Today I thought I might talk about RE-scheduling...that's right I am going to completely skip the most excellent subject of scheduling meetings (which account for probably about 50% of the work I do) and talk about re-scheduling.


When you work in an office you pretty much HAVE to be somewhat flexible. Shit comes up all the damn time and stuff has to move. I just got asked to push my lunch plans to 12:30 and I said...of course "no problem". I imagine she needed to push it because someone just changed her 11am meeting to 11:30 because someone in that meeting had someone show up a half hour late to their 10am meeting. It's a vicious chain reaction and I feel like writing another list of stuff to remember/do in regards to office meetings:

• For the love of your admin please pretty please dont ask her to schedule a meeting if you aren't sure it's needed or if you can delegate this meeting to someone else. This will cut down on the chances of having to reschedule.
• If you are not feeling well- try to power through the meeting or make it a phone call. Rescheduling only means more meetings will have to be rescheduled to fit this one in on another day.
• Think about whether the meeting is necessary - can this group collaborate via email and messenger?
• Have an agenda ready and send ti out before the meeting. This way everyone knows what the meeting is about, what is being discussed and if they cant make it to the whole thing, they can show up to the parts most relevant to them. Everyone wins! And again, less likely to be rescheduled.
• If someone doesn't show up or is late- try to go ahead without them.

Rescheduling meetings is a domino effect time suck...I do way more rescheduling than I do scheduling and its a pain in the ass. If you find that you are the one asking to reschedule a meeting often...be prepared for some backlash. People start to feel like their time is less valuable than yours and will resent you for it and become less productive and respectful of what you are trying to accomplish. Also, be honest about why you want to reschedule...chances are pretty good the other participants will better understand and be willing to work with you on a new time if they get where you're coming from.

Watch out for personal life pitfalls! If you are single and don't have someone who can run your car to get new tires while you work...hire someone to do it for you or pay a little more for a service that comes to you. Don't take half a day off unexpectedly to deal with car maintenance...especially if you're making hundreds of thousands of dollars and can afford to not have to do it yourself.