Using a simple planner increases professional trust

You may have heard someone say they wished the day had 48 hours. Whoever talks like that is usually rushing to be late for the next appointment. That person may even live to apologize.

That is because they entered a meeting last, because they could not arrive at the start of an important class, because they need a longer deadline to deliver a job agreed upon many days ago.

Being punctual may seem a talent given to some and lacking in others. But punctuality does not depend on talent alone. On the contrary, what makes punctuality is the order given to the day’s things. And it is something that can be learned and taught.

How would you feel about arriving at an appointment set for 9 a.m. and being received an hour later? It will be hard to find someone who likes having their time abused by another person. And when we leave someone waiting? However much our guest says “it’s fine, no problem. No problem at all that you were late, I understand,” they must have wondered whether our time is really more important than theirs. Disregarding your own time is already a pretty bad thing. Let alone the time of others, especially those who help us in our projects.

Having a planner is important for keeping track of appointments, tasks and deadlines.

A well-kept planner helps prioritize activities, avoid forgetting things and increase productivity. It also helps organize a daily routine that converts into long-term goals. A planner can also be used to record ideas and jot down important insights during meetings and conversations. In short, having a planner at work is essential to earning others’ trust.

From paper planners to electronic calendars or online group calendars, planners are ever easier to use and integrate with cellphones and services such as Amazon’s Alexa. That way, since reminders are always at hand, it becomes hard, almost impossible, to miss an appointment. A simple planner can rewrite a professional life.

In the next column, we will talk about an elegant, assertive way to interrupt an appointment that has run past its scheduled time.