iPhone app adds the calendars on your phone, including iCloud ones.
Is it free?
Yes, for two calendars, with no time limit and no card.
More guides
- Connect all your calendars to Claude, ChatGPT or GeminiLet Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini read every calendar you have (Google, Outlook, Microsoft 365, Zoho, iCloud) and find time that's free everywhere. Read-only, with step-by-step setup.
- How to sync Google Calendar and Outlook both waysTwo-way sync between Google Calendar and Outlook or Microsoft 365: the free subscribe-by-link method, why it's one-way and slow, and how to keep both calendars blocking time for each other.
- How to stop getting double-booked across calendarsWhy double-booking happens when you have more than one calendar, a simple routine to prevent it, and how to make every calendar block time for the others automatically.
- How to sync a Microsoft 365 or Teams calendar with Google CalendarGet your Microsoft 365 and Teams meetings into Google Calendar, or the other way around: the free publish-and-subscribe method, what IT may block, and how to keep both calendars blocking time.
- How to see two Google accounts' calendars in one placeCombine a work Google Workspace calendar and a personal Gmail calendar into one view: the free sharing method, what it doesn't do, and how to make each account block time for the other.
- One calendar view when you run several companiesFounders and fractional executives with a Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 account per company: how to see every company's calendar in one place and stop each one booking over the others.
- How to sync Zoho Calendar with Google Calendar or OutlookZoho Calendar with Google Calendar or Outlook: Zoho's own Google sync and its limits, sharing by iCal link, and how to make Zoho and your other calendars block time for each other.
- How to add your iCloud calendar to OutlookGet your iCloud (Apple) calendar into Outlook on Windows, the web or Mac, what each method can and can't do, and how to stop your iPhone plans and work meetings clashing.