Somewhere between your third “quick sync” and your fifth “optional but encouraged” meeting, you realize your life has become a full-contact sport played entirely on Outlook. Calendar Tetris is not for the weak. It is an art form where the goal is to fit thirty rectangles into an eight-hour day without crying or accidentally scheduling lunch at 4:45 p.m.

You once believed your calendar existed to organize your time. Now it exists to mock you. Every fifteen-minute gap is instantly invaded by a “touch base,” a “brainstorm,” or worse, a “fireside chat” that happens in a fluorescent conference room with no fireplace and even less warmth. You dream of white space on your calendar like ancient sailors longed for dry land.

Your prize for surviving the day’s scheduling gymnastics? Burnout, served with a side of Teams fatigue and the faint memory of sunlight. Congratulations, champion. You win the gold medal in pretending this is sustainable.