Donna McGeorge* shares five things managers should do instead.
We’ve all been there. Our calendars are filled with irrelevant or tedious back-to-back meetings, leaving us exhausted and overwhelmed.
And every time we get a chance to breathe and catch up on some ‘real work’, our computers ding! to remind us of another pointless meeting that is starting in five minutes.
Here are 5 things you could do to alleviate the back-to-back meeting madness.
- Have 25-minute meetings.
A meeting that is short, sharp, and productive that gets the job done efficiently.
Too often, people spend all day in meetings, leaving their evenings spent doing their actual work or catching up on emails they’ve missed.
With 25-minute meetings, team members and colleagues will thank you for the time you gift them back.
The benefits of shorter meetings are clear.
They help you save time, increase productivity, and reduce costs.
And they also help you eliminate some of the most common meeting pet peeves, such as meetings without agendas, meetings that lack clear purpose, and meetings that run too long.
- Have a 35-minute gap between meetings those 25-minute meetings
This may seem like a no-brainer, but it’s surprising how many people don’t do this.
Even just a 10-minute break between meetings can help you refocus and recharge.
Use this time to grab a drink, stretch your legs, or even just take a few deep breaths.
- Use asynchronous communication
Not every conversation needs to happen in a meeting.
Use tools like email, instant messaging, or video chat to have conversations asynchronously.
This way, you can respond when you have time, and you don’t have to worry about scheduling a meeting to have a quick conversation.
This can be particularly useful if you have team members working in different time zones.
Instead of a meeting, send the slides, provide 3 questions you want answered by each person, and provide a deadline.
If necessary, a quick phone call to a person can clarify any individual points.
- Meeting free days
Having a full day free of meetings can be a game-changer for you and your team.
It can give you uninterrupted time to focus on important projects, catch up on emails, or simply recharge your batteries.
By eliminating meetings for one day a week, you can also help your team members feel less stressed and overwhelmed.
We all know how frustrating it can be to have your entire day taken up by meetings, leaving little time for actual work.
Of course, it’s important to communicate this change with your team (and other stakeholders) to set expectations around how meeting free days will work.
Make sure everyone knows that this is a time for focused work and encourage team members to use the time wisely.
- Use AI for brainstorming
If you haven’t yet heard of ChatGPT you may have been living under a rock.
The new language model tool from Open.AI gives you the opportunity to ask questions and brainstorm options, without having to bring people together.
Instead of calling a meeting to think about new process ideas, start a chat session with ChatGPT and see what it has to say.
I believe working with a tool like this could remove at least 30 per cent of your current meetings.
At the very least, it will give you greater clarity and options, and a solid agenda of ideas to evaluate, before getting into a meeting with your people.
I know it can be hard to break the cycle of back-to-back meetings, especially if you’re used to it.
But trust me when I say that making this change will be worth it. Not only will you feel better, but your team will too.
And at the end of the day, that’s what really matters.
*Donna McGeorge is a best-selling author and global authority on productivity. Her book series, It’s About time covers meetings, structuring your day, and doing more with less is available in bookstores around Australia or can be ordered online via Donna’s website at www.donnamcgeorge.com
