When the calendar invite isn't sent

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Okay, so I am an assistant to a very busy partner at a law firm. When I schedule meetings for him I ALWAYS block off any time I offered or someone else offered for a call in a bright color on his calendar marked "HOLD: call with so-and-so, TBD, or they will send conference info, or waiting to hear back to confirm and send our bridge/Zoom, etc.". That way when I look at his calendar for the next day or two, I know whether someone who was supposed to send an invite/bridge actually has or has not and also know not to offer that time slot to a different client - and follow-up if they haven't send a bridge or follow-up to confirm the time and send out the bridge on my end. I have his Outlook calendar color coded. LOL, sometimes I feel almost like I'm playing a video game...like Tetris or something with how often I schedule calls or move them around. Do you have an assistant or do you handle your own calendar?

For a busy person with lots of calls placeholders are super necessary for keeping track of the scheduling and not offering the same time slots to multiple people.

I also love worldtimebuddy.com, it makes scheduling calls between many people who are in multiple times zones much easier. Also, sending a Doodle to schedule call with a lot of people is very helpful to cut down on the email back and forth on availability.

This is me again - I also change all of my attorneys' calendar invites from other people to a "one-click" if they are not already in that format so they can just click on the link and not have to separately enter a code to enter the call. I also add any emails or documents to call invites that they may potentially need for the call to the invite (so they don't need to search their email for documents)

Wow. Ummm, are you looking to move firms? Because I'm awesome but have never had an admin approaching your level.

Haha, thanks! I've actually been at my firm for almost 20 years, and I'm a person that hates changing jobs - I have changed before due to harassment from an attorney, and ended up with an even worse work partner.

Maybe we can make this thread into advice on calendaring and admin things!

I also:

* check his sent emails constantly to see if he's promised a client a work product by a certain time or day, and I put a reminder on his calendar in grey with the email attached. I also look at his sent items to see what emails he has responded to already, so I can file that chain in the respective client's email folder. I also check for emails that he sometimes sends where he said I would get back to them to schedule a call, but he actually forgot to cc me on the email. Also, any emails where he gave the client a flat fee or a budget estimate for a project, I log that into info a chart that I keep and also pop a copy of the email into a folder I keep for "flat fees & estimates" so when I do his client billing, it's easy to see what needs billed or written off and easy to find proof of where the client agreed to the price/scope of the project.

* I constantly monitor his inbox throughout the day and delete any junk, file away any older emails in chains into their client folders, and I have a running "action list" of all emails that actually require a response to a client, etc. to let him know what is urgent. Also, if anyone requests a call with him I jump in and schedule without involving him, unless I have a question. If a client sends new contact info, or we onboard a new client, I enter their info in his contacts and enter a preliminary conflict check for new clients.

* every day I have an email where I draft his time entries by using his calendar invites and sent emails. I send to him every day and he edits and sends it back for me to enter into our time program.

* I do very heavy scheduling for him mostly, but other attorneys too sometimes. I love using Quick Parts in Outlook. I have the dial inZoom info for every attorney I work with in Quick Parts, so it's just a couple clicks to insert it into the calendar invite.

* I keep an excel spreadsheet of any client development budget expenses I submitted, that way if any attorney wants to know what they have left to spend I can tell them immediately and also let them know when they have excess left near the end of the year so they can spend it down. I also have a spreadsheet for our practice group budget, so at any time I can know what our group has left to spend.

* I monitor his CLE/CPEs needed and let him know when he's falling behind, and I find CLE/CPE webinars he can do and put them on his calendar.

* Any time an attorney sends an email saying they will be off, or on vacation, I put it on his calendar so he's in the know

*I check weekly to clean up his OneNote and make sure everything is organized correctly by client, and also formatted consistently.

Most if this I do for one specific partner, all my other work partners are pretty self reliant (and as another post mentioned, younger).

Anyone have any tips they'd like to add?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In my organization, if you want to have a meeting, it's on YOU to set it up. No one is following up with anything agreed verbally. If it's not in the calendar based on the invite you sent and I accepted, it's not on the calendar. Nobody's job but yours.

Spinoff, but is there any excuse for people (particularly managers) who never accept calendar invites, and force people to follow up by email to see whether or not they plan to attend?

I'm never quite sure if it's rooted in disorganization or passive-agressiveness.

LOL, my work partner never accepts his invites (or send out invites on his own), that's something I am expected to do. If I happen to be out sick or take a vacation day, when I come back and go though his inbox I will a lot of times see invites he never responded to. I would say it's not passive aggressive on his part at all, he's just super busy all the time and not used to doing it himself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In my organization, if you want to have a meeting, it's on YOU to set it up. No one is following up with anything agreed verbally. If it's not in the calendar based on the invite you sent and I accepted, it's not on the calendar. Nobody's job but yours.

Spinoff, but is there any excuse for people (particularly managers) who never accept calendar invites, and force people to follow up by email to see whether or not they plan to attend?

