Making appointments

Last weekend I took the second trip to Hanoi. Thankfully, this time I got places to stay! Met and talked with a lot of my friends. It also left in my mind a lot of thoughts. I'm gonna write about them later on; it is the best to write about just one thing at a time. This post I want to write about something I learned after the trip, something about making appointments (meetings) with friends:


First, making confirmation with my friends ahead of time. Do not make any assumption about others. Last time I thought that I would easily find a place to stay, given that my friends would never turn me down. However, they turned to be out of town (it was the weekend) or had other issues, and I couldn't stay at their places. So this time I contacted them several days before coming, and confirmed the date and time I would visit them 1 day before, confirmed the place I would stay. It works out much smoother. Last time I procrastinated because I didn't like doing these things, just didn't feel comfortable. In general, procrastination might be caused by fear and anxiety as well, or sometimes the task is difficult that you try to defer facing it. Bur if something crucial need to be done, do it first. Don't defer the inevitable.

After that, follow up and update my friends whenever something doesn't happen according to the plan. It's frustrating to wait for someone else without hearing from him or her. Like if I'm late because of traffic jam, I should inform others of my status, and the time I am expected to arrive. Though it doesn't solve the problem, at least they know that I'm on the way, not that I've totally forgotten about the meeting (and them). It helps understanding and boost compassion.
Update update update! Follow up, follow up, follow up! Stay connected!
Oh and CALLing works better than SMSing.

I think the above things apply perfectly for team-working as well. Like what? You need to maintain constant connection and clear information of all things (related to your work). Update your friends regularly. Follow up. Push them if needed. Avoid taking any assumption.