# Duration, buffers, and limits

Every event type has a set of timing controls that shape what slots appear on its
booking page. The defaults are sensible — most people only change one or two. You find
them in the event-type editor (open it from [Event Types](/360/events)): **Duration**
is on the *General* tab; the rest are on the *Limits & Buffers* tab — see
[the editor overview](/help/event-types/one-on-one#the-event-type-editor).

<Screenshot
  src="/help/screenshots/event-types/limits-buffers.png"
  alt="The Limits & Buffers tab of the 42min event-type editor: Date Range, Minimum Notice, Buffer Before, Buffer After, Start Time Increment, and Booking Limits (max per day / week / month)"
  caption="The Limits & Buffers tab — date range, minimum notice, before/after buffers, start-time increment, and the optional per-day/week/month booking caps."
/>

## The controls

| Setting | What it does | Default | Range / options |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Duration** | How long the meeting is. | 42 min | 10–120 min |
| **Buffer before** | Padding kept free *before* the meeting (travel, prep). | 15 min | 0 / 5 / 10 / 15 / 30 / 45 / 60 min |
| **Buffer after** | Padding kept free *after* the meeting. | 15 min | 0 / 5 / 10 / 15 / 30 / 45 / 60 min |
| **Minimum notice** | How far ahead someone must book — no last-minute slots. | 4 hours | 0 min – 7 days |
| **Date range** | How far into the future bookings are allowed. | 15 days | 1–365 days |
| **Start time increment** | The spacing of offered start times (e.g. every 30 min on the hour/half-hour). | 42 min | 1–120 min |
| **Meeting limits** | Optional caps — max meetings per day / week / month for this event type. | none | your choice |

42min computes the booking page like this: start from the event type's schedule →
remove your calendar's busy events → remove the before/after buffers around existing
meetings → drop anything inside the minimum-notice window or beyond the date range →
offer start times on the increment → respect any meeting limits.

## When to change them

- **Back-to-back meetings wearing you out** → raise the buffers (or the increment).
- **People booking you for 20 minutes from now** → raise the minimum notice.
- **You only want to be booked for the next two weeks** → shorten the date range; for
  interviews scheduled a month out, lengthen it.
- **Cap how much of your week one event type can eat** → set a weekly meeting limit.
- **Cleaner-looking slot grid** → set the start time increment to 15 or 30 minutes.

<Callout type="note">
Buffers and meeting limits are per *event type*. If you have several event types
sharing the same schedule, a big buffer on one of them doesn't pad the others — set
each one's timing for the kind of meeting it is.
</Callout>

## Common pitfalls

- **Slots disappeared after raising buffers.** Large before/after buffers on a busy
  calendar can swallow most of a day. Step them down (try 10 or 15 min) and check the
  booking page again.
- **"No times available" near-term.** That's usually the minimum-notice window doing
  its job — or a date range that's too short. Both live on the *Limits & Buffers* tab
  of the [event type](/360/events).
- **Odd start times.** A 42-minute increment produces start times like 9:00, 9:42,
  10:24… If you want them on the hour/half-hour, set the increment to 30.