From the course: Time Management Tips

Help others keep appointments with you

From the course: Time Management Tips

Start my 1-month free trial

Help others keep appointments with you

“

- If you've learned how to be in control of your time, it's likely you're going to run into a problem interacting with people around you who are not yet in control of their time. And, if they're not in control, odds are they are going to miss, forget, or show up late for appointments that they have with you. How can you reduce instances of this occurring and help the other person without appearing to be a nuisance? First, imagine yourself in their situation. Think about what it must be like for them to be behind, to miss appointments, to have too many demands on their attention at once. Not only will having this empathy help you make the right choices about how to help them, but it will also change your mindset. Now, with that mindset, what would that person need from you or want from you? First, make sure that you're sending them appointments that appear on their schedule. With whatever calendar app you have, whenever you schedule an appointment with them, send them an invitation. This won't guarantee they're going to put it on their schedule, but it increases the likelihood. Next, send them some sort of reminder. I'm blessed to have an amazing assistant, and she sends a reminder out to every one of my appointments for the next day. She sends those same reminders to me as well. You can do the same. And if you're not comfortable with a direct reminder that says, "Here's our appointment tomorrow at this time," perhaps you could send something friendly like, "Hey, looking forward to getting together "with you tomorrow for lunch at 11:45." If you get in the habit of sending reminders to all of your appointments, people won't feel that they're being singled out. They'll just realize, hey, that's how you operate. Now, what if the appointment is more than just an appointment? What if it's about getting together for a project that you're working on and you want the other person to make sure they're prepared? You may want to send them a follow-up reminder a few days in advance that also says, "Hey, looking forward to getting this project "or this report from you during our meeting." Be consistent and be friendly in your reminders. Odds are, people will view you as a helpful resource and as someone who can be depended upon to show up every time.

Contents