Don’t Miss Another Appointment!
Planner-part 4
You know that sinking feeling when you realize you missed another meeting. . . . . Yes, I know it too and I do NOT like it! I am not irresponsible or trying to duck out. I simply forgot, got distracted, stopped checking the clock, or forgot what day it was. I wasted someone else’s time. I missed the point of the appointment. It’s rude. It can be expensive, depending on the office policy where you were expected. However, I just can’t get to the meetings on my own.
Whenever I don’t like my feelings, I start to problem-solve. I keep at it until something works. It takes time and trial and error. Now I get to nearly all my appointments. I start in the evening routines and/or first thing in the morning. My planner is near my chair and I check it daily, even if I think my day is clear. I’ve been wrong before. Then I pick up my phone and set alarms. For my early a.m. appointments I set an alarm to get up. I have another thirty minutes before. I may have gotten distracted or forgotten. Next, I figure out what I am likely to be doing at the time, and how much time I need to get ready. If I will be on my computer and it’s a Zoom appointment, five minutes is enough time to switch, but not so much that I’ll get distracted. For appointments I have to go out for, I obviously I set alarms for when I need to get ready to leave and when I need to leave. I’ve also learned that it’s very important to give the alarm a note because I can forget what the alarm is for. Oops!
There are so many things to distract us, or make remembering difficult: stress, children, multi-tasking, age, medications, sleep deprivation, etc. Please don’t get stuck on your faults. Get committed to working around them. A simple change in end of day routines: check your calendars and set alarms, with notes. And keep your phone with you always, and you won’t have to apologize for missing appointments again.
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