…You’re in a meeting with yourself.

Gina Trapani wrote this article for Fast Company, and we not only agree with what she’s saying, but have been practicing what she’s preaching: integrating defensive scheduling into our own workflow.

Multi-tasking is difficult enough, and when you’re juggling meetings, sporadic conversations, e-mails and all sorts of other emergencies at the same time, it’s nearly impossible to think about your own work. You’re left thinking: “I’ll code that site later,” or “I’ll do browser testing for that app in a little bit.” Worst of all, these aren’t exactly things that can (or should) be stopped halfway through, to be finished later. You can see the quality of your work diminishing right before your eyes…

So… It makes perfect sense to schedule a meeting with yourself. Think about it: when you schedule a meeting with someone else, the purpose is to give them your undivided attention so you can be most productive in the allotted time slot. If you think you might irritate someone by carving out your own personal sanity/get stuff done/don’t you dare bother me time, think of it another way. Wouldn’t you appreciate someone else making time during their busy day to work specifically on your project? Wouldn’t you love knowing all their creativity and knowledge was being channeled on work for you?

On the surface it might seem a little selfish, but I think it should be considered complementary, instead. The action says: “My work is important enough- YOU are important enough- that I will dedicate special time to make sure it is great.

But that’s only if you want to tell everyone who you’re in a meeting with. To be completely honest, “being in a meeting” alone should suffice as why you’re unavailable. But should you decide to disclose your motives, you shouldn’t be reluctant to do so.

Unless you’re Superman (and I’m not even sure Superman has this power), you can’t do it all…