I am booked solid through June. Yay me! It only took 23 years to get this busy.

Naturally I encourage my clients to keep standing appointments. Those who do don’t have to worry about getting usurped by someone else.

It only makes sense that new clients and one-hit wonders have to scramble for the crumbs of my schedule wherever they might fall, while my tried-and-true regulars get first choice of the choicest spots. Right?

Then, of course, there are the people who just can’t make a standing appointment — not everyone has a schedule that allows them to stake a claim in my appointment book for the same time every two weeks.

Oh, and then there are the people who want to come in every three weeks. Umm, yeah. No thanks. Either everyone books every three weeks or no one books every three weeks. It just throws the whole system into chaos. So I don’t do three-week standings when most of my regulars prefer two weeks.

Nothing is keeping those people from booking their next several appointments in advance; they just don’t. They want to book their next appointment when they come for the current one.

This does not work with a book that is spoken for three months in advance. Leaving me sitting at the computer telling a client that I don’t have anything open until the first week of July.

It’s hard to do that. I understand that if I say that to too many people, it will not be long before too many people find alternate nail techs and, come the first week of July, I will be sitting here watching the tumbleweeds roll through the hallway.

On the other hand, what am I supposed to do? When I say there are no openings for the week they want, I mean there are no openings! No. I am not going to come in early/stay late/come in on my days off (other than the Wednesdays that I keep insisting I don’t work but always seem to work nonetheless). I am only willing to be so accommodating. There is a point where I have to put my foot down and insist on maintaining a personal life.

I’m losing my patience with the people who just don’t seem to understand that when I say I’m booked, I mean there’s NO TIME to add another appointment. How many times do you have to explain that to them and suggest they book out in advance before they understand?

Until I figure it all out, all I can do is divvy up my time to people in order of importance. If someone can’t be bothered to plan ahead, I don’t see any reason that I should do it on their behalf.