How to propose a new time in Google Calendar

A guest's guide to suggesting a better meeting time on web and mobile, and what to do when the option does not show up.

To propose a new time in Google Calendar, open the invite you received, find the RSVP buttons (Yes, No, Maybe), and choose Propose a new time. Pick a slot that works, add a short note, and send it to the organizer, who then accepts or declines. Nothing moves on anyone’s calendar until they say yes.

That is the short version. Here is how it looks on the web, on your phone, and what to do when the button is nowhere to be found.

Propose a new time on the web

The browser version is the most reliable place to do this.

1. Open Google Calendar in a browser and click the event someone invited you to.
2. In the event popup, look near the Going? question and the Yes / No / Maybe buttons.
3. Choose Propose a new time. Google sometimes tucks it behind a small arrow or “more” control next to the RSVP buttons, so check there if you do not see it at first.
4. A side panel opens showing the organizer’s calendar with a suggested slot. Drag the block or use the date and time fields to pick a time that suits you.
5. Add a note so the organizer knows why (“Conflicts with a client call, could we do 3pm?”).
6. Click Send proposal.

The organizer gets your suggestion by email and as a calendar notification. They accept to move the meeting for everyone, or decline to keep it as is. You stay marked Maybe until that happens.

Propose a new time on iPhone or Android

The Google Calendar app supports this too, though the layout is tighter.

Open the event. Tap the meeting in your Calendar app, or tap the invite card in the Gmail app.

Find the RSVP row. Scroll to where it asks if you are going. If proposing a time is available, Propose a new time sits below or beside the Yes / No / Maybe options.

Pick a slot and send. Choose a new time, type a note, and tap send. The flow mirrors the web version.

If you do not see it on your phone, do not assume it is broken. Mobile hides the control more aggressively than desktop. Open the same event in a laptop browser and you will usually find it there.

When the propose a new time option is missing

This trips up a lot of people. Google only shows the control in specific conditions, and it disappears when:

• You are the organizer. Edit the event directly instead.
• The event is recurring, or is one occurrence of a repeating series (widely reported, though Google does not spell this out).
• The event is all-day.
• The guest list is very large. Google caps proposing on big meetings.
• The invite comes from a calendar that is not Google Calendar, such as an Outlook or Apple Calendar event.

If any of these apply, the honest workaround is to reply Maybe and email or message the organizer with your preferred time. It is less tidy, but it gets the same result, and the organizer can edit the event on their end.

After the time is settled, plan your day around it

Once a meeting lands on a time you can actually keep, the next problem is everything else on your plate. A confirmed 3pm call only helps if the two hours of focused work before it do not collapse into reaction mode.

That is where planning your day around the meetings you have accepted beats chasing whatever notification fires next. ClaroCal syncs two ways with your Google Calendar and turns your task list into a realistic time-blocked plan, then reflows the rest of the day when an approved time shifts your calendar.

For the method behind it, see our time-blocking template.

Last reviewed June 2026.