We'll be honest; we weren't intending to add a calendar to Melo. We thought it was redundant since people live out of their primary calendar anyway. But then we got overwhelming feedback that we were very wrong. Our users wanted to be able to visualize the Melo events without jumping back and forth between their personal calendar and their parent app.
If you take two things away from this story:
1. It's ok to be wrong.
2. We deeply listen to feedback. The feedback button is at the top right of the app. We'd love to hear from you.
How Melo Calendar Integration Works
Connect your existing calendar: Link Google Calendar, Outlook, or other calendar apps you already use
Visual conflict detection: See potential scheduling conflicts before committing to new events
One-click additions: Add any Melo event to your personal calendar with a single tap Family-wide visibility: Everyone in your pod can see relevant family events and activities
Connecting Your Calendar
Each adult member can connect their own calendar to Melo:
Go to Pod Settings and select your profile
Look for the Connected Calendars section
Sign in securely through your calendar provider
Grant permissions for Melo to read and create events
Select which calendars to sync (personal, work, family, etc.)
Setting Up Child Calendars
When you add children to your pod, Melo automatically creates calendar views for each child:
Child-specific events (soccer practice, piano lessons) appear on their calendar
Family events (school concerts, family trips) appear on everyone's calendar
Parent oversight: You can see all your children's events and add them to your personal calendar
Where can you view your calendar?
Full Calendar Page
Melo's calendar view gives you complete family schedule visibility:
Daily view: Today's events for all family members in one place
Weekly view: See the entire week's commitments across the whole family
Family member filters: Focus on one person's schedule or see everyone together Color coding: Different colors for each family member and activity type Conflict warnings: Visual indicators when schedules overlap
Navigation features:
Switch between day and week views
Filter by family member or activity type
Integration with your phone's native calendar app
Topic Calendar Views
When you open a topic that contains events, you'll see:
A calendar snippet - a 4 hour time block around that event to give you a brief view of what that part of the day looks like.
Conflict detection: Highlighted overlaps with existing family commitments.
Decision Views
Decisions in Melo are just Topics that we aren't sure are absolutely necessary. A good rule of thumb is - if it includes an RSVP, you're likely going to find it in Decisions. Think birthday parties, special library events, or any sort of community gathering.
The calendar view in decisions is there to help you gain more context as to whether you want to attend or not. That outdoor movie night sounds great until you remember you're not around that weekend.
Pro tip: Start by connecting just your main family calendar, then gradually add more calendars as you get comfortable with the system.
Remember: The goal is to make scheduling decisions easier and prevent conflicts, not to manage every minute of your family's life. Use calendar integration to stay organized while maintaining flexibility for the unexpected moments that make family life beautiful.