When should a forum plan next year's calendar?

In the autumn, before members' board dates and company calendars for the following year are fixed. Asking early is how a forum gets first claim on the time.

Can one poll cover a whole year?

A single poll covers up to 120 days, so a practical approach is one poll per half-year, or one covering each quarter's candidate meeting days.

Guide

Planning a forum calendar for the year

Groups that decide their dates a month at a time lose attendance to whoever books first. Groups that set the year in one round get first claim on their members' calendars.

Find a Date See how it works

Create a free availability poll and share it with your group.

Run it before calendars fill

Late in the year, before the next year's board dates and budget cycles are fixed, is when a forum has the most leverage. Ask for the whole year while there is still room in it.

What to put in the poll

Include every kind of date the group commits to, not just the monthly meeting — the retreat block, the chapter events, the partner evening. They compete for the same calendar space, so they should be decided together.

Monthly or six-weekly session days for each quarter.
A candidate window for the annual retreat.
Any fixed anchors — conferences, chapter obligations — marked as excluded up front.

Publish and defend the calendar

Send calendar invitations for every date the week you decide. A published forum calendar is the only thing that holds against the next thing that wants the same Tuesday.

Re-poll only what breaks

When one date has to move, poll the two weeks either side of it rather than reopening the whole calendar. Small, bounded polls get fast answers; a reopened year does not.

Frequently asked questions

When should a forum plan next year's calendar?: In the autumn, before members' board dates and company calendars for the following year are fixed. Asking early is how a forum gets first claim on the time.
Can one poll cover a whole year?: A single poll covers up to 120 days, so a practical approach is one poll per half-year, or one covering each quarter's candidate meeting days.

forum calendar schedulingSet the rhythm in one round.all forum schedulingThe hub for peer groups and boards.

How to schedule a peer advisory group meetingA repeatable process for chairs running forum, mastermind or peer-advisory groups.How to schedule a forum retreatRetreats need a block of days, not a single date. Here is how to find one across ten executive calendars.

Find the day everyone can make it