A meeting postponed casually may have already cost someone a carefully arranged morning.

A postponement costs different amounts to different people. Behind an appointment there may be a carer booked, a shift swapped, a taxi paid for, a child collected early, or a day of energy budgeted by somebody with a limited supply. None of that is visible to the person moving the meeting, who experiences the change as a small adjustment to a calendar. The casualness stings more than the delay.

When you have to move something, ask what it cost the other person to arrange. Offer the next slot yourself rather than asking them to start again.