To think this is NOT how Doodle polls work? (Lighthearted)

[WisconsinRaw]

Mostly light hearted but also a rant about clients Not Getting what freelancer life is like.

I'm a freelancer in an industry that's known for being pretty last minute. For example I currently only have two things in my diary for July, but I know that during the last two weeks of June I'll suddenly get a flood of meeting and work requests and invitations for early July. This is the norm within my industry.

I'm having a nightmare with one client who do availability requests (via doodle poll) months in advance, don't confirm dates, then pop up ages later expecting the availability I gave them weeks ago to still be current. Last week I woke up to an email saying "the zoom starts in half an hour" -- what zoom?? "Oh but when you filled in the availability form back in March you said you were free on 26th May??" Really? You don't think that maybe my availability might have changed since then?

The other thing that pisses me off is that I work from home and can basically set my own hours as long as the work gets done. So I might not have any specific appointments booked for a certain day but I still have loads of work that needs to be done. People just don't seem to grasp this. I get people asking "we want to have a quick meeting on Friday, what times are you free", I reply, "anytime on Friday works for me", then they turn around and go "oh good well as you're free all day can you just do this 6-hour job." NO!!! Just because I set my own hours doesn't mean I don't have work that needs doing.

If you want to book a meeting for 9am then I'll do the meeting at 9am then work 10am-6pm. If you want the meeting at 11am, I'll work for two hours, take a break for the meeting, then go back to my work. If you want the meeting at 5pm, I'll work 9am-5pm then do the meeting. The fact it's equally easy for me to do 9am, 11am, or 5pm doesn't mean I'm sitting around with my thumb up my flipping arse all day.

Surely most people use Doodle polls as a tool to figure out what date/time works best for everyone?

It a faff and another task but you can always return and edit the polls.

Uh, you sound like freelance graphic designers that we work with. I really feel for them. Unfortunately I work at an agency and it's often our clients that come to us with last minute crazy requests and we obviously have to try and keep them happy! You have my sympathy.

A doodle poll gives everyone a list of dates. The person doing the doodle poll then picks the most popular date and tells everyone this is when the meeting is to be held. Usually I then try and keep that date free. Meetings arranged too much in advance can be as much hassle as those arranged with just a week or 2's notice as people develop other priorities, especially if it's just a hobby based thing not paid work.

YABU to think this is unique to being a freelancer, this is pretty much every working person's life nowadays. This is why I block out any time I've said I'd be available for a meeting and hold it for a week or until after the deadline for a poll passes. That way I don't double book.

YANBU to be pissed off by it it is incredibly frustrating when someone doesn't do their admin properly and send an email invite confirming dates asap

Doodle polls are straight forward, but only work if a short deadline is stated for a reply and then an invitation sent to all straight after the deadline. I'd just keep saying "sorry I was not copied in on the confirmation email" until they start sending them.