In our previous article, we talked about buffer time. Specifically, we explored what it was and how it applies to calendar scheduling and everyday life.
This time, we will examine how a person can use buffer time to enhance their quality of life. Buffer time is great for improving work-life balance. In order to implement this as part of calendar scheduling, you must identify the amount of buffer time you need.
How do we determine the amount of buffer time needed for an appointment or task? To do that, you have to survey the event in question from an objective point of view. This means not just thinking about how long a meeting is but also how much time is needed immediately before and after the meeting takes place.
Here's an example. Let's imagine you're going to set up a bookable event for reviewing a client's account. You know that before starting a meeting with a client, you'd need 8 to 12 minutes to assess any messages that might have been added to their profile and print out a couple of forms. You also know that once you finish the meeting, you want to add any relevant comments or concerns that came up during it to the client's profile. This ensures all relevant team members can reference the correct information the next time this case is reviewed. If you're not using buffer time, there's always a chance that you could get double-booked or be rushed to the degree that it compromises your ability to wrap up one appointment or adequately prep for the next. This is just one case that illustrates why it’s a good idea to set custom buffer times.
Let’s consider a second example of how you can use buffer time. Let's say you created a bookable event type so your friends can book time with you. Since your social circle is made up of people who like to keep things casual, you know that before the appointment, you'll need five minutes to make sure you remember where you put your keys, and that's all; no extra prep is necessary. Since your friends are chill and not big on formality, you know that there won't be long-winded goodbyes, so you won't need any buffer time after the meet-up. When creating a bookable event for socializing with your inner circle, you only need a buffer time of five minutes before the event starts.
Let's study a third and final example of how to use buffer time. Perhaps you're using bookable events in an educational setting. You could, for example, be providing tutoring services. It might be that a tutoring session is typically one hour and that before each session, you need 10 minutes to set up a virtual or in-person learning environment for the student. Additionally, after the session, you need 30 minutes to update the student's records and prepare a lesson plan for the next session. In this scenario, you'd want to create a bookable event sandwiched by buffer times. One buffer time is 10 minutes before the event starts, and a second buffer time is 30 minutes right after the event ends. This ensures that no matter what, you always have the time needed to prepare for and wrap up each tutoring session.
One of the most underutilized benefits of Calendar scheduling is that you can customize the buffer time for each appointment/event. In addition, you can also add multiple buffer times so that each appointment has built-in time-based insurance that protects its integrity. Simply put, Buffer time is one of the most straightforward tools to increase the impact of your calendar scheduling infrastructure of choice.
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