Coordinating Meetings And Scheduling Etiquette
Hello WSH from the office of defective persons!
I used the plural, but there’s really only one person in the firm’s office of defective persons. Me. The list of defects, missing parts, and poor performance is ridiculous. My wife made a claim, but my parents rejected it asserting that I’m out of warranty. In fact, after 54 years, I’m really out of warranty. The Miami Dade Bar Association was smart enough to throw me into the dumpster, but for some reason you all have kept me around.
In an effort to be somewhat useful, this tip is inspired by an attempt to coordinate my schedule while my long suffering assistant is enjoying some time off. Or maybe it’s me who suffers and I’m enjoying her time off? I don’t know. Anyway, usually someone asks me when I’m available for something and I ignore it or forget I was even asked. I am spoiled and have an expectation that my people will just handle it. Except—I keep forgetting that I don’t have people.
What to do? If you want to schedule something internally, then you can see when someone is available using Outlook. It works like this:
- Select a
date and time for a meeting in your schedule and create a new appointment.
- When you
open up the appointment, choose the Scheduling Assistant
- Enter the
names of your attendees. Once they
are identified by the system, you should see their schedule. Here’s what Sonja’s schedule looks like
to me (I’m picking on Sonja because [1] I can; and [2] she’s the COO,
making her an easy target):
- Pick an open
time and send the request.
- The invitee
should accept your request if it works, or they can propose a new time.
NOW…for those of you who receive these requests, there is etiquette you need to observe. First, if you’re available, take the damn meeting! Things need to get done and the fact that you’d rather be doing your dog’s manicure is not an excuse to hold everyone else up. It is safe to assume that no one is going to invite you to a meeting you are not needed at. You’re either an attorney or you work with them. You’re not that much fun to be around.
Also, don’t just reject an inconvenient time because you don’t like it or haven’t bothered to keep your calendar current. In the list of possible responses is the ability to propose a new time. So…propose a new time! Make life easier for those trying to herd the cats around here. Seriously, it takes less than five seconds, which is a LOT less time than responding to the multiple email chaos we usually engage in.
It doesn’t work for opposing attorneys, so you’ll just have to deal with them as always. I’ll put a motion to compel form in the U: drive. But make your life a little easier internally and use the tools you have been given.
Want to try other ways to coordinate calendars? Here are some ideas:
https://zapier.com/blog/best-meeting-scheduler-apps/
Good luck!
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