If you pulled up your work calendar right now, how many meetings are scheduled over the next week? Five? Ten? Most calendars are overloaded with meeting invites and, often, employees walk out of them hoping that one day it will not feel like meetings are a waste of time. Stay tuned, because we are going to help you revitalize your approach and ensure your meetings are effective.
There is a 50/50 shot that you dislike meetings. But simply wishing that meetings did not waste time won’t make them better—or cancel one altogether if it never should have been called in the first place. So, how can you break the cycle?
First, take a minute to give good meetings some love. When run effectively, meetings foster collaboration and communication, keeping employees motivated. A staff meeting, for example, can cover critical topics that affect the entire department or company. But, if it is not well organized, collaboration and communication are undermined; attendees may come out of the staff meeting wondering if it was necessary.
So, in the spirit of increasing productivity and overall morale, consider why some meetings take home the “meetings are a waste of time” prize. Is it because they either have too much of something (they happen too often or they are too long), or not enough of something else (focus or actionable outcomes)? We have called out four common ways meetings waste time below and listed specific things you can do immediately to start improving them.
Let us tackle your meetings’ trouble spots.
I have too many meetings on my calendar:
Cancel unnecessary meetings
Establish a no-meeting day
Say no
My meetings are too long:
Think of your time as a valuable commodity
Try a stand-up
My meetings lack focus:
Identify the purpose and goal of the meeting
Share the agenda and other helpful context ahead of the meeting
My meetings are not as productive as I would like:
Select the right attendees, and outline their roles
Assign a note taker
Assign action items as you go
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