The Cause of Meeting Mania & Some Ways to Stop It!

Jill Shaul in her blog (https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/you-cause-meeting-mania-14-ways-stop-jill-shaul) states that a full calendar of meetings reflects that you aren’t managing your time or your priorities.  She recommends what to do when you are invited to a meeting:

1. Check the agenda. No agenda? DECLINE. Or accept the meeting as “tentative” then ask the organizer to let you know the purpose of – and your role in -- the meeting. After all, you want to be prepared. Hint: meetings end earlier when people are prepared.

2. Consider who else is going to the meeting. Do *you* really need to be there? Is there someone else on the invitation list that could cover your part? Offer that person a beer to represent you.

3. Avoid status meetings. And all other meetings that could easily be handled in an email. Exception: status meetings held on a short-term basis for a specific project that will be more productive with live status reports.

4. Propose a new date/time. Just because you were invited for a meeting on Tuesday at 2pm doesn’t mean that is the only time to meet. If that meeting doesn’t align to your priorities for the day/week/month, push it out.

5. Reject all meetings before 8am and after 5pm. If you need to meet before 8 or after 5 you are clearly not managing your time and priorities well. Exceptions include, but are not limited to: calls with people in significantly different time zones, job interviews, and your personal preferences. Some people actually prefer a 6am or 7am call. Note: I am not one of those people!

6. Let the meeting organizer know about any topics you want to cover. Don’t show up and exclaim, “We really need to talk about [fill in topic that will completely derail the meeting that no one is prepared to talk about].”

7. Don’t linger. It’s OK to let a meeting end early. If there is nothing left to say LET THE MEETING END.

Remember, just because you are invited to a meeting doesn’t mean you have to attend a meeting.