Meetings, meetings, meetings. They can be the most exciting parts of your day, or the most boring. And if you work in a meeting-heavy office environment, meetings could be sucking the life out of your day and your productivity. How, then, can you spend time in meetings productively rather than leaning back in your chair brainstorming your grocery list or doodling?
Here are Career Girl’s best tips for productive meetings:
- Keep them short. If you’re meeting for longer than 60 minutes, you clearly haven’t done enough prep before the meeting. Prepare more and meet less.
- Plan ahead. You need an agenda and outcomes you want to see from the meeting, otherwise it can become a free-for-all. Create these things early and for every meeting you plan.
- Choose a leader. The worst meetings are those in which no one is clearly leading and everyone is constantly chattering, vying for leadership positions. Be clear on who is leading the meeting from the beginning.
- No meeting should have more than three topics. Once you get into this, that, the other, and more, you’re going to go over time and increase frustration for everyone. Stick to the point and get it done.
Meetings should increase productivity, not stunt it. Don’t just tolerate your meeting times, look forward to them because they propel you ahead in your goals both personal and as a team.
About the Author: Marcy Twete
Marcy Twete is the Founder and CEO of Career Girl Network and the author of the book “You Know Everybody! A Career Girl’s Guide to Building a Network That Works.” At Career Girl Network, Marcy provides women with information, resources, and networking to empower them in their careers and to advance the work of women in business as a whole. Prior to launching Career Girl Network, Marcy worked in numerous nonprofit organizations and as a consultant in the field of nonprofit fundraising, marketing, and community relations. Marcy is a graduate of the College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph, Minnesota, and a native of rural North Dakota. She is the Vice Chair of the Chicago Board of Directors for Step Up Women’s Network in Chicago and a member of the Advisory Board for Girls on the Run Twin Cities, and is dedicated to advancing the work of organizations that move the needle for women and girls worldwide.
This is great to the point post about how to make meetings more productive. I especially think the point about “no meeting should have more then three topics” as being a great one. While they may not always be realistic it’s a nice one to try and shoot for.