When trying to outsmart yourself, it’s important to be consistent

So, I had a doctor’s appointment today. Since I always wind up being late getting to this particular doctor, I frequently mark my calendar so that the appointment reads as 15 minutes earlier than it actually is.

So today, I was eating my lunch, minding my own business, when I looked at the clock and realized it was 12:35. My appointment was for 1 pm. It takes 35 minutes to get to the doctor and deal with their parking ramp, which is so narrow that a Geo Prizm and Prius can barely pass each other in the traffic lane. So, I was already running 20 minutes late, and I still had to run around the house finding my shoes and stuff like that, so by the time I got out the door it was 12:45.

“Well,” I thought to myself, “at least I know I have an extra fifteen minutes padding my schedule!”

But no. When I arrived at my doctor’s office I was told that my appointment really, truly was for 1 pm.

Now, the weird thing about my clinic is that they actually stick to a schedule there so you know you won’t be there all day. That means that sometimes I screw myself out of my appointments. The bitch of it was that this appointment had to be made 2 months in advance, and my insurance would be changing at the end of the month (again), causing a whole new healthcare drama in my life.

Fortunately there was another practitioner with an opening at 2 pm this afternoon, so I wasn’t completely screwed.

But I clearly need to rethink this 15-minutes-early strategy.