I was in the middle of writing a complicated e-mail, thinking about a meeting I needed to set up, and trying to figure out when I was going to do some homework, when an Outlook reminder popped up on my screen.

MLK Day vigil and diversity forum: 15 minutes.

The African American Cultural Society at the university where I work was hosting a small gathering to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. and his work, and I’d put the event on my calendar a while ago.

I hit “Snooze,” thinking I’d try to finish forming my thoughts for the e-mail, and then I could head over. But it took me longer to do this than I’d expected, and by then I had missed the vigil part of the program. Well, I’d go to the diversity forum when that started a little later.

I headed over a few minutes before it was…