Make meetings efficient

Can we transform our everyday office meetings

Do you spend over 70% of your day attending meetings?

Have you or your colleagues exclaimed in exasperation and said, “When will I get my actual work done if I am spending all my time in meetings?”

Meetings are the modern-day equivalent of gathering under the peepal or banyan tree to share ideas, resolve issues and inform the “community”.

The core intent is to promote a healthy exchange of ideas, foster collaboration and enhance productivity. However, if they are not governed and managed properly, meetings can quickly devolve into a lacklustre routine or a box to tick off.

It is important to keep in mind the three As as meetings begin to rule your day and in turn, impact your daily efficiency — awareness, action & attitude.

As the professional world lurches towards doing too much with too little, there is no substitute for “being present”.

Multitasking can be saved for other 'mundane' tasks and settings as opposed to meeting times. Be action-oriented. Regurgitating what is already shared in advance or trying to create things on the fly is not the best way to handle meetings.

Most importantly, go in with the right attitude. What this means is bringing positive energy, keeping an open mind and a keen ear.

In the world of political correctness and ambivalence, subtleties and nuances in communication will tell you what is not noticeable through the words uttered.

Efficient meetings always clearly state the expected outcome from the meeting while putting out the topics to cover and questions to be answered. This kind of forethought can drastically cut down meeting duration too.

While we know that meetings are here to stay, are there ways to make them different and add more meaning?

Change it up

Try standing meetings for a change.

Literally being on your feet does something to the essence and purpose of meetings. Also, it limits the convoluted way of conveying a simple direct message.

But they have their limitations, especially if you and your team love taking notes!

Instead of spreading meetings all through your workday, see if you can “bundle” your meetings. More and more managers are realising the value of ensuring focused time for their team members. Time management tools that help you do this are being increasingly used in the workspace.

As organisational psychologist and bestselling author Adam Grant puts it, “The hallmark of originality is rejecting the default and exploring whether a better option exists”.

So, try something original! This includes 15-minute lightning meetings or standing meetings.

No meeting days

But here is something counter-intuitive. While meetings are supposed to increase collaboration, productivity, and help achieve the deliverables, there is the notion of non-meeting days.

Increasingly, organisations are blocking a certain set of days in a month or a day per week when no internal meetings take place. There is anecdotal evidence that such days have boosted productivity and are helping people “get things done”.

This narrative will not be complete without broaching the virtual nature of our work life these days. As we adapt to meeting people via video calls and the internet, ironically enough, the role of meetings gains greater importance in the virtual professional world. While some aspects of our competencies get noticed easily in face to face settings, it takes extra effort to convey the same virtually.

Whether you are fully engaged, switched off or simply doodling, meetings are going to dominate your day.

However, regardless of where you find yourself in the organisation hierarchy, you can make your presence felt in meetings.

Also, always ensure that you control the meetings and that the meetings don’t control you! This could be via thoughtful preparation, wise scheduling or basic mindfulness.

(The author is engaged in social entrepreneurship and philanthropic activities, when not tied up in meetings.)