Have you ever been surprised or caught off guard by a deadline, appointment, or meeting?
What I mean is…
Have you ever accidentally missed a deadline, forgotten about an appointment, or stood someone up for a meeting whether in person or online?
If you have, don’t feel (too) terribly bad. (It happens to the best of us. 💁🏼)
The important thing is that it never happens again. Especially if the deadline, appointment, or meeting is important to or for your business (and if they involve someone else’s time or dime, then it’s VERY important).
HOW TO NEVER MISS A DEADLINE, APPOINTMENT, OR MEETING AGAIN
When it comes to deadlines, appointments, or meetings, planning in advance (or pre-planning) is an important step people often skip.
They think: “Oh, I’ve got this! No problem. I’ll remember it…”
But then they don’t.
And that’s a problem.
It’s a million times easier to keep track of things using a system rather than your memory.
And my secret pre-planning system will help you never miss an important deadline, appointment, or meeting again. It will help you keep track of what’s coming up, stay on top of due dates, and make sure tasks get done on time, every time.
Ready to learn it? Let’s do this! 👊🏻
[bctt tweet=”Ever been surprised or caught off guard by a deadline, appointment, or meeting? Read this!” username=”productivityzne”]
MY SECRET PRE-PLANNING SYSTEM
Step 1: The second the date of your deadline, meeting, or appointment is set, write it on your calendar. I mean it! Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. Don’t do anything else until that date is written on your calendar.
“Deadlines get missed when they aren’t easily visible and properly nailed down.” –
Step 2: Set reminders. 1 month out, 1 week out, 2 days out, 1 day out, 2 hours before, 1 hour before, 30 minutes before, and 5 minutes before are the types of reminders I recommend most.
Pro Tip #1: I also recommend setting as many reminders as you need or as many as possible. It seems excessive, but if you have trouble sticking to deadlines, remembering meetings, or keeping appointments, it won’t be.
Pro Tip #2: I generally set 1 to 4 reminders for meetings and appointments—1 week out, 2 days out, 1 day out, and 30 minutes before. (Because iCal only allows 2 reminders (they call them alerts) at a time, I set the reminders for furthest out first, and then, once I reach those, set the next ones.)
Step 3: If you’re setting a deadline for a big project with a lot of moving parts, set multiple check-in points and what needs to be done by those dates. Work backward when you’re planning out the project’s completion dates if you have to.
[bctt tweet=”How to NEVER miss a deadline, appointment, or meeting AGAIN 👉🏻” username=”productivityzne”]
Step 4: Look at your calendar every single day. Know what’s coming up this month, this week, tomorrow, and today.
Pro Tip #1: On the first day of the month, take a look at what’s happening for the rest of the month. (Heck, take a look at what’s happening next month, too!) Now’s the time to see if anything is overlapping or if you’ve over-committed/over-scheduled yourself. Move things around if you have to.
Pro Tip #2: Call or send emails to reschedule deadlines, appointments, or meetings well in advance. (Remember, if it involves someone else’s time or dime, you. must. be. courteous!! Trust me, they will appreciate this.)
Pro Tip #3: On Fridays and/or Sundays, take a look at the week ahead. Don’t let things surprise you! Know exactly what’s coming up and what you have to prepare for the week.
Pro Tip #4: Make your to-do list for the day the night before so you know exactly what to expect and where you can hit the ground running in the morning.
In order to make this system a process that works for you, you MUST be consistent. Do the same thing EVERY TIME a deadline, appointment, or meeting comes your way. Once you do, deadlines and due dates got nothin’ on you!! 😉
If this post was helpful, you might also want to check out: How to Get Absolutely Anything Done + How I Built My Website in a Weekend
I love, love setting reminders at least 2d and 1d. I wish Apple would allow more!
Oh my gosh, me too!! 😉
Yes do you know how to do 2 notifications with the automation notifications, right now I can only see one.
Hi Vanessa! I would have to know what calendar or app you’re using to tell you specifically. But usually there is a plus sign somewhere in the reminder area. Hope that helps!!