“Meetings! I do nothing but attend meetings! Meetings after meetings after meetings. I can’t get my real work done.”
Many of us have calendars filled with meetings. Each day we pick up a raft of things to do that we can’t get to because we are in meetings all day the next day. Hooboy.
Here are four things you can do to relieve the pressure.
- Do meetings correctly. Meetings are an important part of our work and, done well, are a great way to get things done. A good book on having productive meetings is Death by Meeting by Patrick Lencioni.
- Change the default duration. We (and our electronic calendars) have a default meeting duration, usually 60 minutes. Try shrinking the size of your default meeting. If you normally book an hour, try making your default meeting 30 minutes long. Or even 20. You can always book more time if you need it.
- Use your system. With an up-to-date Effectiveness System, you can calmly, productively knock off a few doables on your task list as small blocks of time open up.
- Block time. Block time in your calendar for your own work. Set aside large enough blocks of time to refresh your Effectiveness System and do the tasks on your list. Strike a balance between being responsive to your colleagues and clients and having enough time for your own tasks.
In your corner,
Mike