Danny Recommends: Assistant.to

Every so often we dip our toes into a series called Danny Recommends:, posts that tip you off to the stuff that I…you know. The recommendations might be products for use in your ministry, resources that will help you develop leaders around you, or just fun stuff that you need. Want. Whatever. I have a full list of recommended books and such over at the Reading List, but these posts will go into further detail. For other posts in the series, check out the link at the bottom.

September 2020 update: Assistant.to is now packaged as part of a (rather expensive) paid bundle. For my new pick on a free calendaring option, check out Calendly.

Scheduling apps seem to be the latest rage these days: rather than playing the back-and-forth of when you can and can’t host a meeting, the right tool can save you time and headaches.

I’ve used Assistant.to for over a year now, and it’s my favorite option of anything I’ve toyed around with so far. It sends your contact three potential meeting times, and whenever they select one, it updates both your calendar and theirs. It’s simply genius.

However, it’s not without it’s drawbacks. Here’s what I like about Assistant.to, and what I’d like to see them change:

What I like about Assistant.to:

• It works seamlessly with Gmail. Just add the extension and you’re good to go. When you’re ready to schedule a meeting, start composing an email and click the Assistant.to logo on the bottom right side of your screen. That’s it.
• It remembers your availability. Want to push the same meeting times to several people? Check a box and it’ll send the same choices to your next recipient.
• It’s smart. So…what happens if you offer three meeting times and one of them fills before your respondent gets back to you? No worries. It’ll remove that option from the list.
• It gives my recipients some freedom. Don’t like Tuesday meetings? No problem. Can’t meet before 8 AM? Gotcha covered. I usually offer up a random assortment of meeting times, meaning there’s a little something out there for everyone.

What I wish Assistant.to would change:

• Multiple meeting attendees. Right now, it’s just you and one buddy. There’s no option for meetings made up of three or more people. I feel like that’s squashing my sociability.
• Back-to-back meeting times. Let’s say I offer someone the option of a Tuesday 2:00 meeting spot or a Tuesday 2:30 meeting spot. Assistant.to combines both of those into one mega-meeting. Not fun.
• More than three options. Yeah, yeah. I know I’m super-needy. But sometimes I want to play out more than three options for people.

What do you use to schedule meetings? Comment below.

See all posts in the Danny Recommends: series.

Disclaimer: FTC watchdogs will probably want to know that the companies listed / linked above did not ask for this endorsement, nor did they provide me with free swag in order to do so. I’m just a really satisfied customer who wants to let you know where you can get some great products. So there.