I'm never quite sure if it's rooted in disorganization or passive-agressiveness.

My theory is it is disorganization combined with not wanting to commit to the meeting in case a "more important" meeting comes up. It is pretty annoying.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In my organization, if you want to have a meeting, it's on YOU to set it up. No one is following up with anything agreed verbally. If it's not in the calendar based on the invite you sent and I accepted, it's not on the calendar. Nobody's job but yours.

Spinoff, but is there any excuse for people (particularly managers) who never accept calendar invites, and force people to follow up by email to see whether or not they plan to attend?

I'm never quite sure if it's rooted in disorganization or passive-agressiveness.

My theory is it is disorganization combined with not wanting to commit to the meeting in case a "more important" meeting comes up. It is pretty annoying.

Honestly, a lot of them just don't know how/understand why it matters. Sad but true.

[Anonymous]

In my org it is well known that if you don't send me an invite I won't be there. If it's not on my calendar it's not happening. Everyone knows this at this point and sends me invites.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In my organization, if you want to have a meeting, it's on YOU to set it up. No one is following up with anything agreed verbally. If it's not in the calendar based on the invite you sent and I accepted, it's not on the calendar. Nobody's job but yours.

Spinoff, but is there any excuse for people (particularly managers) who never accept calendar invites, and force people to follow up by email to see whether or not they plan to attend?

I'm never quite sure if it's rooted in disorganization or passive-agressiveness.

My theory is it is disorganization combined with not wanting to commit to the meeting in case a "more important" meeting comes up. It is pretty annoying.

Honestly, a lot of them just don't know how/understand why it matters. Sad but true.

I saw this and just had to ask Alexa to play that song...

[Anonymous]

Put a HOLD on the calendar. Email the person before the event if you have not received confirmation of an in-person meeting or links to a virtual one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op, I try to put "HOLD" on my own calendar even when I expect another person to send an invite. If it's not on my calendar, I honestly forget or double book. I always send calendar invites if I initiate the meeting.

Not OP but don't do this in 95% of cases. When I do that, inevitably the meeting organizer takes a few hours to get it on the calendar, then sees I'm blocked at that time and says "Oh, I thought you were available" and have to do the whole song and dance again.

I'm also in a sales organization though where sales development reps put meetings with prospects directly on calendars for outside sales, so there is a strong culture of calendar availability governing and shared invitations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a technical grunt and don't have someone to maintain my calendar for me. When someone makes an appt/meeting for me, I got to my calendar and put in a quick placeholder note on my calendar. It takes all of about 5 seconds to do. If I get an official meeting invite, when I confirm, I cancel the placeholder. I check my calendar most afternoons for the next 2-3 days so that I can get an idea when I have something coming up and whether I have a meeting to prep for. If I see a placeholder but not meeting, I send a note to the meeting organizer and explain that I haven't got an invite with the call-in/meeting link.

I also put placeholder notes for myself for things that need to be done. For example, if I have to do work that someone is waiting for output from me, if it is not something I need to do immediately, I put in a placeholder a few days in advance to remind me to do whatever I need to do. Short things like "Form for John Doe" "Run scan, output to Larla" "Coordinate pickup with Sam", etc. Most of the time I see these placeholders sometime on Monday and I try to figure out when during the week I'll squeeze these things in.

You need a real task management system. A calendar system like that tends to break down for most people quickly because if you get roped into something else, the reminder and time block is past. It sounds like it is working OK for you but I've worked in productivity and time management consulting (from front line up to execs... it is shocking to me how far people get while regularly missing tasks) and that is definitely not a best practice. Now time blocking is to do those tasks - but don't keep your tasks only on a calendar.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Okay, so I am an assistant to a very busy partner at a law firm. When I schedule meetings for him I ALWAYS block off any time I offered or someone else offered for a call in a bright color on his calendar marked "HOLD: call with so-and-so, TBD, or they will send conference info, or waiting to hear back to confirm and send our bridge/Zoom, etc.". That way when I look at his calendar for the next day or two, I know whether someone who was supposed to send an invite/bridge actually has or has not and also know not to offer that time slot to a different client - and follow-up if they haven't send a bridge or follow-up to confirm the time and send out the bridge on my end. I have his Outlook calendar color coded. LOL, sometimes I feel almost like I'm playing a video game...like Tetris or something with how often I schedule calls or move them around. Do you have an assistant or do you handle your own calendar?

For a busy person with lots of calls placeholders are super necessary for keeping track of the scheduling and not offering the same time slots to multiple people.

I also love worldtimebuddy.com, it makes scheduling calls between many people who are in multiple times zones much easier. Also, sending a Doodle to schedule call with a lot of people is very helpful to cut down on the email back and forth on availability.

This is me again - I also change all of my attorneys' calendar invites from other people to a "one-click" if they are not already in that format so they can just click on the link and not have to separately enter a code to enter the call. I also add any emails or documents to call invites that they may potentially need for the call to the invite (so they don't need to search their email for documents)

Wow. Ummm, are you looking to move firms? Because I'm awesome but have never had an admin approaching your level.

