Meetings, bloody meetings

Have a look at your diary for the next 4 weeks. Do a little exercise for yourself.

For each meeting in there check how you really feel about it. Which of them can you honestly say you are looking forward to with pleasure and/or anticipation because they are going to really add value to your role, are really interesting, really well run or just going to be good fun?

What proportion of all of them does that constitute? What does that really say about you? Just why are you letting this happen?

Let's bust a widespread misconception here - that diaries are for scheduling meetings. Wrong, wrong, completely bloody wrong! 

They are for scheduling work. Stuff that is going to add value. 

Look again at your diary. Just where are the entries in your diary which set aside time for you to do real work on something that matters? You might need some others to help you with your work so you might invite them to contribute. But that is not the same as a meeting.

Bet that most of you do your work in the slivers of time between meetings. Or when you should be resting or spending time with your families or on the things that make you a more interesting person.

So take a stand and fill your diary with useful stuff and let the meetings happen in the gaps. You might suddenly find that it is the meetings that take the hit and not the work. And then you will have to prioritise the meetings and not the useful stuff. That is a better way around. Try asking the person organising the meeting - 'why should I come to this meeting?' Or indeed asking yourself that question if you are organising it!

But then my guess is that most of you who read this will sigh, recognise it but do absolutely nothing about it and head off to your next 'heart-sink' meeting and do your emails during it.

Prove me wrong - please.