The party planner

“I want to throw a party for our guests.”

The middle-aged man’s words are heeded by his attendant and the plans are drawn up and put into action in the following days. The attendant has the job of overseeing everything for the party, but makes sure that all the plans are to the man’s liking before making any final decisions. 

“I absolutely hate parties. The guests are always uncomfortable; they either feel like there is too much to do, or wallow around the rooms of the party feeling like they should do something more. Help me with this. How should we make our guests comfortable?”

The servant thinks about it for a moment, leaves the room, and comes back to the man in a short while. He has drawn up a schedule for the party in which all the activities the man wants to hold have an allotted time and are accounted for. None of these activities are scheduled for the same time, and none take up the same amount of time; each activity has been thought about by the servant and has been given the time he thinks each will take. The man looks at the schedule.

“This won’t do at all. How will the guests feel like any of these events are meaningful if they know there is a set amount of time for each one? They will keep looking back at their watches and think to themselves ‘this activity is already half over,’ feeling pressured either to enjoy the remaining time even more, or feel guilty for not enjoying the commenced time as much as they could have. They will continuously feel the need to gauge themselves and their enjoyment on the time left and the total time allotted.”

The servant looks disappointed that the man doesn’t find his schedule for the party satisfactory. He hangs his head ever so slightly and takes the schedule back from the man and walks out of the room. He comes up with another plan for the party, and tells his ideas to the man once again. This sheet of paper is filled with the list of activities the man wants the party to contain. There is no time schedule, and all of the events will just happen as they happen; they will be at the whims of the guests.

“This is much worse! How am I supposed to have assurance that all of these events will take place? What if the guests like a certain activity too much and want to keep doing that one until the party is over? Or what if the activities get ran through too quickly and then the guests are left with nothing to do at all? No, this will not work.”

The servant is distraught now, because he is quickly running out of options. He hurries out of the room to draft a new plan for the party. He hurries back to the man in half the time as before, and seems confident in his schedule now. The party will now be separated into different rooms where each event will be held. All of the events will commence at the start of the party, and run the whole way until the end. Each guest will be able to freely choose what events they want to attend, how long they attend, and if they attend at all. The main room will have no events in it, and will be the starting point for all the guests, allowing each to decide. The man looks at the schedule and then at the servant hopefully.

“This is better, at least on paper. Each guest should be accommodated as much as possible with this schedule, and no guest should feel pressured or useless. But what if a guest feels overwhelmed with the possibilities to the point that they make no decision, even if they want to? They will just stand there paralyzed in fear of making the wrong choice; they will stand there because they don’t know which event will bring them the most joy at the party. Oh no this won’t do either. Go make another plan for the party.”

The servant looks at the man with a concerned face and slowly and deliberately walks to the large door to the side of the room. He opens it slowly, revealing a mass of guests in the main entranceway. “Sir, we have no time to plan any more. The guests have arrived, and the party is already half over. But it seems as if they have created their own schedule, and have been enjoying themselves immensely. Why don’t you go join them?”