Meetings Musings - I Waste Too Much Time In Meetings

Have you ever had those times when you know that God is really trying to get your attention on something? I've had that recently thinking about meetings.

It started when I read a quote from Tribe of Mentors attributed to John Arnold:
There are many organizations that fret over small, direct expenses, yet have no misgivings about keeping superfluous staff tied up in a conference room for hours.
I then looked at my calendar and the number of meetings I have in a week and I could see why I don't ever get anything done. Just this week if have 36 meetings on my calendar, in just 5 days. It includes meetings that I've scheduled, 1-on-1's with employees, daily Scrum calls that take no more than 15 minutes, project status calls, etc. I won't go to all of them either, as there are 4 that I'm double booked for. But it is easy to see why I'm starting to analyze my meetings and where I'm spending my time.

The number one thing I'm working on is trying to be more concise, because most meetings are too long. You have the natural social aspect to people gathering for a meeting and the fact that someone is always running late (probably me because I'm back to back running to the next room). Beyond that is the usual suspects list of meeting best practices. Have an agenda or a goal. Have the right people in the room. Make sure your technology is ready to go or you can proceed without it. Send out a follow up on what was discussed.

Meetings and communication are good things, I can't get rid of all my meetings because most have value. They are needed to get things done. But like anything it is always worth looking at to figure out how we can get better.



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