Right on schedule

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I come from the understanding that time is infinite with no boundaries, and that we humans have given it the concept of a calendar.

We have then gone on and created our entire order around this concept of segmented time. 

The infinite segmented into digestible bite size chunks. 

Appointments, meetings, flight times, train times, time zones. 

Everything is associated with a calendar. 

When I think of a calendar, I can visualise a grid which is split between days and times, with the added options of months and years. 

But it is always in the form of a grid. 

I also associate the word ‘calendar’ to the word ‘schedule’. 

As an ex-personal assistant, a schedule was at the heart of my work. 

I had to manage other people’s diaries, ensuring they were where they needed to be; when they needed to be. 

‘Diary’ is another word I would associate with a ‘schedule’. 

‘Schedule’ feels close to the concept of segmentation, as well as the idea of meeting demands. 

Time is demanding, and a schedule helps us fulfil our obligations.

But where did the word ‘schedule’ come from? 

What are its roots?

’Schedule‘ has an interesting etymology that has taken routes through both Greek and Latin. 

At its foundation, the term ‘schedule’ comes from the Proto-Indo-European (PIE) root *skei-, meaning ‘to cut’ or ‘to split. 

This PIE root contributes to the foundation for words like ‘conscience’, ‘omniscience’, ‘science’ and ‘schizophrenia’. 

This root took route through Greek into the Greek word ‘skhedē’, meaning something ‘close at hand’ or ‘an immediate object’, originally being a strip of papyrus used for writing. 

This term then evolved into the Latin word ‘scheda’ meaning ‘strip of papyrus’ or ‘leaf of paper’. 

We see it adopted into the Medieval Latin term ‘schedula’ meaning ‘small slips of paper’ or ‘list’ which then evolved into Old French as ‘redule’ or ‘schedule’, referring to a ‘written note’ or ‘document’.

Its arrival into English occurred in around the late 14th Century as ‘schedule’ and it retained its meaning of a ‘written note’ or ‘plan’. 

The concept of segmenting time has continued from cutting papyrus to creating lists. 

When we see its etymology, we realise just how much we take the concept of a schedule for granted when we make an appointment with a doctor, or when we book in time to meet a friend. 

We’ve suddenly arranged a day, a time, a location - a whole sequence of associations we label collectively as a ‘schedule’. 

A schedule is the opportunity to plan ahead.

To know what the demands are on our time. 

And to make sense of that inexplicable concept of the infinite.