Have you ever wondered how to have effective meetings? Perhaps you started off strong, but are now using more time than you’ve scheduled for. On the other hand, maybe you’re spending less time and should shorten the meeting. Either way, here are some tips to be more productive.
Shorten Meetings
Frequently, where I work now, meetings are anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. Especially when working remotely, this is doable. However, a point often overlooked in offices is the transit and preparation times needed for each meeting. If you’re an office worker that schedules meetings, consider shortening 30-minute blocks to 15 minutes.
Only Have Meetings When Necessary
When you find yourself sitting in a meeting wondering, “Could this have been an email?” – it probably could have. In situations like this, sometimes a detailed email can provide more clarity, quicker. Before the scheduled meeting time, capture your thoughts and pertinent information and send it to its attendees. Often, you may find the meeting time to be superfluous.
Create Agendas Ahead of Time
Second, a good way to keep everyone on-topic and prepared in advance of your meeting is by making an agenda. In your agenda, you can outline the different items that you plan on discussing with the team. Next, send this to your team in advance of the meeting so that they can gather their thoughts preemptively.
Send Follow-up Emails
Third, after your meeting, it’s a good practice to send out the meeting minutes or notes to its attendees. That way, you will be distributing the same information to each individual which will allow them a “single source of truth” and make collaborating easier.
A Visual Flowchart to Meetings
Though this flowchart and information can be tied back to both shortening and having meetings only when necessary, we think it’s a good, funny way to help you make a decision. Once you get through the first few questions, if you end up getting to the point where you’re 100% sure a meeting is necessary, you’ll have your answer…or you’ll know where to start next.
In Conclusion
In conclusion, sometimes, shorter meetings are better. On the other hand, some meetings can be better handled in an email. Whether or not you schedule a meeting depends on your criteria and the necessity for an open dialogue.
Do you find yourself spending a lot of time in meetings daily? Do you have any tips that we didn’t include that you think are essential? Let us know in the comments below! Â
Resources & Further Reading
(@richard.ux), R. (2021, February 23). 8 tips for more productive meetings. Retrieved May 05, 2021, from https://uxdesign.cc/8-tips-for-more-productive-meetings-e984e5687af
Locke, R. (2019, June 26). 12 secrets to a super productive meeting you should know. Retrieved May 05, 2021, from https://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/12-secrets-super-productive-meetings-you-should-know.html
Williams, R. (2021, February 4). 10 tips for more productive meetings. Retrieved May 05, 2021, from https://www.business.com/articles/better-meeting-productivity/