Let's Have a (Short) Meeting » Key Organization Systems

Let's Have a (Short) Meeting
How to plan a meeting for maximum productivity

How many hours of your week are consumed by meetings? From full staff meetings to team and committee meetings, followed by after-work community service and church groups, these gatherings can cut out a chunk of everyone's schedule, wreaking havoc with the best time management plans. Rather than the number of meetings decreasing with the advances in technology, the amount actually seems to be increasing. Some reasons for this rise in office meetings stand out:

With computers taking over the much of the mundane work, more workers are involved in project-oriented activities, needing frequent updates and collaboration.
Outsourcing and joint ventures lead to more external meetings.
Scheduling software lets others go in and block times on your schedule.
You do not have to be physically present with conference calls and video displays.

With the growth in the number of meetings, other tasks accumulate, leading to frustration at not being able to get it all done. The meeting gets blamed for the lack of time to accomplish everything else. Thus it becomes even more imperative that, when a meeting is held, it is done as efficiently as possible. If the session is to be productive, you need to determine guidelines. Start by asking yourself:

Why are we holding this meeting now?
Is there some other avenue we could use that would be more efficient?
What will be accomplished by the end of the meeting?

Once you have determined that this meeting is the most effective method for accomplishing your goals, make plans to ensure that the meeting stays within the allotted time frame.

Have a prepared agenda and stick to it.
Send out the draft agenda beforehand and ask for added input.
Start and end promptly.
Make sure everyone present has a need to be there.
Do not allow one person to monopolize the session.
Allot specific time for each agenda item.
Be sure specific actions are assigned before leaving.
Remind attendees of their expected reports a few days before the next meeting.

When you have regular meetings, whether weekly, monthly, or quarterly, create a file folder for each one. If anything comes to mind during the period between meetings that you would like to address at that meeting, or if a report needs to be brought to the meeting, place it in the folder. This way you have everything together and you can grab the folder as you head off. You have not overlooked something important.

If you are the one responsible for creating the agenda, use your Meeting folder to collect the various items that need to be discussed. A day or two before, you can take everything from your folder and quickly set up the agenda.

Be careful not to put anything into the folder that needs to be done in preparation for the meeting. Instead that item should be placed in your Daily Action file under a specific date when you will work on it. Once the work is completed, it then goes to your Meeting folder.

Meetings will continue to fulfill needs in both business and personal lives. You can accomplish a lot with proper planning. Hopefully when you hear someone say, "Let's have a short meeting," it will be short and it will be worth your time.

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