Scheduling accidents
About two weeks ago, my three-year-old son broke his left index finger in an accident at kindergarten. The little guy went to the hospital and got patched up with a plaster. Two weeks, and then re-check was the verdict. Usually, he is like the Duracell bunny, which I solve with physical activity, especially biking. Now, however, he is temporarily disabled from our usual energy burning activities, and that means excess energy. A lot of excess energy. We could perhaps put him on a treadmill connected to the power grid and let him single-handedly solve Europe´s energy crisis. That’s why I realized quickly after he came home with the plaster, that this thing will not last two weeks. I’d be impressed if it would last the day. This, in combination with teaching an intensive university course, is a recipe for disaster. It’s very difficult to change the course schedule on short notice. My past self however, has been taking good care of us. When I scheduled the course, I added not one, but two reserve bookings in the end just in case. Tomorrow I am heading to the hospital for the second time to re-make the plaster which came off again. I would be beyond stressed right now if it weren’t for those reserve slots. Now I feel inner peace instead.
Working two jobs with two small kids and two dogs can be challenging. The most difficult thing is to plan the unforeseen events, like the mentioned broken finger. It took out large chunks from both me and my wife’s schedule. It’s not like that work is going to solve itself, it just needs to be done some other time soon. I have always known, and you probably have too, that sometimes “shit happens”. But the pendulum swings both ways. As a consultant, you must always accept more incoming commissions to a higher degree than what you can realistically cope with in the given time span. Because some of these commissions will be cancelled, put on hold, or delayed. Always. That means you have to approach the problem in the same way as the airline companies when they overbook their flights. Statistically speaking, they also get cancellations, and their calculations are usually quite correct. Sometimes however, more people show up than there are seats on the plane. Same goes for us consultants. And here’s the catch. How do you over-book yourself while simultaneously under-book yourself to prepare for the unforeseen?
Honestly though, can you really claim it unforeseen? I knew for a fact that the gypsum would come off, at least once. But this time I put my money where my mouth is and put those extra spare lessons in the course. What a stroke of genius! Tomorrow, I was supposed to hold the crucial laboratory exercise. Now, with the (un)foreseen hospital visit, I simply bumped the remaining course one day later. And we will come out with one unused spare lesson in the end. Hopefully we won’t be needing it, but even if the plaster breaks a third time before the weekend, we still have one spare lesson left. This is an excellent example how I think I should act as a well-prepared teacher.
Now, I really need to implement more of this “defensive pessimist” game into my consultancy work. It has the potential to create a lot of value!