4 Reasons You Should Schedule Meetings When It's Good For You
While it may seem that meeting people on your time is selfish or even unloving, meeting people when it is best for you (when you can control it) is actually the best and most loving thing to do.
In this post, I share four reasons why that's the case.
1. It's the best use of your time
As a person, it can seem selfish to try and set up meetings when it is best for you. As a leader, it can be unwise not to. This isn't about doing things that are best for you, it's about doing things that are best for your organization.
For me personally, I know when I am most productive, creative, and efficient. This is why I never schedule any meetings in the morning. As a pastor, one of the most impactful things I do is preach. Therefore, I spend varying amounts of time on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday morning working on sermons.
I can also write a blog post in almost half the time in the morning then I can in the afternoon. I'm better at strategizing in the morning. Therefore, it is better for New City Church that I don't meet with people in the morning.
Of course, there are exceptions, but those are exceptions. Because I want to be the best pastor and leader that I can be, I schedule meetings at times that don't interfere with me doing my most important work when I am at my best.
2. It makes it a lot easier to find a time that works
We have all, in an effort to find a time that works best for someone we are meeting, offered to meet whenever it works best for them.
The only problem is, we don't know each other's schedules. And so what could be a quick resolution on a good time to meet becomes a back and forth as suggestions are offered that doesn't work for one or both parties.
Instead, offering three to four times to meet on the front end saves a lot of time and makes it much more likely for the meeting to take place.
I've even seen this work with my leadership podcast. I often reach out to people who are busier than I asking if they would be willing to be on the podcast. In that invitation, I also include a few times that I would be available to record the interview (with the caveat that I can be very flexible if a different time works better).
Almost always, my guests pick one of the times that I initially offered. Instead of having trying to pick a time out of the blue and having to respond asking if the other time would work, they instead already have an idea of when I am available, and it's much easier to make a decision when we have fewer options.
3. People will respect your time
It's not that your time is more important than someone else's, but when people know the purpose of the meeting as well as the time of the meeting, it's much more likely everyone will find the meeting more beneficial.
As a leader, your time matters. That isn't to say you shouldn't take extra time to help, meet, or support others, but you can't do that with everyone. Especially in ministry, some may assume that pastors don't do much else during the week than write a sermon. That is far from the case, but if you aren't familiar with vocational ministry, I can understand the thought that maybe pastors don't have much else going on.
And so, being upfront about my availability shows people I actually don't have all the time in the world!
4. It's easier to schedule your time
Lastly, if you already know the times and days that work best for you to meet with people, it makes it much easier to plan your schedule.
For example, currently, I have Wednesday and Thursday from lunch through the rest of the afternoon as the times when I know, regardless of the week, will work best for me. This means I'm not having to plan the rest of my schedule around when someone may or may not need me, but instead already know when I can meet when someone does need me.
Again, there are exceptions to this. In cases of emergency, or when those times really won't work for someone, or when I am meeting with someone for my benefit, I will be much more open to meeting at other times. But generally speaking, knowing when I am and am not available makes it easier to say "no" when someone initially asks to meet at a time that doesn't work for me and to provide alternative times right away.
It won't always work
Again, there are exceptions to meeting people when it is best for you. In the case of emergencies, if your boss or employer or mentor sets a meeting for you, or when you are meeting with someone for your own benefit.
That being said, even if you don't have as much control over your schedule as you would like, the key is to plan and organize that which you can control. Don't let the fact that you can't do everything the way you would like to prohibit you from doing what you can.