TLDR: Place a hold on every time you offer, label it so anyone can tell what it's for and when it expires, and release the rest the moment the meeting is confirmed.
Most hold problems come from the last step. Stale holds block real meetings, confuse coworkers, and make your executive look busier than they are.
Tools like Vimcal EA create holds automatically when you send times and delete them once the meeting is booked.
What a calendar hold is for
A hold reserves time on the calendar while you wait for someone to confirm. If you offer three times to a board member, all three should be held so nobody else books over them in the meantime.
Holds also let you block time for something that isn't scheduled yet, like travel that hasn't been booked or a meeting that's still being planned.
How to place holds
- Hold every time you offer. If you offer it, you need to be able to honor it.
- Offer fewer times for important meetings. Three holds on a busy week is fine. Six makes the calendar unreadable.
- Hold the full block, including travel time or any buffer the meeting needs.
- Decide busy or free on purpose. More on that below.
How to label holds
A good hold title tells anyone looking at the calendar three things: that it's a hold, what it's for, and who it's with.
A simple format works for most teams:
HOLD: Board prep with Sarah (Acme)
HOLD: Q4 offsite planning
HOLD: Travel to NYC (flight TBD)
Some EAs add the date they'll release it, like "HOLD until Thu." That makes cleanup easy, and coworkers know when the time might open up.
Use a consistent color for holds too, so they stand out from confirmed meetings at a glance.
Busy or free?
This is the question EAs disagree on most. Our view: it depends on whether you're also sharing a booking link.
- Busy when you've offered specific times and need them protected. Otherwise someone else can book over them before your contact replies.
- Free when the times are also on a booking link. If the holds are busy, they block the very slots you're asking people to book.
If coworkers schedule directly on your executive's calendar, busy holds are safer. A hold they can't see isn't protecting anything.
How to release holds
Release the extras the moment the meeting is confirmed. Waiting until the end of the day is how holds get forgotten.
A few habits help:
- Release as part of confirming. Sending the invite and deleting the other holds should be one step.
- Set an expiry. If nobody replies in two or three days, release the holds and follow up with fresh times.
- Sweep weekly. Every Friday, scan the next two weeks for holds that are still sitting there.
- Tell people when you release a hold they were counting on, like a co-host or another EA.
Holds across multiple people
Group meetings are where holds get messy. If you're scheduling your executive with four other people, you may be holding times on several calendars and coordinating with several assistants.
Agree on one owner for the holds. Whoever sends the options places the holds and releases them, and everyone else waits for the final invite.
How Vimcal EA handles holds
In Vimcal EA, holds are taken care of for you. When you send times with Slots, Vimcal creates Smart Holds on your executive's calendar for each option.
If you add or remove a time, the holds update to match. When the meeting is booked, the remaining holds are deleted automatically.
You can also choose to show holds on attendees' calendars, which helps when you're coordinating with other assistants. When Slots include a booking link, holds are set to free so they don't block the times you're offering.
For group meetings, Group Vote lets attendees pick the times that work for them, so you're not juggling holds across a long email thread.
FAQ
What is a hold on a calendar?
A placeholder event that reserves time while a meeting is being scheduled, so nothing else gets booked over it.
How should I label a calendar hold?
Start with "HOLD:", then what it's for and who it's with, like "HOLD: Board prep with Sarah (Acme)." Adding a release date helps with cleanup.
Should calendar holds show as busy or free?
Busy when you've offered specific times and need them protected. Free when the same times are on a booking link, so the holds don't block bookings.
How long should I keep a hold?
Until the meeting is confirmed, or two to three days without a reply. After that, release it and send fresh times.
Can holds be created and removed automatically?
Yes. In Vimcal EA, holds are created when you send times with Slots and deleted automatically once the meeting is booked.
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