1 00:00:03,480 --> 00:00:09,440 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning, 2 00:00:10,640 --> 00:00:16,280 Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's 3 00:00:16,280 --> 00:00:21,720 Speaker 1: tip is to stop playing ping pong with plans. When 4 00:00:21,760 --> 00:00:25,120 Speaker 1: you are making plans with people, aim to figure out 5 00:00:25,160 --> 00:00:29,160 Speaker 1: what you are doing in the fewest number of messages possible. 6 00:00:30,400 --> 00:00:36,519 Speaker 1: Save your effort for interacting live rather than figuring out logistics. 7 00:00:38,280 --> 00:00:42,440 Speaker 1: In professional and personal contexts, it is easy to find 8 00:00:42,440 --> 00:00:47,440 Speaker 1: ourselves spending way too much time scheduling things. A colleague 9 00:00:47,440 --> 00:00:52,840 Speaker 1: sends a group email asking about availability next week. People 10 00:00:52,920 --> 00:00:58,400 Speaker 1: respond with paragraphs about their schedules, recounting vacations, dentist appointments, 11 00:00:58,400 --> 00:01:02,560 Speaker 1: big deadlines, and more hours or even days pass by 12 00:01:02,600 --> 00:01:06,360 Speaker 1: the time everyone has responded, and the organizer suggests a 13 00:01:06,440 --> 00:01:09,959 Speaker 1: time that seems to work, But by that time people's 14 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:15,240 Speaker 1: availability has changed and the process begins again. This happens 15 00:01:15,240 --> 00:01:19,880 Speaker 1: in our personal lives too. A friend suggests lunch your 16 00:01:19,959 --> 00:01:24,040 Speaker 1: game and ask when is good. She says any time, 17 00:01:24,840 --> 00:01:30,120 Speaker 1: so you suggest Tuesday at noon. Somehow any time doesn't 18 00:01:30,120 --> 00:01:33,840 Speaker 1: include Tuesday at noon, so eventually you land on Monday. 19 00:01:34,720 --> 00:01:37,920 Speaker 1: You start discussing where to go, and multiple messages later, 20 00:01:38,400 --> 00:01:41,280 Speaker 1: you've decided on a restaurant, only to realize it is 21 00:01:41,319 --> 00:01:46,319 Speaker 1: closed on Mondays, and so the ping pong continues. But 22 00:01:46,400 --> 00:01:49,800 Speaker 1: our planning procedures don't have to be quite so time consuming. 23 00:01:50,680 --> 00:01:55,360 Speaker 1: There are lots of ways to plan more efficiently. I 24 00:01:55,400 --> 00:01:59,440 Speaker 1: know some people use software like Calendly for scheduling meetings. 25 00:02:00,400 --> 00:02:02,960 Speaker 1: This can certainly be helpful if you need to schedule 26 00:02:03,040 --> 00:02:06,480 Speaker 1: a lot of one on one type calls and you 27 00:02:06,520 --> 00:02:10,080 Speaker 1: don't want to offer three people Monday morning and then 28 00:02:10,160 --> 00:02:13,600 Speaker 1: need to circle back with each of them as times disappear. 29 00:02:14,800 --> 00:02:17,480 Speaker 1: You also don't need to hear every one's life story 30 00:02:17,520 --> 00:02:21,240 Speaker 1: as you are scheduling them. Each person can just choose 31 00:02:21,240 --> 00:02:24,000 Speaker 1: a time that you've made available that works for them. 32 00:02:25,320 --> 00:02:28,120 Speaker 1: I know some folks also use doodle polls and the 33 00:02:28,120 --> 00:02:32,720 Speaker 1: equivalent for group get togethers. These have the advantage of 34 00:02:32,760 --> 00:02:35,919 Speaker 1: allowing you to quickly see which is the most popular option, 35 00:02:36,840 --> 00:02:39,880 Speaker 1: and allowing people to specify that they are available at 36 00:02:39,880 --> 00:02:43,800 Speaker 1: a certain point but not particularly happy about it. You 37 00:02:43,840 --> 00:02:47,880 Speaker 1: can meet if need be, but the organizer knows it 38 00:02:47,919 --> 00:02:51,080 Speaker 1: is not your first choice. I love that little tweak. 39 00:02:52,360 --> 00:02:56,080 Speaker 1: But these tools don't necessarily solve all the logistical problems, 40 00:02:56,080 --> 00:02:58,280 Speaker 1: such as where are your meeting or what you're doing 41 00:02:58,320 --> 00:03:01,920 Speaker 1: if those are relevant questions, and plenty of offices have 42 00:03:02,000 --> 00:03:06,240 Speaker 1: meetings go through their own scheduling software, which often suffers 43 00:03:06,280 --> 00:03:09,400 Speaker 1: from the problem of not really allowing people to state 44 00:03:09,440 --> 00:03:15,040 Speaker 1: their preferences, So before someone issues a calendar invite, they 45 00:03:15,040 --> 00:03:20,560 Speaker 1: are generally still emailing around about availability. This is definitely 46 00:03:20,560 --> 