Schedule meetings smartly!
Datum: 2013-06-19 11:39
Do you attend meetings that repeatedly exceed the set time-frame? According to the notice it is supposed to end at 2 pm but as the clock strikes 2.30 pm it is still going strong and you are forced to excuse yourself and ”leave the meeting early”.
Perhaps it concerns some form of recurring meeting forum (such as a workplace meeting, a coordination meeting for project X, or a management meeting) that repeatedly takes longer than it is scheduled to.
Wouldn’t everything be much easier if we could depend on that the meeting ends when it is supposed to? The daily schedule would hold and we might even find that we have a few minutes to spare here and there instead of constantly being behind schedule, always running to the next meeting and arriving short of breath.
Lately I have received a few good tips from readers of the Structure Blog which I think are very clever. Both tips increase the likelihood that our meetings are held within the set time-frames. I wouldn’t wish to withhold them from my Done!-readers, so here they are.
Do this
? Tip number 1
Schedule meetings that tend to take longer than they are initially intended to right before lunch, and the participants will all try to wrap the meeting up so that they have time to go for lunch at say noon.
? Tip number 2
Schedule internal meetings one right after another, and thereby “forcing” the first meeting to end on time, since the participants need to finish the meeting in order to make their next meeting on time.
On time, but effortlessly
If you schedule your meetings at a smart time you have intentionally thought out on beforehand, you will in your role as leader of the meeting need to make less effort to make the meeting end on time. The participants will help you determine what the next steps are either consciously or not, since they also will want the meeting to end when it is supposed to.
What is your way?
How do you make sure your meetings end on time? Write a comment and spread your best tip.
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