1.2.1 SCHEDULING AND RESCHEDULING
SCHEDULING AND RESCHEDULING
1.Warm up
- What factors typically influence how and when you schedule meetings at work?
- How frequently do you find yourself needing to reschedule, and what tends to trigger these changes?
- Can you identify common disruptions or conflicts that require you to adjust scheduled appointments?
- What logistical or interpersonal challenges have you encountered when rescheduling meetings?
- How do you usually respond to last-minute scheduling changes, and what strategies help you stay flexible under pressure?
2A. Vocabulary: Phrasal verbs
2B. Practice
call off set up follow up hold off wrap up run over fit in check in look into block off move up pencil in
You may need to change the form of the verb in some of them.
2C. Discussion
Ask and answer the following questions.
1.How do you usually set up meetings at your workplace?
Do you prefer emails or calendar invites?
Why?
2. Have you ever had to call off an important meeting at the last minute?
How did you explain it to the other person?
3. Have you ever decided to hold off on a meeting or a project?
What influenced your decision?
4. How do you feel when someone moves up a meeting unexpectedly? Is it better or worse than postponing?
5. Do your meetings often run over? Why does that happen, and how can it be prevented?
6. When you’re busy, how do you manage to fit in extra meetings or calls?
7. What’s your usual process for following up after a meeting?
Emails, calls, reports?
8. Do you prefer to check in with colleagues before a meeting or after?
Why?
9. When planning your week, how do you decide which times to block off for meetings or focused work?
2D. “What Would You Say?”
How would you handle the following situations?
3A. Advanced expressions for scheduling and rescheduling
Look at the following expressions.
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3B. Role-Play Activity: “The Scheduling Challenge”
Instructions
- In pairs or small groups. One is the Meeting Organiser, the other(s) are Attendees.
- Each Meeting Organiser receives a scenario where you schedule or reschedule a series of meetings based on unexpected changes, availability issues, or last-minute events.
- You must negotiate the new schedule using at least 6–8 advanced expressions from the language bank.
- Switch roles so everybody practises being the organiser and attendee.
You’re the executive assistant. Your manager:
- Has a strategy meeting booked Wednesday at 3 p.m. but needs to move it earlier.
- Must attend an urgent legal briefing Thursday afternoon.
- Wants to pencil in a new supplier meeting for late Friday.
- Can no longer attend the 10 a.m. Thursday session and asks you to reschedule
You’re trying to arrange a client meeting:
- The client has limited availability next week.
- Your legal team is only free Monday or Wednesday.
- A key stakeholder asks to push back Friday’s meeting to next week.
- The project lead is on holiday Wednesday afternoon.
You’re managing a project and need to coordinate meetings with different departments. Unfortunately, your calendar is almost full.
- You need to set up a meeting with the design team early next week, but the only open slot is Tuesday at 8:30 a.m.
- A colleague just called off a scheduled performance review and asks you to reschedule
- You promised to follow up with the HR manager by Thursday, but your Thursday is completely blocked.
- You’d like to wrap up all pre-launch meetings by next Friday at the latest, so you’re trying to fit in one last check-in with the marketing team.
You work for a global law firm that needs to align schedules with international clients in different time zones (New York, London, Singapore). There are several clashes and last-minute changes.
- A client in Singapore has asked to move up a meeting that was originally set for Friday.
- The client in New York needs to hold off on your call until next week due to internal issues.
- Your managing partner insists on blocking off two hours on Wednesday morning for strategic planning.
- You need to check in with a colleague about a client proposal that’s due by next Tuesday.
4A. Time Management – The R.A.C. Method
Discussion questions
- Are you good at managing your time? Why or why not?
- What are the biggest time wasters in your day?
- What habits make people less productive at work or school?
4B. Vocabulary Matching
Block off or block out?
Both can be used when talking about reserving time on a calendar, but there are slight differences in tone and usage:
✅ Block out time (more common for planning tasks)
- Meaning: Reserve time for a specific task or purpose.
- Example: I blocked out two hours to prepare for the meeting.
- Tone: Neutral, often used in productivity or time management contexts.
✅ Block off time (often used to restrict access or availability)
- Meaning: Mark yourself as unavailable during that time.
- Example: She blocked off Friday afternoon so no one could book a meeting.
- Tone: Slightly more about protecting time from interruptions.
Summary:
- Use “block out” when you’re scheduling time for something.
