A friend and I were chatting the other day about adulting. Specifically, maintaining adult friendships. If you live in a big city, or just have friends with different lifestyles, it can be so difficult to get everyone together. While living in London, I had to choose dates more than a month in advance just for a happy hour drink. It’s no one’s fault really – it’s just how life is in 2019, with people being pulled in a million different directions.
We’re also on the forefront of something new when it comes to adults. Traditionally, people hit milestones of marriage and kids and jobs roughly that the same time – just like most of us did for school accomplishments. Not only is the linear path fuzzy, but people are feeling more empowered to try other options – traveling, careers, or just doing their damn thing for the hustle.
Anyways, the madness has got to stop.
I’ve made a commitment to connecting with friends more this year, but I’m already frustrated with trying to schedule times to meet-up. I’ve come up with a few fresh strategies, including WhenAvailable. I think WhenAvailable works for anyone who’s had scheduling woes.
There are other great apps and sites to help plan trips and get togethers, but I personally don’t have time to sign up for another account. I like that I can use WhenAvailable without a login. And forget me, but when I need to send it to my mom it saves me 27 steps of having to explain how it works – she can just pick dates/times that work and we’re off!
It’s linked to an email, so once dates are decided, everyone knows right away. If you have the same clique of buddies you often try to get together, you can save them in a group for next time too.
Here’s a few perfect scenarios for WhenAvailable
- Bachelorette parties. When we went on mine in Miami, I sure wish we knew about a platform like this. Just for planning, it’d be great to know everyone’s availability. It’s also especially helpful for groups who might not know each other well and want to pic the best weekend for a destination bachelorette what works for everyone. P.S., another easy tip? Ship your luggage ahead of time and avoid slugging around all that extra weight in the group!
- Get-togethers for the squad. Ever try to get two friends on the opposite sides of town together in the same room? It’s near impossible. Plan way ahead for birthdays, your short breaks UK getaways and just catch-ups at the optimal time. No excuse now – I got you all in my calendar!
- I love my family, but tech-speak is hard for some of them. No offense mom. And email chains kill my soul a little. With my folks living a decent distance away and my husband’s parents too, we need a way to all communicate and pick days to hang out.
- Work hustle. I work form home and like to coordinate coffee dates and brainstorm sessions. Sometimes it’s tough to choose a space and a time for multiple people. Next time I coordinate one of these remote working dates, I’ll be using WhenAvailable.
How do you get all your friends together? What issues do you have making it happen? Is it distance, time? Have you ever gone on a group trip? How’d you organize it?
