From the course: Time Management Tips

Efficiently setting appointments with others

From the course: Time Management Tips

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Efficiently setting appointments with others

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- What's it like for you when you try to schedule an appointment with someone else? Are you experiencing a lot of the drain in productivity that happens when you do that? You go back and forth. Does this time work for you, does this time work for you? You can exchange five, maybe 10 emails just to get to the point of actually having an appointment. I'd like to share with you a few tips that you can use to reduce some of this back and forth switching that's taking place. First, embrace the principle of no tentative appointments. Occasionally people will say something like, "I'll pencil you in to my schedule." What does that mean? It means that I'm not committed to the point where I'm willing to put it down in pen. When someone says that to my assistant, she always responds with, "what is the time you know "you can commit to?" Make sure that you are making solid commitments when you make appointments, and request the same from other people. Second, is never double schedule yourself. Sometimes people will schedule multiple appointments or the idea that they're going to work on another project just in case an appointment falls through. No, if you're going to make a commitment, schedule one thing at a time and never overlap. Which leads to number three, build buffer space around the appointments in your schedule. You want to have time to relax, to contemplate about what you just discussed, to take notes, to just take care of the basic needs of life and you want to avoid having appointments that are back to back with no room to breathe. Number four, consider using an online tool for scheduling. This is something that facilitates the back and forth conversation and shows all of the options you have available in your calendar so that someone can compare it to their calendar. There are lots of great tools that you can use, just do a search for "tool for scheduling." Number five, if you can, I recommend getting the help of an assistant. Now, for some people this may be out of your budget, however, there are many affordable ways to do this by using freelancers. You can look for people who act as virtual assistants to many other people, and it's a very affordable option without breaking the bank. And finally, when you schedule appointments, send reminders at least a day in advance. This little thing can make a big difference because honestly most people around you are struggling with their time management. If you can be the person on top of things, sending these reminders a day in advance, you'll be able to help them avoid many of the miscommunications that happen when it comes to scheduling appointments. By using some of these tips, hopefully it will help you respect both your calender and the calendar of others.

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