Clutter! It shows up in all areas of our lives. At home, it’s easy to recognize clutter. When I arrive home at night, I can see when clutter starts building up in the kitchen and living room. I blame it on my 3 year old. At work, a different type of clutter happens and it’s harder to recognize.
I’m referring to meetings. We love to fill our calendars with meetings. The problem is that most meetings we attend don’t add value. Yes, when we first scheduled them, they seemed like a good idea. We then discover, after 1 or 2 meetings, they are unnecessary. Yet, we continue to attend them, knowing we are wasting our time.
Think about it. How many meetings do you attend where you provide the same updates, to the same people?
Observe people’s behavior when you are in meetings. Are they engaged and having a dialogue? Or is everyone looking down and frustrated? If the latter is true, there’s a good chance the meeting needs to go.
Time is our most precious resource and we can’t afford wasting it in meetings that don’t add value. Take a good look at your calendar and sit down with your colleagues to review the meetings. Decide what meetings are unnecessary, then get rid of them!
For more content like this, subscribe to the MacIsaac Consulting Blog.
To contact us about our services, click here.