WEBVTT - Don't play ping pong with plans

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is to stop playing ping pong with plans. When

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<v Speaker 1>you are making plans with people, aim to figure out

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<v Speaker 1>what you are doing in the fewest number of messages possible.

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<v Speaker 1>Save your effort for interacting live rather than figuring out logistics.

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<v Speaker 1>In professional and personal contexts, it is easy to find

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<v Speaker 1>ourselves spending way too much time scheduling things. A colleague

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<v Speaker 1>sends a group email asking about availability next week. People

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<v Speaker 1>respond with paragraphs about their schedules, recounting vacations, dentist appointments,

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<v Speaker 1>big deadlines, and more hours or even days pass by

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<v Speaker 1>the time every one has responded, and the organizer suggests

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<v Speaker 1>the time that seems to work, But by that time

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<v Speaker 1>people's availability has changed and the process begins again. This

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<v Speaker 1>happens in our personal lives too. A friend suggests lunch

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<v Speaker 1>your game and ask when is good. She says any time,

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<v Speaker 1>so you suggest Tuesday at noon. Somehow any time doesn't

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<v Speaker 1>include Tuesday at noon, so eventually you land on Monday.

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<v Speaker 1>You start discussing where to go, and multiple messages later,

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<v Speaker 1>you've decided on a restaurant, only to realize it is

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<v Speaker 1>closed on Mondays, and so the ping pong continues. But

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<v Speaker 1>our planning procedures don't have to be quite so time consuming.

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<v Speaker 1>There are lots of ways to plan more efficiently. I

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<v Speaker 1>know some people use software like Calendly for scheduling meetings.

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<v Speaker 1>This can certainly be helpful if you need to schedule

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of one on one type calls, and you

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<v Speaker 1>don't want to offer three people Monday morning and then

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<v Speaker 1>need to circle back with each of them as times disappear.

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<v Speaker 1>You also don't need to hear every one's life story

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<v Speaker 1>as you are scheduling them. Each person can just choose

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<v Speaker 1>a time that you've made available that works for them.

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<v Speaker 1>I know some folks also use doodle polls and the

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<v Speaker 1>equivalent for group get togethers. These have the advantage of

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<v Speaker 1>allowing you to quickly see which is the most popular option,

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<v Speaker 1>and allowing people to specify that they are available at

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<v Speaker 1>a certain point but not particularly happy about it. You

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<v Speaker 1>can meet if need be, but the organizer knows it

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<v Speaker 1>is not your first choice. I love that little tweak.

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<v Speaker 1>But these tools don't necessarily solve all the logistical problems

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<v Speaker 1>such as where are your meeting or what you're doing

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<v Speaker 1>if those are relevant questions, and plenty of offices have

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<v Speaker 1>meetings go through their own scheduling software, which often suffers

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<v Speaker 1>from the problem of not really allowing people to state

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<v Speaker 1>their preferences, So before someone issues a calendar invite, they

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<v Speaker 1>are generally still emailing around about availability. This is definitely

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<v Speaker 1>going to be the case for someone you haven't met

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<v Speaker 1>with before, as an unsolicited calendar invite can feel a

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<v Speaker 1>little well aggressive, so if you are emailing, you should

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<v Speaker 1>have a strategy. One option is to suggest three options

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<v Speaker 1>and ask the other person to choose what sounds good

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<v Speaker 1>to them. For instance, if someone suggests lunch next week,

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<v Speaker 1>you could reply with, how about Monday eleven forty five

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<v Speaker 1>a m at the Bluebird Cafe, Chopped or India Palace.

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<v Speaker 1>That time might not work for the other person, but

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<v Speaker 1>he or she is likely to follow your lead on

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<v Speaker 1>specific and in the best case, is going to respond

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<v Speaker 1>with could you do Tuesday or Wednesday at that time

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<v Speaker 1>at any of those places? At that point you respond

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<v Speaker 1>with your favorite and your first choice of Tuesday or Wednesday,

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<v Speaker 1>and you're all good. The ping pong game stops if

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<v Speaker 1>proposing just one time feels wrong to you, feel free

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<v Speaker 1>to propose two to three times or small windows, but

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<v Speaker 1>no more. People get overwhelmed by too much choice. If

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<v Speaker 1>you know the other person has a bad habit of

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<v Speaker 1>not responding with specifics, feel free to add the helpful nudge.