00:03:22,760 Speaker 1: going to be the case for someone you haven't met 47 00:03:22,800 --> 00:03:27,240 Speaker 1: with before, as an unsolicited calendar invite can feel a 48 00:03:27,240 --> 00:03:32,480 Speaker 1: little well aggressive, so if you are emailing, you should 49 00:03:32,480 --> 00:03:36,760 Speaker 1: have a strategy. One option is to suggest three options 50 00:03:37,400 --> 00:03:39,880 Speaker 1: and ask the other person to choose what sounds good 51 00:03:39,880 --> 00:03:44,120 Speaker 1: to them. For instance, if someone suggests lunch next week, 52 00:03:44,600 --> 00:03:48,440 Speaker 1: you could reply with, how about Monday eleven forty five 53 00:03:48,480 --> 00:03:52,680 Speaker 1: a m at the Bluebird Cafe, Chopped or India Palace. 54 00:03:53,800 --> 00:03:56,800 Speaker 1: That time might not work for the other person, but 55 00:03:56,960 --> 00:03:59,560 Speaker 1: he or she is likely to follow your lead on 56 00:03:59,600 --> 00:04:03,720 Speaker 1: specific and in the best case, is going to respond 57 00:04:03,760 --> 00:04:07,040 Speaker 1: with could you do Tuesday or Wednesday at that time 58 00:04:07,160 --> 00:04:11,240 Speaker 1: at any of those places? At that point you respond 59 00:04:11,240 --> 00:04:14,520 Speaker 1: with your favorite and your first choice of Tuesday or Wednesday, 60 00:04:15,160 --> 00:04:20,640 Speaker 1: and you're all good. The ping pong game stops if 61 00:04:20,680 --> 00:04:24,440 Speaker 1: proposing just one time feels wrong to you, feel free 62 00:04:24,520 --> 00:04:27,680 Speaker 1: to propose two to three times or small windows, but 63 00:04:27,720 --> 00:04:32,360 Speaker 1: no more. People get overwhelmed by too much choice. If 64 00:04:32,400 --> 00:04:34,720 Speaker 1: you know the other person has a bad habit of 65 00:04:34,960 --> 00:04:39,360 Speaker 1: not responding with specifics, feel free to add the helpful nudge. 66 00:04:39,920 --> 00:04:43,359 Speaker 1: If these times don't work for you, please suggest a 67 00:04:43,400 --> 00:04:48,359 Speaker 1: few that do. Ideally, this prompts the other person to 68 00:04:48,440 --> 00:04:52,000 Speaker 1: respond with two to three options that you can pick from. 69 00:04:53,720 --> 00:04:56,719 Speaker 1: If you are coordinating with more than one person and 70 00:04:56,760 --> 00:04:59,480 Speaker 1: you're not doing a poll, or you have multiple questions, 71 00:05:00,360 --> 00:05:04,200 Speaker 1: the approach of suggesting a few specific options can still work. 72 00:05:05,320 --> 00:05:08,880 Speaker 1: Ask people to reply by a specific time with all 73 00:05:08,920 --> 00:05:12,159 Speaker 1: the options that work for them. Then you can choose 74 00:05:12,200 --> 00:05:15,159 Speaker 1: the one that's the best fit and communicate the plan. 75 00:05:16,360 --> 00:05:19,440 Speaker 1: For instance, you might write by the end of the 76 00:05:19,560 --> 00:05:24,640 Speaker 1: day today, please reply just to me to let me 77 00:05:24,760 --> 00:05:28,000 Speaker 1: know whether you are available for a zoom meeting Monday 78 00:05:28,000 --> 00:05:33,320 Speaker 1: at ten, Tuesday at one, and or Thursday at nine. 79 00:05:33,360 --> 00:05:36,320 Speaker 1: Please let me know all the times that are possible 80 00:05:36,320 --> 00:05:39,160 Speaker 1: for you. Then I will see what works for everyone 81 00:05:39,800 --> 00:05:43,640 Speaker 1: and communicate the plan tomorrow morning. I have taken this 82 00:05:43,720 --> 00:05:47,359 Speaker 1: approach to scheduling a virtual meeting. I do regularly with 83 00:05:47,520 --> 00:05:52,040 Speaker 1: four other people who have busy schedules. Now, I know 84 00:05:52,120 --> 00:05:55,200 Speaker 1: some people like to come across as flexible, and if 85 00:05:55,240 --> 00:06:00,400 Speaker 1: you are truly open, that's great. But oftentimes so when 86 00:06:00,440 --> 00:06:04,800 Speaker 1: people claim to be flexible, they aren't. So be kind 87 00:06:05,279 --> 00:06:08,719 Speaker 1: and cut down on the ping pong by giving some parameters. 