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| Free AI Study Planner with Google Calendar Sync |
Introduction
Google Calendar is a ubiquitous foundation for time management. When combined with a free planner or simple automation scripts, it becomes the anchor for an AI-aware study planner that respects shift schedules. This guide walks through a reproducible, no-cost setup that syncs AI-generated plans with your calendar and preserves your sleep windows.
Overview of the approach
- Data model: tasks + estimated hours + priorities + deadlines stored in Google Sheets.
- Schedule engine: a Google Apps Script evaluates daily availability, creates events, and labels each session (e.g., “Study — High Focus”).
- Optional lightweight AI: use free or low-cost inference sparingly for weekly plan summaries or conflict resolution.
Detailed setup
- Prepare Google Sheets
- Sheet A (Tasks): Task, Subject, Priority, Est. Hours, Due Date, Notes.
- Sheet B (Availability): Shift blocks and sleep windows per day. - Apps Script logic
- Read availability and tasks, compute daily available study blocks.
- Allocate highest-priority tasks first, scheduling 25–45 minute sessions with breaks.
- Create events on a dedicated calendar (e.g., “Study Planner”).
- Include metadata in event description: task id, progress link, suggested resources. - Handling conflicts and two-way sync
- Use a tag or calendar ID so the script updates only its own events—this prevents clobbering user edits.
- When the script sees a manually updated event, prefer manual edits (unless auto-resolve is enabled).
DND and daytime sleep protection
- The script should never create events during user-specified sleep windows.
- For push notifications, use calendar reminders with default notification times that respect sleep windows or send only email summaries.
Lightweight AI integrations (optional)
- Use a free-tier AI or an open-source model to:
* Generate weekly study narratives.
* Suggest optimal session order for heavy subjects.
* Analyze progress and recommend adjustments.
- Limit usage to daily or weekly batch calls to stay within free quotas.
Privacy and security
- Limit the scope of OAuth tokens to the specific calendar.
- For maximum privacy, run Apps Script in your account so no third-party servers see raw data.
Monitoring & iteration
- Keep a simple feedback field per session (“focus 1–5”).
- Re-run allocation rules weekly and track completion rate to tune session length and allocation heuristics.
Conclusion
A free AI-aware planner synced with Google Calendar is a practical, accessible option for night-shift students. By balancing local heuristics with occasional AI assistance and respecting sleep windows, you can get a smart scheduling system without recurring software costs.
Appendix: Starter Apps Script overview
- Triggers: time-driven (daily recalculation at a convenient hour).
- Calendar API: createEvent, getEvents, updateEvent.
- Deployment: keep script bound to your Sheets for ease of maintenance.
