Suggestions & Responses: Appointment Organization

Previous Related Posts:
Goals & Solutions: Day One Case Study
Goals & Strategies for Effective Time Management
Managing Time Effectively as an IT Professional

As a small business owner of a website design and development company, I've been blogging about my efforts to streamline my workday and the tips and suggestions I have received from Vicki Voisin, The Paralegal Mentor. This blog will focus on Vicki's suggestions for appointment organization and scheduling.

Vicki's Suggestions with my Responses:

SUGGESTION: Don't schedule any appointments for Mondays or Fridays.

RESPONSE: Mondays are usually crazy for us since clients are getting with us after the weekend and Fridays we like to be able to catch up before the coming weekend. I have pre-blocked out any Mondays and Fridays on our schedule so there is no compromise to this suggestion.

SUGGESTION: The first thing you need to determine is your 'peak productivity time.' Do you do your best work first thing in the morning or some other time of the day? For me, it's first thing in the morning and then I start to fizzle later in the afternoon.

RESPONSE: My peak productivity time is definitely in sync with Vicki's, in the morning. By the afternoon we are ready to fizzle out.

SUGGESTION: The next thing you need to ask is which activity requires your 'peak productivity time'? Is it working on the computer or meeting with clients? I suspect it's working on the computer but that's up to you.

RESPONSE: Once again, Vicki hits the mark with her suggestion, it is working on the computer.

SUGGESTION: You'll need to determine the task that requires your highest energy and schedule it for your peak productivity time. For instance, if you are at your best from 9-12 and you need your highest energy for web design, then you will only do web design during those hours and you will schedule client meetings for later in the day.

RESPONSE: Since we have determined our peak productivity time is in the morning, new website design projects will be worked on and completed from 9-12 daily. We're only going to schedule client meetings on Tues., Wed., and Thurs.

SUGGESTION: How much time to you allot to client meetings? One hour, two? I'm sure that just depends... but you could schedule client meetings for later in the day and maybe just two days a week. Can you get them done in that amount of time? Can you 'end your day' with client meetings?

RESPONSE: Our client meetings usually last from 30 minutes to one hour, depending on the meeting and type of client we are meeting with. Ending our day with a client meeting is fine.

SUGGESTION: Don't let your clients meet with you just for the sake of meeting. Be sure there is a definite purpose for the meeting and always get right to the point of the meeting as quickly as possible. You might start the meeting by saying, 'I've scheduled one hour for this appointment because I have to xyz so we do have to finish in that amount of time.' If they know up front how much time you have, they will usually stick with the schedule.

RESPONSE: This is great suggestion. With some client meetings I definitely feel that there's no need to meet with the client although they insist. Granted, we do charge for the meeting in most cases so it's not a complete loss, but at the same time if I'd like to save the client money when possible.

---
Here are some other ways we have streamlined our client appointments.

Syncing my Google Calendar with my BlackBerry Calendar

I have upgraded my BlackBerry to add Google Sync to sync our Google Calendar (which we schedule our client appointments and meetings on) with my BlackBerry calendar. This way I have access to our most up to date calendar in an efficient and easy manner at all times. If I am meeting with a client at their place of business and they'd like to schedule another appointment, this can be done quickly and accurately.

Some professionals reading this probably think this was a no-brainer, but I must say I hadn't even thought of doing this until working with Vicki on her suggestions and thinking of all of the things I could do to streamline my appointments.

Food for Thought

Some times we are so busy working on implementing new technology for our clients that we are sorely lacking on technology for our own business. Our company website always seems to be last on the list to be updated.

It may be important to keep in mind that no matter what field you work in, don't forget about taking care of yourself and your own personal business. In our case, we need to put our company on the to do list as well. I hope these suggestions are helpful to you or your business.

Bobbie Rathjens
Co-Owner of JBR Graphics, Inc.