Changing Agendas

What's on the calendar determines so much. The reserved time slots, with corresponding locations and who, determine my outlook for that day, and sometimes for that week. Those notes about the future determine whether I am more likely to say "yes" or "no" to a request of any type. They determine how I pace myself in the work to be done around those reserved, committed times.  All of this might sound, well, deterministic, and it is.

It has become a reality that my time is less for me or about me and more and more for and about others. This is not a complaint, just a statement of my experiences. This past week I had blocked out three full days, plus the preceding afternoon, for a conference in Atlanta. I had prepared for the conference by reading the materials posted to the meeting e-room. I had alerted everyone that I would not be accessible during those days, and probably not reading email expect very sporadically.

Then winter happened. It happened with cold and snow in Atlanta, a place where cold and snow generates panic not snow plow trucks. So, two days before departure, I got an email and a followup phone call to say the conference was postponed. What?! Suddenly, I had all that time available for me, for catching up, for playing hooky, for getting more work done, for having blank days. The vast amount of time now unscheduled was a true shock. Reverberating not only across my calendar and mindset, but also into my gut and bones. Like getting sudden good news that goes visceral.

Those three days passed quickly. (Nature abhors a vacuum and I abhor not being busy.)  By Friday afternoon, I realized what a blessing I had received. I could not possibly have gotten done all that I needed for the upcoming week, based on the calendar's portrayal of the future.