Are you having that “there simply aren’t enough hours in the day” feeling and constantly in a state of overwhelm when it comes to your work calendar? Many who feel this way assume it’s an inevitable fact of life with no solution. This isn’t the case! In today’s world, meetings have become more frequent than ever because of the ease of communication/availability that technology offers. However, if you want to limit your meeting (and get back some of your time in doing so), we DO have some tips and tricks that offer solutions!
What is the best way to limit meetings?
The best thing you can do to limit your meetings is set clear goals. Only schedule meetings with a specific purpose. Share a meeting agenda ahead of time to stay on track and let others know the importance of what you’re meeting about.
How can I make scheduled meetings shorter/less frequent?
Rather than having a meeting every week, opt to have one meeting per month instead (if possible). Email any needed/time-sensitive updates before then or share urgent communication in a cloud-based messenger system such as Slack. You should not only limit the frequency of meetings when able, but also limit the meeting time itself. Instead of meeting for an hour, limit the time to 30 minutes when possible (adjust depending on how much there is to discuss!)
Before scheduling any additional meetings, ask yourself… “Could this be an email or message, instead?” Whenever an email is suitable, go that route! If you do need to have more regular meetings, choose a day or two each week when no meetings are allowed to be scheduled. This will protect deep work time and allow your coworkers/employees productive time they can count on having.
In the meetings, use a timer to keep yourself and all discussion topics on track. This will minimize the amount of useless chatter and will help keep the focus solely on what the meeting was intended for. Stick to the time limit you set to respect your invitees’ time!
What can I do to limit the number of meetings my employees/coworkers must attend?
The best thing you can do to limit meetings for those you work with is to only invite key participants. Avoid inviting too many people to the meeting, and rather, only have decision-makers and key contributors present. Share meeting notes with others afterward instead of having everyone attend. This will also allow you to avoid sharing information with those it’s not useful to or intended for. Consider collaborative documents or project management tools for updates to the entire team.
What can I do to establish boundaries concerning my time?
Be upfront with your boundaries and stick to them! Block calendar time for focused work and politely decline or propose alternatives to unnecessary meetings. Do not be afraid to say no when boundaries and goals you’ve set and shared are infringed upon.
Meetings aren’t entirely unavoidable, but they can be limited and scheduled to be more efficient uses of time. Our inbox at info@sortedout.com is always open if you’d like help working through your meeting agendas and streamlining those processes.
Looking forward to hearing from you,
Tonia
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