Meeting Madness

How much time do you have in your day to get real work done?
In multiple conversations we’ve heard people report how challenging it is to get anything done due to the number of meetings in their day.
Here are some suggestions to manage the meeting madness:

• * Demand an agenda – if no one takes the time to figure out why the meeting is necessary then should you spend your valuable time attending?

• * Shorten your meetings – who says you have to meet for an hour? Shorten all your meetings to 30 minutes or less. Then manage your time to ensure you cover what’s important.

• * Minimize attendees – only invite people who must attend the meeting. The more people in attendance, the more input you will receive and the longer discussions or decisions will take.

If all else fails, just say no. There is a limit to your time, so guard it carefully. You can decline a meeting and ask for a summary report of the discussions and decisions. Just because you are invited doesn’t mean you should always accept a meeting invitation.
Manage the madness by ensuring that you have an agenda, shorten meetings and only invite people who must attend.