Thursday sounds good, but let me check my calendar

Swedes are ever loyal to their pocket calendars. These little brown things that they throw in their purses or their laptop bags with the week numbers clearly labeled.  Some calendars even have little perforated tear-sheets where you can dog-ear which week you’re in, making it easy to simply flip right back to it.  I have seen people go into a mad panic when they lose their calendars.

Another #TrulySwedish thing I’ve seen is that it is hard to be spontaneous with a Swede.  Yes, yes, you’re probably saying “But I’m spontaneous!” …but let’s see if this applies to you too.

It’s a Monday afternoon and the summer day is gorgeous outside. I want to grab some colleagues and go for some drinks at Josefina’s in Djurgården.  (Need every excuse to use my sunglasses!)  I ask around, and all of the Swedes are hesitant.  Not because they have anything better to do that evening, but because it wasn’t specifically scheduled in their calendar at least a few days in advance.

Sound familiar?

I love that Swedes have their daily lives organized so well.  Kind of like how the Swedes queue in line – orderly, calm, and with impressive results.  This is something I myself like – order and control over my life. For me, I use my Blackberry to keep track of my life.  I have all of my meeting schedules in there from 8-17, and then I have my personal commitments for all the other hours.  So while I agree with the need to have a calendar, it is frustrating when you simply want to ask someone to grab a bite or have a drink and they have to check their calendars to find a good day. (Of course, this is a generalization and there are many people who aren’t like this, but this is something I’ve seen more here…)

There is no day like today.

And as we all know, if the sun is out, take advantage of it. It won’t be there forever.

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