Eight emails. Just to schedule ONE meeting.
“How about Tuesday at 2pm?”
“I have a conflict then.”
“Wednesday at 3pm?”
“Different timezone, that is 5am for me.”
“Thursday morning your time?”
“Let me check my calendar…”
This went on. And on. And on.
EXHAUSTING.
MY BREAKING POINT:
Spent 15 minutes last week scheduling a 20-minute call. The scheduling took LONGER than the actual meeting. That is when I snapped.
Ten meetings monthly. Fifteen minutes each to coordinate. 2.5 hours wasted on calendar tetris every single month.
MY SOLUTION:
Built a booking workflow in 40 minutes.
Node 1 – Form Monitor: Watches my booking form for new requests. Someone fills it out with their name, email, preferred times.
Node 2 – Calendar Cross-Check: Instantly compares their availability with my actual calendar. No human checking required.
Node 3 – Smart Booker: Finds matching time slot. Creates calendar event automatically. Includes meeting link and details.
Node 4 – Instant Confirmation: Emails them confirmed time with calendar invite file attached. Done in 30 seconds.
THE FIRST TEST:
Someone in London requested a meeting. Submitted form at 3pm their time. My workflow checked timezones, found compatible slot, created event, sent confirmation. All while I was eating lunch.
They replied: “Wow, that was fast!”
I replied: “Automation is magic.”
LESSONS LEARNED:
Timezone math is tricky. Had to add timezone converter after first mishap. Someone booked “10am” without specifying timezone. My calendar showed 5am meeting. Awkward wake-up call that was.
Buffer time saves sanity. Workflow now adds 15-minute breaks between meetings automatically. No more back-to-back exhaustion.
People LOVE easy booking. 8 out of 10 now use the form instead of emailing. Everyone wins.
THE TRANSFORMATION:
BEFORE: 15 minutes coordinating per meeting, timezone confusion, double-booking nightmares
AFTER: Zero coordination time, perfect timezone handling, no conflicts ever
THIS WEEK: 6 meetings booked. Zero emails exchanged. All confirmed within 2 minutes of submission. One person said it was the smoothest booking experience they have ever had.
About the Author
