A difficult appointment can leave a person tired before any ordinary work begins.

Appointments that carry any weight take more than the time printed on the letter. There is the waiting, the effort of holding yourself together in a public room, the news itself, and the strange flatness afterwards, and all of it draws on the same reserve ordinary tasks need. Someone can be free at two o’clock and have nothing left.

If your day includes something hard, put nothing demanding after it, and be easy on yourself for the hours that follow. If the appointment belongs to somebody else, ask about the rest of their day rather than only the result. Offer a lift, a meal, a quiet hour.