Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.
Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is that if you are scheduling an event, think
Speaker 1: about what is happening in the broader world at the
Speaker 1: time you are scheduling. At four we never schedule in
Speaker 1: a vacuum, so even if the time seems fine to you,
Speaker 1: make sure that there isn't something else going on that
Speaker 1: you should know about. So I am guessing we have
Speaker 1: all had meetings scheduled for shockingly bad times. Think early
Speaker 1: morning after the super Bowl or a close presidential election,
Speaker 1: or some other night when people were likely to have
Speaker 1: been up too late. Or maybe it is four thirty
Speaker 1: pm on Halloween or New Year's Eve or frankly, any Friday.
Speaker 1: Then there are the awkwardly scheduled social events, like a
Speaker 1: book club brunch on Mother's Day or a wedding the
Speaker 1: day after Thanksgiving. When you are scheduling for a group,
Speaker 1: it is always possible that a given time won't work
Speaker 1: for everyone. But if you think about the broader context
Speaker 1: when you are scheduling and put yourself in your attendee's shoes,
Speaker 1: you will be more likely to find a time that
Speaker 1: will be workable and not irritating for more people. So
Speaker 1: how exactly do you know if something will be a
Speaker 1: bad time for starters? Even if you don't watch TV
Speaker 1: or participate in major cultural events, if something is big
Speaker 1: enough that you have heard of it, then maybe just
Speaker 1: be weary of the morning after. I agree that maybe
Speaker 1: people shouldn't be up until midnight watching the super Bowl,
Speaker 1: but if they are going to be unproductive at your
Speaker 1: seventh thirty meeting that Monday, you still need to deal
Speaker 1: with that reality. You also don't want to schedule much
Speaker 1: for the day after a big holiday like Thanksgiving or Christmas,
Speaker 1: since a lot of people will be hoping to take
Speaker 1: those days off even if your office is open, or
Speaker 1: the day after extended school vacations. If you work with
Speaker 1: a lot of parents, some people may end up being
Speaker 1: unexpectedly absent because of flight delays. Other people may have
Speaker 1: been up late traveling home and getting unpacked, and no
Speaker 1: one is likely to have done much prep for the meeting.
Speaker 1: Much better to let people have a day in the
Speaker 1: office before you schedule something that truly matters. You don't
Speaker 1: want to schedule for the day before big holidays either.
Speaker 1: Some people may be out of the office already, and
Speaker 1: other people may be on vacation mentally, even if they
Speaker 1: are there physically. What's more, a meeting the last day
Speaker 1: in the office will probably mean that people don't do
Speaker 1: any need follow up immediately after the meeting. You may
Speaker 1: also want to be aware of dates that are weighty
Speaker 1: for some people, even if they are not particularly important
Speaker 1: for you. So don't schedule a work dinner on Valentine's
Speaker 1: Day even if you don't care about it. Your colleagues
Speaker 1: and their partners may care about the day. Now. I
Speaker 1: totally understand that the day can creep up on you
Speaker 1: if you happen to be single, or if you and
Speaker 1: your partner have a compact to avoid manufactured and overly
Speaker 1: commercial holidays, but it's just highly likely to be a
Speaker 1: problem for someone else. We probably don't love our colleagues
Speaker 1: that much, so be aware. Make sure your calendar has
Speaker 1: major holidays on it, and if you don't have kids,
Speaker 1: ask about the local school schedules so you have some
Speaker 1: idea of when every parent in your office is going
Speaker 1: to want to take off. Basically, when you are scheduling gathering,
Speaker 1: whether professional or social, you want to think through whether
Speaker 1: people are likely to be available, both physically and mentally.
Speaker 1: Put yourself in other people's future shoes and in your
Speaker 1: own future self shoes, and imagine what it would be
Speaker 1: like to attend the gathering at a given day and time.
Speaker 1: That way, you can schedule for a time when people
Speaker 1: will be able to do the gathering justice. In the meantime,
Speaker 1: this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making
Speaker 1: the most of our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast.
Speaker 1: If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach
Speaker 1: me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia,
Speaker 1: please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you
Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.