88 00:06:09,920 --> 00:06:12,480 Speaker 1: If a friend asks where you'd like to go to lunch, 89 00:06:13,160 --> 00:06:17,320 Speaker 1: you can say I'm game for anywhere you choose, But 90 00:06:17,440 --> 00:06:21,440 Speaker 1: then you truly have to let them choose, and it 91 00:06:21,560 --> 00:06:25,680 Speaker 1: might be a restaurant in their office lobby forty five 92 00:06:25,720 --> 00:06:29,400 Speaker 1: minutes from your place of work. If you have any 93 00:06:29,440 --> 00:06:33,960 Speaker 1: sort of place preference or dietaria requirements, it truly is 94 00:06:34,080 --> 00:06:37,960 Speaker 1: nicer to just list three places that will appeal and 95 00:06:38,040 --> 00:06:41,480 Speaker 1: are reasonably priced, I mean, unless you're paying for it. 96 00:06:42,440 --> 00:06:45,880 Speaker 1: If you tell someone how about an Italian place in midtown, 97 00:06:46,720 --> 00:06:51,159 Speaker 1: this requires them to do some research. If you suggest 98 00:06:51,200 --> 00:06:54,880 Speaker 1: an Italian place, you are giving them the easy option 99 00:06:55,520 --> 00:07:00,760 Speaker 1: of just saying yes. A similar roach can work for 100 00:07:00,880 --> 00:07:05,560 Speaker 1: professional meetings too. I am currently available anytime Monday morning. 101 00:07:06,200 --> 00:07:10,680 Speaker 1: Please propose a time. Then this works. No one is 102 00:07:10,720 --> 00:07:13,200 Speaker 1: going to believe that you are free for the entirety 103 00:07:13,240 --> 00:07:16,560 Speaker 1: of the next week, so don't say it. Plus, it's 104 00:07:16,600 --> 00:07:20,120 Speaker 1: a bit overwhelming for someone trying to schedule something. I mean, 105 00:07:20,200 --> 00:07:24,120 Speaker 1: really anywhere in the hours you might conceivably be working. 106 00:07:25,600 --> 00:07:29,080 Speaker 1: If someone gives you a range, feel free to be decisive. 107 00:07:29,920 --> 00:07:33,560 Speaker 1: It is more efficient for everyone. When a colleague says, 108 00:07:33,680 --> 00:07:36,200 Speaker 1: I am free for a zoom call anytime Wednesday or 109 00:07:36,240 --> 00:07:41,480 Speaker 1: Thursday after two, simply choose a time within that window. Great, 110 00:07:42,000 --> 00:07:45,760 Speaker 1: let's do Wednesday at two thirty. Here's a link. Now 111 00:07:45,760 --> 00:07:49,880 Speaker 1: your scheduling is done, no more ping pong. You may 112 00:07:49,920 --> 00:07:53,160 Speaker 1: think that being flexible is desirable, like, oh, yeah, Wednesday 113 00:07:53,200 --> 00:07:55,080 Speaker 1: after two works for me too. When would you like 114 00:07:55,160 --> 00:07:57,960 Speaker 1: to meet? But you are putting work back on the 115 00:07:58,000 --> 00:08:05,280 Speaker 1: other person and delaying the more ping pong. One side note, 116 00:08:05,640 --> 00:08:08,560 Speaker 1: if the person you are making plans with sometimes takes 117 00:08:08,600 --> 00:08:11,800 Speaker 1: a while to get back to you, specify that you 118 00:08:11,840 --> 00:08:15,960 Speaker 1: are currently available at the times you are offering. That way, 119 00:08:16,000 --> 00:08:20,000 Speaker 1: they won't be disappointed if several days later your availability 120 00:08:20,000 --> 00:08:23,720 Speaker 1: has changed. Of course, if we are talking about meeting 121 00:08:23,760 --> 00:08:26,520 Speaker 1: with a new potential client that you have been pursuing 122 00:08:26,520 --> 00:08:29,880 Speaker 1: for months, you may want to put calendar holds on 123 00:08:30,160 --> 00:08:33,040 Speaker 1: all the times you offer so that you know your 124 00:08:33,080 --> 00:08:36,120 Speaker 1: schedule won't have changed by the time of the reply. 125 00:08:37,720 --> 00:08:42,960 Speaker 1: By communicating clearly and acting decisively, we can avoid sinking 126 00:08:43,040 --> 00:08:46,920 Speaker 1: lots of time into plan ping pong, so we can 127 00:08:46,960 --> 00:08:50,480 Speaker 1: get on with our lives and enjoy the plans that 128 00:08:50,520 --> 00:08:56,040 Speaker 1: we have made in the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks 129 00:08:56,080 --> 00:09:07,439 Speaker 1: for listening, and here's to making the most of our tame. Hey, everybody, 130 00:09:07,640 --> 00:09:09,760 Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me 131 00:09:09,760 --> 00:09:13,440 Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with 132 00:09:13,440 --> 00:09:17,880 Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod. 133 00:09:18,520 --> 00:09:23,800 Speaker 1: That's b E the number four then Breakfast pod. You 134 00:09:23,840 --> 00:09:27,239 Speaker 1: can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast 135 00:09:27,360 --> 00:09:30,719 Speaker 1: at iHeartMedia dot com that before Breakfast is spelled out 136 00:09:30,760 --> 00:09:33,160 Speaker 1: with all the letters. Thanks so much. Should I look 137 00:09:33,240 --> 00:09:41,520 Speaker 1: forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production 138 00:09:41,600 --> 00:09:46,959 Speaker 1: of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, 139 00:09:47,280 --> 00:09:55,120 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.