Is it still too early?

There’s a famous 1993 cartoon from The New Yorker magazine.

A businessman is sitting behind a desk, holding a phone to his head.

He says… “No, Thursday’s out. How about never — is never good for you?”

Few would be quite that direct. But there’s another line that many people actually do employ when scheduling a non-urgent lunch, meeting or whatever. The question is when can you start to use it?

Perhaps you have heard it: “Why don’t we plan on getting together after the holidays?”

It is a proven time-management tool.

Maybe Nov. 2 is too early to say that. But soon that line will have credible resonance.

And the thing is, a lot of times it has nothing to do with not wanting to see someone. The truth is people will start getting extra-busy in the weeks to come. Delaying a get-together near the end of the year should not necessarily be considered an insult.

After all, some of us know how annoying it is to be around a self-dramatizing sort who revels in being overscheduled. We don’t want to be that person. We don’t want to engage in flitting, flouncing performance scurrying.

Besides, it’s always nice to have a few things to look forward to in January.