Mythology: The Open Spot in the Calendar

 

I have a confession to make, I still like to use a datebook/organizer to keep track of my schedule.  Unfortunately, my job for Pesticide Action Network also requires that I use an online calendar tool that my co-workers can view... and add to... when needed.  I find myself going back and forth between the two calendars because, frankly, it doesn't make sense to put my farming calendar into the online calendar.  I don't think they need to know that I intend to plant some more seeds into trays this weekend - for example.

The farm calendar is different in that it doesn't fill up specific parts of the day.  It's more like a list of things that needs to get done (and they all take time).  Some are a bit more time specific, like morning chores.  The seed trays, on the other hand, happen when I get to them.

Even before I added the PAN job to my life, I had a tendency - just like many who read this blog - to see an open date or open time slot as just that .... OPEN.  In other words, if a person called me and said, "Hey Rob, could we meet about X on such and such a date at Y time?"  I would look at my calendar.  If nothing was written there, my answer was typically "yes."

If I wasn't thinking very hard about it.

After all, the calendar SAYS I have nothing scheduled for that time, which means I was going to be doing NOTHING at that time.  Right?

This is how I get into trouble.  When I was teaching, it always seemed like the dentist or doctor would suggest a time during finals week.  Of course, the suggestion would come weeks prior to finals and I would look at my calendar and see...

AN OPEN SPOT

So, of course, I would agree to put that appointment into that open spot.  This happens because I have selective amnesia when it comes to some of the busiest and most stressful times of year.  Perhaps there is a small voice in the back of my mind that is yelling in its tiny voice, "NO! Not then!"  But, the open spot on the calendar causes the rest of the crowd to roar in appreciation of the fact that a mutual time has been located and agreed upon.  That poor little voice knows better, but how can it get the attention of the decision making process when that process is too busy acknowledging the applause? 

OPEN SPOT... OPEN SPOT... OPEN SPOT... YAY!

The Open Spot Syndrome was bad enough when I was the sole person in charge of determining how (and whether or not) these spots would be used.  But now more and more of us are putting our calendars online to make scheduling "easier." With a few clicks we can load up multiple calendars and search for open spots.  Once we find a likely candidate, we can fill that open slot with an "invitation" to participate in something during that slot.

Even if you are listening to the little voice, it has gotten a whole lot harder to protect the mythical and magical open spot.  And, if you are like me, and you were already handicapped when it came to protecting these open spots, you can see where the open spot becomes more myth than reality.

The reality for me is that my schedule is not nearly as packed as I make it sound.  Tammy, for example, routinely has far more on her schedule than I do.  But, in addition to the scheduled items on our calendars, we have extensive "to do" lists or Very Ambitious Plans (VAP) full of things for each day that were supposed to be completed.  The time to complete them is supposed to be in these open spots in our calendars.

Yes, the very same spots we so happily fill as the crowd roars its approval and the little voice in the back holds its head in its hands.