Being double-booked is a nightmare for anyone. The last thing you want is to arrive at your office desk in the morning, check your calendar, and realise that you’ve double-booked two jobs or meetings that day.
Firstly, don’t panic! Scheduling issues can be stressful, but there are lots of ways to resolve them without causing any unnecessary drama.
See if you can move anything around in your schedule to accommodate both commitments in your meeting room.
If you cannot adjust your schedule to accommodate both commitments, then you will need to decide which activity is most important and cancel the other. Try to move this to the next day or later in the day if possible.
You should always apologise if you have to cancel a commitment last minute. Ask if you can postpone and say that you will work around their calendar to reschedule. Don’t admit that you ‘double-booked’ as it will make you appear unprofessional.
If you cannot cancel either commitment and they only overlap slightly, then try to do both without it affecting the quality. For instance, call a client to say that you got stuck in traffic and are running 15 minutes late for your meeting.
Double booking is where you accidentally book two activities, i.e. work meetings, for the same time slot. If you’re double-booked, it means you’ll have to be in two different places at the same time, which is obviously impossible.
Overbooking is where you schedule more activities into your day than usual, meaning you have less time between activities. This approach can increase productivity and profits, but it can also cause issues if a job takes longer than expected. This approach can also lead to burnout.
Realising you’ve been double-booked can be stressful, but you must be proactive and do your best to avoid any drama as a result of your scheduling oversight.
Follow these tips to handle double booking and other scheduling issues professionally and breeze through your workday without any drama.