Purposely But Unfashionably Appointment Conscious

Purposely But Unfashionably Appointment Conscious

Monday, March 19, 2012

A great deal of the people I know are terrible with appointments, and what may be worse is that they actively know they are terrible. There's plenty of reasons as to why they are late. They might have accidentally double-booked. They might have been unexpectedly held up at the previous location. They might have lost track of time. They may have had an issue with transportation. The list could go on but, when you get right down to it; these are all excuses. In an attempt to make everyone a wee bit better at managing their schedule, we'll explain how to do a better job preparing so when the future becomes the present, no one will be disappointed.

The first thing to understand is that you should expect people to fail. This might sound sinister but think of the outcomes here. A person could either cancel, be late or otherwise not show to the appointment which would be disappointing or the person could show up, maybe even early and happily surprise you. If you expect less and then actually get it, you are prepared. If you expect less and get more, you are happily surprised. This keeps your emotions on top. In a work environment this isn't as practical however, it does require you to be prepared in the event failure occurs.

Another important item to remember is to schedule your appointment in a place that coincides with other appointments. Typically this just means to write the appointment in a calendar but it does not mean to write on a piece of scrap paper that you'll never see again until Spring Cleaning. If you don't have your calendar handy at the time of the request for the appointment, then just say "I have to check my schedule" and then ask them to remind you about it later. Cell phones make calendars easy and have the ability to synchronize with desktop versions so you can tell immediately if the appointment can be made.

Another piece of the puzzle is to prioritize not procrastinate. This is hard for everyone but just think of what you have to do and how you could move things around in one part of life that could better your interaction within another part of life. For example. your laundry is starting to pile but you could go a few more days without washing. You are off from work Thursday and if you don't do laundry then, the next time you could do it would be Saturday. You should get the laundry done on Thursday so that the weekend is free for social events. Another example is if you have a report due at the end of the week but know customer interactions are lower in the beginning of the week than the end. You should attempt to complete the report in the beginning of the week so that you may be available for more customers at the end.

The next important thing is to communicate. We are in the age of digital messaging and it has become a common practice to never leave home without a cell phone. Before the appointment, you should confirm that the time and date are still appropriate. Some people may accidentally double-book or even forget and this helps to remind the other person and stop a potential waste of time. When it comes time to leave for the appointment, let the person know how the trip to the appointment is coming along. Let them know when you actually leave (not that you are leaving in 5 minutes) and let them know of problems you encounter along the way. If you get to your destination, let the person know you are there.

Another issue is estimating the amount of time it will take to arrive and the best way to handle this is easy; leave early. Think about if there was no traffic, trains were running on schedule and no elevator problems in the place you are trying to arrive at; how long would it take you? As a rule of thumb, divide that time in half an add it to the travel time. So, if a trip generally takes 30 minutes, add 15 minutes to the travel time. Personally, I add even more time because I am a firm believer of Murphy's Law.

One of the elements that people don't like about being early or on-time is that they will be bored once they get to the location. There are two ways of counteracting boredom while you wait; bring something to do or find something to do. Again, cell phones do a great job of distracting people from the time. You could also bring a book, walk around or strike up a conversation with someone who is as punctual as you are. Being early to work has some better advantages, such as getting work done without usual interference.

One the last things is to have rules. For instance, if a person is over half an hour late without contact then I assume the appointment was canceled. If the person communicates that they will be late, I ask for an estimated time of arrival and wait a half hour after the estimated time. Again, communication becomes an important factor to keep positive relationships. If you are late, take responsibility.

What's the point of getting to the appointment on-time? Dependability and responsibility and both are held high in terms of quality of life standards. To be on-time is to be a better person.