Reverse the default

When This Fires

• When your calendar is consistently filled by others' meeting requests despite attempts to protect blocks
• When deep work only happens "when there are no meetings" rather than by design
• When implementing Consolidate meetings into 1-2 designated days — meeting… (meeting consolidation) and needing the enforcement mechanism
• When the social cost of declining individual meetings is higher than you want to pay repeatedly

Common Failure Mode

Half-measures: blocking "focus time" on the calendar but still accepting meeting requests that override it. If the focus blocks aren't treated as genuinely unavailable — if "blocked" means "available if important enough" — the default hasn't actually been reversed. The blocks erode within weeks.

The Protocol

(1) Designate specific windows as office hours: times when you're available for meetings, questions, and coordination. Communicate these clearly to anyone who schedules with you. (2) Outside office hours, your default is unavailable. Not "busy," not "in a meeting" — genuinely not scheduling anything. (3) When someone requests time outside office hours, redirect: "I'm available during my office hours [times]. Would any of those work?" (4) Make exceptions only for genuine emergencies or escalations — not for convenience or preference. (5) Pair with Consolidate meetings into 1-2 designated days — meeting…: office hours should fall on meeting days. Non-meeting days have no office hours, creating full protected days for maker work.