First, let’s just clear the air on what prompted this post of musings. . . I moved to the DC-area, but I still get my hair cut in NYC. I know, I know, but only when I’m already there for work, I promise!
But recently I had a little haircut issue (translation: CRISIS!), and I had to go back to get my head fixed, so to speak. I knooowww it’s silly, but my late 30’s are making me vain. All of that aside, when I checked in for the appointment, the receptionist said, “Melissa, your ADJUSTMENT is here.”
“Adjustment?!” I thought. “I’m an ‘adjustment’ . . . what on earth could that mean?”
And I thought about this some more and then I peeked over the shoulder of the scheduler. I knoooowww, again, but people seem to humor me when I explain my profession. It appears my hair salon has predicted a certain amount of people will want to get their haircut fixed, or ADJUSTED, if you will, and they have proactively blocked off 15 minute increments in their stylists’ schedules. In other words, people like me are a KNOWN EMERGENCY; therefore, with this kind of good planning, we are not emergencies at all.
(And if you must know, my salon of choice is Devachan in Soho. Don’t judge. I still wear Birkenstocks.)
Anyway, this whole situation got me thinking about predictable emergencies and how we can buffer our schedules against them . . . here are some ideas that came to mind:
- Student behavior issues at particular times of day—arrival, lunch, and dismissal
- Snow days in the winter
- Upset parents at report card and progress report times
- Transportation issues in the first few weeks of school
- Extra questions during a financial audit (for those of you in district offices)
What else? Do you have any known emergencies you could plan for? As in literally build time in your schedule ahead of time to accommodate?
