But I suspect that all that angst is wasted, as I've become increasingly suspicious that there's a whole 'nuther field of science here waiting to be discovered. Because experience seems to show that the later you leave the arrangements, the more likely they are to oddly fall into place. Once it's down to the last week, some sort of magical force steps in, and the schedule just seems to magically coalesce. People quickly agree to proposed times and others randomly request meetings right at the time you have a gap in the schedule.
In fact, I'm thinking about taking this to the next level on my next trip: I'll just book a flight in and out of wherever I need to go, and then if meetings are meant to happen, they'll just happen. I may go as far as booking a hotel, to be safe, but other than that I'll just head to a cafe on the first morning and see who turns up.
Of course the other conclusion is that the boy scout motto "be prepared" is not worth the woggle on which it was carved.