Meetings

Ever wonder how much time we all spend in meetings? Do you have meetings to have a meeting or to get things done? Well, I had a little of both this week. How does anyone get anything done if you spend 50-60% of your working hours in meetings? If you are lucky, you walk away from one without having actionable items. If you are not, when do you find the time to take action? "It's a vicious cycle!"

If you are the facilitator, IMHO that's even worse. Trying to get everyone on the same time to meet. I ended up cancelling some of them just because it was near impossible to schedule. And to some, I would say "Tough, would have liked to have you in the meeting but can't fit everyone in. So, please read the meeting minutes or attached presentation and call if you have any questions. Thanks and you have a nice day."

The sad part is that's acceptable practice because there's always the "reschedule". Not to forget the convenience of online calendars in our email systems for someone to invite you to a meeting. I knew of someone who turned on the auto accept of meeting invites. Sometimes, they show up not even knowing what the meeting was about!

Here's a tip: Pick a day and just book the entire day called "MY TIME". That should stop some of those online invites. Note the "some" not "ALL".