Scheduling snowflakes

In an average week, I have about ten meetings or appointments. That’s probably less than average. Still, I like to space them efficiently.

Right now, Tuesdays and Wednesdays are YouTube days for me. I don’t schedule anything for those days and I set the intention to work on my YouTube channel. That could mean outlining, filming, or editing videos, but also working on my studio or gathering inspiration for future videos.

I also keep Sundays free of meetings because on Sundays I do my weekly review and I also like to get the house in order.

That means I am theoretically open to meetings on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. And I have specific periods of availability on those days. My calendar is like that right now because it helps me produce high-quality work and take care of my other obligations.

Let’s say you’re one of my coaching clients. Or perhaps I invited you onto my podcast as a guest. We would need to pick a time to meet or to record. I would send you a scheduling link. You could click on it and see what spots on my calendar are free. It looks like this:

How would you feel receiving my scheduling link and seeing this? Think about it.

Then read a tweet that blew up, by Sam Lessin.

The tweet mostly consists of an image, which I’ll show here:

How does his argument strike you?

My view is completely the opposite.

I like to remind myself that I can always make more money, but I can never make more time. That’s why I value my time incredibly highly. When I send you a link to pick a time on my calendar, it’s because I value my time as well as yours. With a scheduling link, it takes each of us less time to schedule. If we were instead to email back and forth, we’d both get pulled away from other priorities repeatedly and it would take more time.

I don’t agree with Sam that there is a social dynamic at play here where the link-sender implies that they are busier and therefore of higher social status. The link-sender may very well be busier or of higher (perceived) status, but sending the link doesn’t change that.

I also don’t agree that sending a scheduling link implies that all of my current meetings are “more important”. They aren’t necessarily more important. But I do want to honor my existing commitments, because I like to do what I say I’ll do.

That said, I just have my own experiences. Perhaps many people with other experiences feel differently for understandable reasons. So I’m open to different perspectives.

For now, though, I’m having a hard time taking Sam’s concerns seriously. The most raw/naked display of social capital dynamics in business? Seems a tad exaggerated. Also, Sam, the whole point is to pick a time to give each other our full attention. Isn’t that a sign of respect?

Anyway, what do you think? Is Sam a ❄️ on this topic or does he have a point?