Haha, thanks! I've actually been at my firm for almost 20 years, and I'm a person that hates changing jobs - I have changed before due to harassment from an attorney, and ended up with an even worse work partner.

Maybe we can make this thread into advice on calendaring and admin things!

I also:

* check his sent emails constantly to see if he's promised a client a work product by a certain time or day, and I put a reminder on his calendar in grey with the email attached. I also look at his sent items to see what emails he has responded to already, so I can file that chain in the respective client's email folder. I also check for emails that he sometimes sends where he said I would get back to them to schedule a call, but he actually forgot to cc me on the email. Also, any emails where he gave the client a flat fee or a budget estimate for a project, I log that into info a chart that I keep and also pop a copy of the email into a folder I keep for "flat fees & estimates" so when I do his client billing, it's easy to see what needs billed or written off and easy to find proof of where the client agreed to the price/scope of the project.

* I constantly monitor his inbox throughout the day and delete any junk, file away any older emails in chains into their client folders, and I have a running "action list" of all emails that actually require a response to a client, etc. to let him know what is urgent. Also, if anyone requests a call with him I jump in and schedule without involving him, unless I have a question. If a client sends new contact info, or we onboard a new client, I enter their info in his contacts and enter a preliminary conflict check for new clients.

* every day I have an email where I draft his time entries by using his calendar invites and sent emails. I send to him every day and he edits and sends it back for me to enter into our time program.

* I do very heavy scheduling for him mostly, but other attorneys too sometimes. I love using Quick Parts in Outlook. I have the dial inZoom info for every attorney I work with in Quick Parts, so it's just a couple clicks to insert it into the calendar invite.

* I keep an excel spreadsheet of any client development budget expenses I submitted, that way if any attorney wants to know what they have left to spend I can tell them immediately and also let them know when they have excess left near the end of the year so they can spend it down. I also have a spreadsheet for our practice group budget, so at any time I can know what our group has left to spend.

* I monitor his CLE/CPEs needed and let him know when he's falling behind, and I find CLE/CPE webinars he can do and put them on his calendar.

* Any time an attorney sends an email saying they will be off, or on vacation, I put it on his calendar so he's in the know

*I check weekly to clean up his OneNote and make sure everything is organized correctly by client, and also formatted consistently.

Most if this I do for one specific partner, all my other work partners are pretty self reliant (and as another post mentioned, younger).

Anyone have any tips they'd like to add?

You are amazing!

[Anonymous]

I'd love to hear some other tips, especially about managing the inbox to prevent missing important emails.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If the invite was never sent, then how did everyone else attend the meeting?

No one attended the meeting. It was supposed to be only me and the other person. This thread has been useful for upping my admin A-game!

The other person sounds like a flake. I would mention it to your manager during a one-on-one, laughingly.

[br284]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If the invite was never sent, then how did everyone else attend the meeting?

No one attended the meeting. It was supposed to be only me and the other person. This thread has been useful for upping my admin A-game!

Wait, it was just a 1:1? Why was the other person responsible for sending the calendar invite? If you had a time set, why didn't you just follow up? Or why didn't they follow up?

[Anonymous]

br284 wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If the invite was never sent, then how did everyone else attend the meeting?

No one attended the meeting. It was supposed to be only me and the other person. This thread has been useful for upping my admin A-game!

Wait, it was just a 1:1? Why was the other person responsible for sending the calendar invite? If you had a time set, why didn't you just follow up? Or why didn't they follow up?

Did you read OP’s comments? The other person said they would follow up with a calendar invite. It’s on them

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a technical grunt and don't have someone to maintain my calendar for me. When someone makes an appt/meeting for me, I got to my calendar and put in a quick placeholder note on my calendar. It takes all of about 5 seconds to do. If I get an official meeting invite, when I confirm, I cancel the placeholder. I check my calendar most afternoons for the next 2-3 days so that I can get an idea when I have something coming up and whether I have a meeting to prep for. If I see a placeholder but not meeting, I send a note to the meeting organizer and explain that I haven't got an invite with the call-in/meeting link.

I also put placeholder notes for myself for things that need to be done. For example, if I have to do work that someone is waiting for output from me, if it is not something I need to do immediately, I put in a placeholder a few days in advance to remind me to do whatever I need to do. Short things like "Form for John Doe" "Run scan, output to Larla" "Coordinate pickup with Sam", etc. Most of the time I see these placeholders sometime on Monday and I try to figure out when during the week I'll squeeze these things in.

You need a real task management system. A calendar system like that tends to break down for most people quickly because if you get roped into something else, the reminder and time block is past. It sounds like it is working OK for you but I've worked in productivity and time management consulting (from front line up to execs... it is shocking to me how far people get while regularly missing tasks) and that is definitely not a best practice. Now time blocking is to do those tasks - but don't keep your tasks only on a calendar.

Any programs you recommend? I'm using todoist which I like but I'm.always wondering if there is something better