Schedules: Order vs. Chaos

When it comes to scheduling, I am one for order and clarity. If a phone call has to happen and there have been several back and forth voice mails, I ask to schedule a call. Regular family outings? Scheduled. Date night? Scheduled. A lunch meeting with a friend? “What do you have open next week or the week after? Lets get it scheduled.”

Outlook is my friend. Outloook is my friend. Outlook is my friend. I keep telling myself that.

Over the years I have encountered a number of anti-schedulers. I like to call them ChaosCreators. I totally get living for the moment, seize the day, be spontaneous, and all that. I dig it. Really I do.

But not when a friend calls me at 9PM and needs me to lend a hand the next day for a couple hours first thing. That’s not “seize the day.” That’s called “nuke my day.”

I recently had a client come to town and was trying to set up meetings with several local people so I could connect them to my client on a few ideas we are working. Most of the meetings got set up easily enough, 2-4 weeks out- no problem. One ChaosCreator that I REALLY wanted to connect with didn’t get back to me for 2 weeks despite several emails and phone calls. He emailed me the night before the meeting day (I had already filled up the whole day with 7 meetings leaving just enough time to get them back to the airport for their late flight back to LA) and informed me that he was sorry he hadn’t got back to me, he had been really busy, and great news- he has lunch open the next day.

I just don’t get it. Maybe I’m the crazy one. Should I eschew all calendar bookings more than 24 hours out? Is that how I keep my world free of commitment and tethers so I can be spontaneous? Just seems crazy to me.






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