Our family uses Fastmail as the central hub for all calendar management, with integrations to various other services for a complete scheduling solution.

Overview

Primary Platform: Fastmail Calendar Family Accounts:

Matthew: dratspiker@fastmail.com
Kandace: kanaussie@fastmail.com
Violet: queenvi@fastmail.com Access: Available on all family devices through the Calendar app Sync: Updates every 15 minutes across all devices

Calendar Structure

Family Calendars (Shared)

Family

Purpose: Shared family events that affect everyone
Who can edit: All family members
Examples: School events, family gatherings, medical appointments, vacations
Color: Green

Culture

Purpose: Cultural events and activities
Who can edit: All family members
Examples: Concerts, museum visits, cultural celebrations
Color: Purple

TripIt

Purpose: Travel planning and itineraries
Type: Subscription calendar (automatic updates)
Who can edit: Auto-populated from TripIt service
Examples: Flight details, hotel reservations, trip itineraries
Color: Green

Personal Calendars

Matthew

Purpose: Dad's personal calendar
Integration: Synced from Google Calendar (dratspiker@gmail.com) via Fastmail integration
Who can edit: Matthew (edits sync between Google and Fastmail)
Visibility: Shared with family (can see events)
Color: Blue

Kandy

Purpose: Mom's personal calendar
Who can edit: Kandace
Visibility: Shared with family
Color: Red

Work Calendars (Read-Only)

Lark Calendars

Matt Speicher - Personal work calendar
Forensics USDS | Team Travel & OOO Calendar - Team calendar
Access: Read-only in Fantastical and other calendar apps
Editing: Must be done directly in Lark application
Purpose: View work schedule alongside family calendar for coordination

Legacy/Unused

DO NOT USE

Status: Legacy calendar - ignore
Action: Do not add events to this calendar
Color: Purple

Account Integrations

Primary Accounts

Fastmail Accounts
Google Personal (dratspiker@gmail.com)
Lark (Work)
Personal Productivity (Matthew only)
- Matthew: dratspiker@fastmail.com (primary family calendar hosting)
- Kandace: kanaussie@fastmail.com
- Violet: queenvi@fastmail.com
- Central sync point for all family calendars
- Synced to Matthew's Fastmail via integration
- Matthew's personal events appear in both systems
- Bidirectional sync
- Read-only access in calendar apps
- Must edit work events in Lark directly
- Provides visibility into work schedule
- Todoist for personal task management
- Obsidian for personal notes and projects

Special Integrations

Reminders Integration

Groceries: Shopping list integrated with calendar
Purpose: Coordinate shopping with family schedule
Access: Available in Reminders app and calendar view

TripIt Integration

Automatic: Travel bookings automatically create calendar events
Email parsing: Flight confirmations, hotel bookings, etc.
Subscription: Calendar updates automatically

How to Use

Adding Events

For Family Events:

Use the Family calendar (green)
Include location for automatic directions
Set appropriate reminders
Add family members as attendees

For Personal Events:

Matthew: Add to personal calendar (syncs with Google)
Kandace: Add to Kandy calendar (red)

For Work Events:

Must use Lark directly - calendar apps are read-only

Viewing Calendars

All Calendars: Default view shows all active calendars Filtered View: Toggle calendars on/off in calendar app Work Schedule: Lark calendars provide work visibility without editing ability

Calendar Colors Reference

Green: Family events, TripIt travel
Blue: Matthew's personal
Red: Kandace's personal
Purple: Culture, DO NOT USE (legacy)
Various: Lark work calendars (read-only)

Device Access

iPhone/iPad

Built-in Calendar app
Fantastical (premium features)
Automatic sync with Fastmail account

Mac

Calendar app in dock
Fantastical for Mac
Direct access to calendar.fastmail.com

Web Access

calendar.fastmail.com
Sign in with your Fastmail account:
- Matthew: dratspiker@fastmail.com
- Kandace: kanaussie@fastmail.com
- Violet: queenvi@fastmail.com
Full editing capabilities

Best Practices

Family Coordination

Use Family calendar for events affecting others
Add locations for automatic directions and travel time
Set multiple reminders for important events
Check calendar before making plans
Update immediately when plans change

Work Integration

View work schedule in family calendar apps for coordination
Edit work events only in Lark application
Block family time around important work events
Coordinate travel using both work and family calendars

Privacy

Shared calendars: Full details visible to family
Personal calendars: Visible but respect privacy
Work calendars: Read-only visibility only
Sensitive events: Use personal calendars when appropriate

Troubleshooting

Calendar Not Syncing

Check internet connection
Force refresh in calendar app
Verify Fastmail account settings
Allow up to 15 minutes for sync

Can't Edit Event

Family/Personal calendars: Check account permissions
Work calendars: Must edit in Lark directly
Subscription calendars: Read-only (TripIt, etc.)

Missing Calendar

Check calendar visibility settings
Verify account is properly connected
Look in "Other" or "Subscriptions" section

Integration Benefits

Fastmail-Google Sync

Bidirectional: Changes sync both ways
Unified view: See Google events in Fastmail interface
Family sharing: Google events visible to family through Fastmail

Work Calendar Visibility

Schedule coordination: See work commitments alongside family events
Travel planning: Coordinate work and family travel
Availability: Family can see when you're in meetings

Automatic Travel

TripIt integration: Travel plans automatically populate
Email parsing: Confirmations create events automatically
Itinerary management: Complete trip view in calendar

Quick Links

Fastmail Calendar
TripIt
1Password (for account passwords)

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Need help? Text Dad at (717) 713-5387 | Back to Home