Hiba's comments pretty much echo my thoughts. However, for a first signing, I think it would be OK to send an email a little earlier, depending on travel time required. You won't likely get a response, with docs, right away, although you never know. You want to allow yourself more than an hour to print and prep the docs - preferably two hrs for the first time - before it's time to leave. Just tell them that you're working on finalizing your schedule for the day and wonder when you can expect docs. Giving them a drop-dead time has pros and cons. It can make your life much simpler, but it can also leave you with lots more free time than you want...  To get the work, you need to be flexible, unless you have no competition in your area.
If it looks like you'll be getting docs last minute, don't let that throw you. You can only do what you can do. And it's not your fault if they show up late. Try to be efficient, but take the time you need. Just keep your signers informed. At a certain point, I sometimes call my signers to let them know that I hope to have documents soon, but don't quite yet, and I ask them about the flexibility of their schedules. It's amazing to me how often people only allow a small amount of time to sign - even worse is loan officers who tell them it will only take 15- 20 minutes. Not in my state (in most cases)!
If it looks like there won't be enough time to handle the signing properly, I've sometimes changed the appointment time (but not the day unless explicitly told it's OK). However, be careful about doing that. Be sure to keep your client in the loop and be aware of their expectations as to when they expect docs to be shipped out. That can be a critical detail with some packages. But remember that our notary cases don't come equipped with magic wands or crystal balls. We can't defy the laws of physics and we can't do the impossible!
Finally, I hope you have a reliable, reasonably fast laser printer. If you don't have dual trays to select the right paper size, be sure to print on all legal size paper. That's one detail you don't want to waste mental energy on for your first time out.
Hope this helps - and best of luck.
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