Getting friends to actually do the thing
How to organise anything
- How to plan a night out with friends (without the 200-message group chat) — A simple six-step way to get a night out from “we should” to booked: one idea, two or three dates, one link, one decision.
- How to pick a date everyone can actually do — Why group date-picking stalls, and a method that gets a confirmed date out of a busy group of friends in about a day.
- Nobody replies in the group chat — what to do about it — Silence in a group chat is almost never a no. Here is what causes it and five ways to get answers without nagging anyone.
- How to organise a group dinner people actually turn up to — Booking for six or more, splitting the bill, dietary needs and no-shows — a practical guide to getting a group dinner done.
- How to plan a weekend away with friends — Dates, budget, travel and who books what — a checklist for getting a group weekend from an idea to a paid deposit.
- Group planning tools: polls, calendars, chats and what each is good for — Group chats, date polls, shared calendars and planning apps all solve part of the problem. Here is which to use when.
Tools compared
- A free Doodle alternative that nobody has to sign up for — Doodle works, until the paywall and the sign-up. Here is a free way to find a date your group can do, answerable from a link in the chat.
- A When2meet alternative for people who are not organising a rota — When2meet's grid is brilliant for finding an hour in a busy week and miserable on a phone. Here is the friendlier version.
- WhatsApp polls vs a proper date poll: when the built-in one is enough — A WhatsApp poll is the fastest way to ask a group a question, and the fastest way to lose the answer. Here is where the line is.
- The best group planning apps in 2026 (and what each one is actually for) — An honest round-up of the tools groups use to organise: date polls, chats, calendars, event pages and planning apps — including ours.
- How to use When2meet (and the bits that catch everyone out) — Making a When2meet, filling one in on a phone, editing your answer, and what it does about time zones — plus when a simpler poll is the better tool.
- How to make a Doodle poll, and how to make one people answer — Setting up a Doodle poll step by step, sharing it so people actually reply, and the free-plan limits worth knowing before you start.
- Is Doodle free? What you get without paying, and where the wall is — Doodle's free plan still makes and shares group polls. Adverts, reminders, branding and some controls are paid. Here is what that means in practice.
By occasion
- How to organise a birthday night out for a group — Sort a birthday night out without a 300-message chat: when to ask, how many venues, and what to do about the people who never reply.
- How to organise a Christmas do everyone can actually make — December fills up in October. Here is how to get the date agreed, the venue booked and the deposits paid without chasing anyone twice.
- How to organise a stag or hen weekend without losing your mind — The hardest group plan there is: big money, long lead times and a dozen people. Here is the order to do it in.
- How to organise leaving drinks at short notice — Leaving drinks are always short notice. Here is the fastest way to get a date, a venue and a decent turnout in under a week.
- How to organise a family get-together across households — Different households, different diaries, different group chats. Here is how to land a family date without twelve separate conversations.
- How to organise a weekend away with friends — Dates, budget, rooms and the deposit: the order to sort a weekend away in so it does not collapse in week three.
- How to organise a group dinner and get the booking right — Numbers, dietaries, deposits and the bill: how to book a table for eight without a week of back and forth.
- How to organise a festival with a group of friends — Ticket day, travel, camping and the group that shrinks by half. How to keep a festival plan together from sale day to gates.
By city
- Planning a night out in London with a group — Where groups go in London, how far ahead to book, and how to get everyone home — a practical guide to organising a night out.
- Planning a night out in Manchester with a group — Where groups go in Manchester, how far ahead to book, and how to get everyone home — a practical guide to organising a night out.
- Planning a night out in Birmingham with a group — Where groups go in Birmingham, how far ahead to book, and how to get everyone home — a practical guide to organising a night out.
- Planning a night out in Bristol with a group — Where groups go in Bristol, how far ahead to book, and how to get everyone home — a practical guide to organising a night out.
- Planning a night out in Leeds with a group — Where groups go in Leeds, how far ahead to book, and how to get everyone home — a practical guide to organising a night out.
- Planning a night out in Glasgow with a group — Where groups go in Glasgow, how far ahead to book, and how to get everyone home — a practical guide to organising a night out.
- Planning a night out in Edinburgh with a group — Where groups go in Edinburgh, how far ahead to book, and how to get everyone home — a practical guide to organising a night out.
- Planning a night out in Liverpool with a group — Where groups go in Liverpool, how far ahead to book, and how to get everyone home — a practical guide to organising a night out.
- Planning a night out in Newcastle with a group — Where groups go in Newcastle, how far ahead to book, and how to get everyone home — a practical guide to organising a night out.
- Planning a night out in Cardiff with a group — Where groups go in Cardiff, how far ahead to book, and how to get everyone home — a practical guide to organising a night out.