Meetings are necessary in today’s workplace. Having too many of these, on the other hand, can be hazardous. Exchanging ideas, setting goals, tracking progress, assigning duties, and other responsibilities are all part of a meeting in a conference room (or an online workspace).
While these are all good reasons to organise a meeting, having too many of them might sap your productivity. The epidemic of “schedule creep,” in which meetings take over your entire workday, is squandering time, energy, and productivity — but you can regain control. Here’s 5 tips you can apply to making your calender work for you and not against you.
Tip 1- Ask yourself
Do you really need to attend the meeting? We have the delusion that a meeting is required for everything. We believe we need to ensure that specific people are on board with something, so we convene a meeting. In fact, rather than booking a meeting, we may simply call or text for a speedy response.
Tip 2- Invite less people
Most of us ask people to meetings on the defensive and waste their time as a result. It’s time to let go of this attitude and just invite those who are required. for the goal, and the rest of the world can be informed later. According to research, inviting more people makes it less likely that you will achieve the meeting’s main goal.
Tip 3- Cut short the meetings
If you want to reclaim your time, skip the hour-long meeting. 30 to 45 minutes should suffice. People have more time to process information, plan next moves, and take a breath when meetings are shorter. And this tip will unquestionably give everyone the time they require.
Tip 4-Say no to other poeple’s meeting
We have a habit of saying yes to every meeting we are invited to, even if it isn’t absolutely necessary. We do it out of fear of being left out or simply to satisfy our ego, yet neither of these are good reasons to waste your valuable time in a meeting. If you have been invited to a meeting, a better method to decide is to ask yourself if your viewpoint is absolutely necessary for the meeting’s purpose or if the meeting would help you reach your objectives. If the answer is no, simply refuse the meeting.
Tip 5- Be ruthless with time
Taking care of yourself first is sometimes the best option. So make time for yourself to do the things you need to feel like a human being. This includes blocking out time to concentrate on your own tasks. Schedule a few days or hours in your calendar if you have a project that will take a few days or hours. So do things when it’s most convenient for you or when you’re most productive.
Sources: TED,Make Use Of