Can I have Google Calendar send me SMS event notifications?

You're in luck, actually, because that's one of the coolest unsung features of Google Calendar, its event notification service.

Log in to your Google Calendar, then click on "Settings" and choose "Mobile Setup". If you haven't yet validated your cellphone number, you'll need to do so (it's easy) and once you do, you'll see something like this:

As you can see, everything's ready to go with my iPhone (did I mention that I have lots of iPhone help here, btw?) (I used to be with Verizon and never bothered to change it here, but the number has moved over with me) so the next step is to go to the Notifications area.

You can get there by choosing "Calendars" from the top tabs, which brings you a list of every calendar to which you've subscribed in addition to your own main calendar:

Adjacent to your own calendar is a link "Notifications". Click on that. Now you'll see:

One way you can improve your reliability is featured here: Check the box that has Google Calendar email you a daily agenda before you wake up. It's the last option, labeled "Daily agenda: Sent every day at 5am in your current time zone". Very useful!

SMS text notifications are created by selecting "Add a reminder" on the top under the Event reminders section. Click on it and you'll see that you can get notifications via email, SMS text, or even pop-ups, just about as early as you need, from 5 minutes before to two weeks before the event. Choose SMS and 15 minutes and it'll look like this:

Now just click on the "Save" button on the bottom and you'll be all set with your notifications. In fact, if you need them, you can also have a second notification that's an hour before each event. Just check your cellphone rate plan to ensure that hundreds of SMS text messages isn't going to push you into a new, lower income bracket. :-)