- Use “block off” when you’re making time unavailable to others.
4C. Video: Watch the video and answer the questions below.
Click HERE to watch the video.
- What are the three steps of the R.A.C. method?
(Answer: Record, Analyse, Change) - What examples of time-wasting does the speaker give?
- What strategies are suggested to improve time management?
- How does poor time management affect psychological health?
- What are the three steps of the R.A.C. method?
4D. Discussion
- What are some tasks you tend to procrastinate on, and why do you think that happens?
- Do you believe multitasking is productive, or does it reduce the quality of your work?
- What are the biggest time wasters in your daily routine, and how could you avoid them?
- What strategies do you use when you feel overwhelmed at work or in your personal life?
- How do you prioritise your tasks when you have too much to do and not enough time?
- Do you ever declutter your physical or digital workspace? How does it affect your focus?
- Have you ever tried to block out time in your calendar for specific tasks? Did it help?
- How easy or difficult is it for you to stick to a schedule? What helps you stay on track?
- What’s the “ugly part” of your job or responsibilities — the tasks you dislike but must do?
- Can you give an example of a time when you managed to kill two birds with one stone?
🗣️ 5A. Speaking
- How do you currently record your tasks?
- What would you highlight as your own time wasters?
- What changes could you make based on this method?
5B. Mini Role-Play – Productivity Coach
- One student is a “Productivity Coach,” the other is a client.
- The client describes a typical day full of distractions.
- The coach gives advice using modal verbs and vocabulary from the video.
Example: “You might want to block out time for deep work,” or “You should prioritize no more than five tasks.”
5C. Wrap-up
- What’s one time-wasting habit you’d like to change this week?
- How could the R.A.C. method help you improve?
6A.🕒 Prepositions of Time & Time Expressions
- What’s the busiest time of your day?
- Have you ever lost track of time? What happened?
- Do you often run out of time? How do you deal with it?
6B. Look at the following prepositions, their uses and some examples.
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6C.📝 Choose the correct preposition:
6D. Time Idioms & Advanced Expressions
- Ahead of time – earlier than expected
- Behind schedule – later than planned
- In no time – very quickly
- In the nick of time – just before it’s too late
- Pressed for time – having very little time
6E. Discussion questions
Have you ever finished a task well ahead of time? How did you feel afterwards?
Think of a project or event that ran behind schedule. What caused the delay?
Can you describe a moment when something happened in no time?
Were you surprised by how fast it went?
Have you ever caught a flight or met a deadline in the nick of time?
What were the consequences if you hadn’t?
Do you often feel pressed for time in your daily life?
How do you manage that stress?
Describe a typical day from start to finish.
Use expressions like from…to, at, in, during, and until.
Talk about a habit you’ve had since childhood.
How has it changed over time?
Do you prefer to arrive on time, ahead of time, or are you usually running late? Why?
Describe a stressful situation where you were pressed for time but managed to stay calm. What helped you?
7A. 🎭 Role Plays
Look at the following role plays to practise prepositions of time and advanced time expressions/idioms like ahead of time, behind schedule, in no time, etc.
Scenario: One student is the project manager; the other is a team member who’s running behind schedule.
Task: Discuss what went wrong, how to fix it in time, and how to finish the project within the new deadline.
Try to use: behind schedule, by Friday, in the nick of time, within, for, until.
Scenario: You’re late for your flight and only arrived in the nick of time.
Task: Role-play explaining the situation to a friend or an airline staff member.
Try to use: in the nick of time, at 6 a.m., during check-in, ahead of time, for two hours.
Scenario: One student is overwhelmed and always pressed for time. The other is a coach giving advice on managing time better.
Try to use: pressed for time, from…to, during, within, by, ahead of time.
Scenario: You’re organising an event that must be ready by tomorrow, but the preparations are behind schedule.
Task: Come up with a plan to get everything done in time and ahead of time for rehearsals.
Try to use: behind schedule, by, until, during, in no time.
Scenario: One student is the interviewer; the other is the applicant.
Task: Ask and answer questions about how you manage your time, meet deadlines, and handle pressure.
Try to use: for, since, in no time, ahead of time, pressed for time, during.
7B. Debate Topics
- “Being early is a waste of time.”
- “People are too obsessed with time management.”
- “Deadlines do more harm than good.”
- “Working under pressure produces better results.”