Principles of Scheduling
Principles of Scheduling
What gets scheduled usually gets done.
What gets postponed usually gets abandoned.
Here are six suggestions to consider when scheduling appointments and activities.
- Set deadlines for all appointments and meetings. If you call an open-ended meeting, how will you (or anyone else) know when it will conclude?
- Make appointments back to back. It’s easier to stick to a deadline when another person is waiting.
- Schedule a definite period to work on a task for yourself. Making an appointment with yourself will guarantee that you will progress on your projects.
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It is always a good idea to schedule tasks for completion before the deadline. This allows for any unseen problems or emergencies.
- When you schedule time for a task, please always allow more time than you think it will take. This will allow you to accommodate interruptions that invariably occur when engrossed in a task.
- Schedule your goal-related activities and appointments directly into your planner. This will help you stay focused on your goals.
Follow these “Principles of Scheduling” to help you become more efficient and help you stay on task.
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Janet Schiesl
Janet has been organizing since 2005. She is a Certified Professional Organizer and the owner of Basic Organization.
She loves using her background as a space planner to challenge her clients to look at their space differently. She leads the team in large projects and works one-on-one with clients to help the process move quickly and comfortably. Call her crazy, but she loves to work with paper, to purge what is not needed and to create filing systems that work for each individual client.
Janet is a Past Board Member of the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals and a Past President of the Washington DC Chapter of NAPO were she has been named Organizer of the Year and Volunteer of the Year.
Janet Schiesl
Janet has been organizing since 2005. She is a Certified Professional Organizer and the owner of Basic Organization.
She loves using her background as a space planner to challenge her clients to look at their space differently. She leads the team in large projects and works one-on-one with clients to help the process move quickly and comfortably. Call her crazy, but she loves to work with paper, to purge what is not needed and to create filing systems that work for each individual client.
Janet is a Past Board Member of the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals and a Past President of the Washington DC Chapter of NAPO were she has been named Organizer of the Year and Volunteer of the Year.
I rarely schedule back-to-back appointments because I don’t like to feel rushed, and never thought that it might be hindering my productivity. Thanks for the pointer!
Thanks Janet.
Scheduling is an important element in getting anything and everything done from appointments to regular household tasks. If they aren’t scheduled with a day and time they most likely will not happen.
I’m the same way. I put everything on my calendar to keep myself.
Great tips thank you! Being on time is so important and just plain respectful! my husband and myself always tell our kids “if your on time your late” so scheduling appropriately is very important!
Thanks Florena. It’s important to know who long it will take you to travel to and from appointments and add that time into your planning.
I’m like Janet B. Instead of scheduling appointments back-to-back, I create some white space in between. I don’t like to rush, and it gives me time to think about and follow up on the first appointment, prepare for the next, and have time to breathe, grab a snack, or get some fresh air. It also makes my day feel more spacious and less frenetic.
However, I also understand that the back-to-back scheduling could work for some. People have different styles and preferences.
I agree that people have different styles. I like to bunch appointments together with just enough time to travel between. It doesn’t always work out that way and that’s OK too. I always have some work I can do with me and I love visiting a close by library to get that work done.
These are all great tips for time management. Back-to-back meetings is a good idea, as long as you have time for a walk about and bathroom break in between. It does ensure you wrap up on time!
I do appreciate whenever I have a meeting if people list both a start AND stop time. I need to know, right?
I saw a joke about how to shorten business meetings: it was a comic illustration of everyone down in a plan with their computers open in front of them LOL!
I talked to people all the time that are living with back-to-back Zoom meetings all day. How do they get any work done?
Great tips.
I’m iffy on scheduling meetings or tasks back to back if there’s any chance I will want the extra time to conclude what I’m doing, but as long as there’s time for a bio break and brain refresh, I do like grouping tasks or meetings so that you keep that mojo going.
One more tip for scheduling that I’ve found works really well when you’re setting up time to meet or talk with someone else. I schedule the start times on the quarter-hour. If someone knows that the appointment is for 2:15 p.m., they recognize they’re dealing with someone who cares about precision and they’re less likely to try to squeeze in “just one more thing” and then get distracted and forget to show up.
Additionally, even if you don’t know for sure when a meeting will conclude, it’s good to ask (or to tell) based on prior experience. I have REALLY long client consultations to make sure that we’re all on the same page. I don’t want someone to call and think we’ll talk for ten minutes and schedule an appointment. So, I like to convey as much information about a meeting up front, via email, and schedule the phone conversation. I tell people how long most calls take, but schedule buffer time and encourage them to do the same.
Whether you’re scheduling for yourself (to complete tasks) or for when you’re meeting with others, the kinds of reality checks you provide are really essential.
Thanks for the tip about scheduling a meeting on the quarter hour. I never thought of that. I can see where that would work.