Ever since a huge part of the world has moved to a remote or hybrid work setup, meetings on Zoom and other virtual platforms have exploded. “Let’s get on a quick call” has become a far too frequent phrase.
But too many meetings can have an effect on your productivity. As a result of dedicating too much time to meetings, you end up with unfinished tasks and working beyond your schedule. Of course, this does not mean that meetings can or need to be done away with entirely. You just need to judge objectively whether or not a particular issue requires a face-to-face meeting and if the answer is yes, you need to plan them better.
Elizabeth Grace Saunders in her article for the Harvard Business Review came up with this ‘decision tree’ to help decide whether an issue requires a meeting at all.
Once you decide whether or not to hold a meeting, you need to make sure that they’re to the point and productive.
How to ensure that your meetings are productive
1. Have a clear agenda
Having an agenda and clear meeting notes gives the meeting a sense of direction and helps keep it on track and short.
2. Limit attendance
Have only the people who are absolutely necessary for the meeting. Increasing the crowd only reduces productivity.
3. Keep it short
When I say keep it short, I mean schedule it for a short time. When you schedule a long call, you tend to ease into it and spend time on other unrelated topics just because participants feel like there’s enough time. Keep it short, keep it crisp.
4. Have important stats and pages ready
Loading up a web page and sharing the screen can often eat into precious meeting time. So, whenever numbers, stats, or screen-sharing webpages are involved, make sure you have everything ready beforehand.
5. Have a stable connection and updated software
This one might seem like it’s not in your hands sometimes, but what you can do is ensure that you subscribe to good virtual meeting platforms and update your system regularly to avoid lags. Also, it helps to log in a few seconds before the meeting to make sure that your microphone, camera, and other tools are working.
Finally, when done right, meetings encourage collaboration and strengthen professional relationships. Decide wisely and plan your meetings ahead of time, and you’re sure to make the best use of them.
