ON PRODUCTIVITY || 5 Tips to Make Meetings Work for You and Minimize Wasted Time
Meetings can really be a drag sometimes, especially when there's no clear purpose.
So, how can you make the most of your meetings to ensure it's relevant to everyone attending and get things done? Here are 5 tips I've picked up over two decades of running meetings that have made my work days more efficient and productive.
1 | Meetings do not need to be an hour
I know your calendar defaults to this period, but who said you can't have 10-minute or even 15-minute meetings? After you've attended your fair share of meetings and understand the time required to make decisions associated with varying levels of complexity, you have a ballpark estimate of how long it'll take you to:
1. Describe the problem to the other party.
2. Lay out the options, and
3. Ask them to choose which option or confirm a time when they can provide you with a response.
I've sent out emails asking for 5-minute meetings, 15-minute meetings, or even 20-minute meetings. The receiving party will be glad you've timeboxed it so they know how much time to allocate.
Of course, be mindful of their time and keep an eye on the clock so you don't go overtime, or they will be less inclined to take your subsequent meeting requests because they doubt whether it will only take 15 minutes.
2 | Have an agenda, objective, actions, assignees and outcomes
Expectations are key to a productive meeting to get everyone out of there on time or ahead of time.
When you send out the meeting invite, include the objective of the meeting so people know why they need to be there. Share an agenda that outlines the time allocated to discuss each item and the assignee for the item.
Assignees know they have to be there because they are expected to contribute by defining their action items and outcomes from the meeting.
Here's an example. The objective of a meeting could be to determine the elements of a client's media buy campaign for a new product launch. One of the assignees may be the Media Planner, and their task and outcome from the meeting would be to prepare an initial draft based on the team's agreed-upon run dates and media budget by a specific date and time.
I believe that only contributors and decision-makers need to be in a meeting. Everyone else can be kept up to date in a progress or recap email.
3 | Delete unnecessary repeating meetings
I'm guilty of this as well. Sometimes, we set recurring weekly meetings with clients during their onboarding period, when things are more intense and require more attention from all parties.
The drawback of this practice is that when those weekly meetings are no longer needed, and everyone is on track and knows what they're doing, they're hesitant to delete that weekly check-in. To avoid this happening to you, set a timeframe where you expect weekly meetings to be beneficial, and then delete it to free up people's time. Is the onboarding process two months? Great, cancel that repeating meeting invite after two months.
Tell me you don’t want to be here without telling me you don’t want to be here.
4 | This could've been an email + do I need to be here?
You've seen enough memes on social media saying how a meeting or a phone call could have been an email, and this should be the test to help you decide whether it can save you from sending a meeting invite.
Are you repeating details the team has already agreed to = email
Are you recapping progress with the team, and they all have a workback schedule to track what's supposed to be completed each day or week? = email
Is there a new issue that needs the input of several people to come to a decision? In this case, if it saves you 30 emails back and forth to incorporate everyone's opinions, schedule a meeting, and follow number 2 above to ensure you get the answers you need.
This ties closely to the question, 'Do I need to be here?' This is a question employees quietly ask in their minds when they figure it could have been an email for them because they aren't required to make any contributions or be involved with decision-making tasks in the meeting. This is true, so if you are the employee part of a project team and feel the recap email from the meeting would be sufficient for you, let your team know. It's worse to sit playing on your phone or doing something irrelevant to the meeting.
5 | Stand up
I've realized that wrapping up meetings could be a challenge for some, and sometimes, it's as easy as just getting out of your seat. Some companies also practice standing meetings, so when you've said what you've come here to say and decisions have been made, simply start walking away. Your teammates will take the nonverbal cues and head back to their desks.
If it’s for an online video call, use the words ‘to recap…’ and then list the action items for each assignee from the meeting, tell everyone to have a good day and be on your way.
These are five things I've implemented for my meetings, phone calls, and honestly, most business interactions to free up more time to do other stuff that matters. Let me know if you've got a few more to add to this list!