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<v Speaker 1>If these times don't work for you, please suggest a

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<v Speaker 1>few that do. Ideally, this prompts the other person to

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<v Speaker 1>respond with two to three options that you can pick from.

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<v Speaker 1>If you are coordinating with more than one person and

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<v Speaker 1>you're not doing a poll, or you have multiple questions,

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<v Speaker 1>the approach of suggesting a few specific options can still work.

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<v Speaker 1>Ask people to reply by a specific time with all

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<v Speaker 1>the options that work for them. Then you can choose

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<v Speaker 1>the one that's the best fit and communicate the plan.

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<v Speaker 1>For instance, you might write by the end of the

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<v Speaker 1>day today, please reply just to me to let me

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<v Speaker 1>know whether you are available for a zoom meeting Monday

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<v Speaker 1>at ten, Tuesday at one, and or Thursday at nine.

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<v Speaker 1>Please let me know all the times that are possible

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<v Speaker 1>for you. Then I will see what works for everyone

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<v Speaker 1>and communicate the plan tomorrow morning. I have taken this

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<v Speaker 1>approach to scheduling a virtual meeting. I do regularly with

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<v Speaker 1>four other people who have busy schedules. Now, I know

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<v Speaker 1>some people like to come across as flexible, and if

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<v Speaker 1>you are truly open, that's great. But oftentimes so when

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<v Speaker 1>people claim to be flexible, they aren't. So be kind

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<v Speaker 1>and cut down on the ping pong by giving some parameters.

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<v Speaker 1>If a friend asks where you'd like to go to lunch,

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<v Speaker 1>you can say I'm game for anywhere you choose, But

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<v Speaker 1>then you truly have to let them choose, and it

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<v Speaker 1>might be a restaurant in their office lobby forty five

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<v Speaker 1>minutes from your place of work. If you have any

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<v Speaker 1>sort of place preference or dietaria requirements, it truly is

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<v Speaker 1>nicer to just list three places that will appeal and

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<v Speaker 1>are reasonably priced, I mean, unless you're paying for it.

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<v Speaker 1>If you tell someone how about an Italian place in midtown,

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<v Speaker 1>this requires them to do some research. If you suggest

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<v Speaker 1>an Italian place, you are giving them the easy option

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<v Speaker 1>of just saying yes. A similar aproach can work for

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<v Speaker 1>professional meetings too. I am currently available anytime Monday morning.

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<v Speaker 1>Please propose a time. Then this works. No one is

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<v Speaker 1>going to believe that you are free for the entirety

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<v Speaker 1>of the next week, so don't say it. Plus, it's

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<v Speaker 1>a bit overwhelming for someone trying to schedule something. I mean, really,

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<v Speaker 1>anywhere in the hours you might conceivably be working. If

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<v Speaker 1>someone gives you a range, feel free to be decisive.

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<v Speaker 1>It is more efficient for everyone. When a colleague says,

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<v Speaker 1>I am free for a zoom call anytime Wednesday or

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<v Speaker 1>Thursday after two, simply choose a time within that window. Great,

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<v Speaker 1>let's do Wednesday at two thirty. Here's a link. Now

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<v Speaker 1>your scheduling is done, no more ping pong. You may

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<v Speaker 1>think that being flexible is desirable, like, oh, yeah, Wednesday

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<v Speaker 1>after two works for me too. When would you like

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<v Speaker 1>to meet? But you are putting work back on the

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<v Speaker 1>other person and delaying the resolution. More ping pong. One

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<v Speaker 1>side note, if the person you are making plans with

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<v Speaker 1>sometimes takes a while to get back to you, specify

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<v Speaker 1>that you are currently available at the times you are offering.

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<v Speaker 1>That way, they won't be disappointed if several days later

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<v Speaker 1>your availability has changed. Of course, if we are talking

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<v Speaker 1>about meeting with a new potential client that you have

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<v Speaker 1>been pursuing for months, you may want to put calendar

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<v Speaker 1>holds on all the times you offer so that you

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<v Speaker 1>know your schedule won't have changed by the time of

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<v Speaker 1>the reply. By communicating clearly and acting decisively, we can

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<v Speaker 1>avoid sinking lots of time into plan ping pong, so

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<v Speaker 1>we can get on with our lives and enjoy the

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<v Speaker 1>plans that we have made in the meantime. This is Laura.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of

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<v Speaker 1>our tak Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.

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<v Speaker 1>You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast Pod. That's b E the number four then

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast Podcasts at iHeartMedia dot com. That before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>Should I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast

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