All posts tagged meetings

Our team is testing a new way to work.

Most people know that I hate meetings. It’s become a running joke around the office actually.

I don’t just hate meetings to hate them. I hate them because most of the time they are unproductive, poorly run, and just a waste of valuable time.

With that in mind, you will probably be surprised that this new way to work involves several people in a room all day. Sounds like a meeting, right?

Here’s the thing: We’re not together to meet. We’re together to work. Big difference. And, we’re only working on one thing. Just one.

So when someone says, “We need to write a script for that video” or “Hey, we need an outline for that,” it doesn’t get assigned as a follow-up item. Instead, I fire up a Google doc and start writing. Clayton joins in and begins to edit in real time. Simultaneously, Christy is designing a mock-up of our new resource, Pablo is tweaking part of the webpage that this new video will live on, and Zac is…well, Zac had to leave early.

Last week was the first time we tried it, but the results were very encouraging. Solid productivity. We accomplished a lot by intentionally focusing our combined effort on one thing.

People know I hate meetings. But I don’t hate meetings just to hate meetings.

I hate meetings because I’m painfully aware of what I’m not getting done by sitting in a meeting.

Painfully aware of the mounting to-do list as a result of a meeting.

Painfully aware that it’s going to take time after a meeting to get back into the zone.

You see, lost productivity is not just the time spent in the actual meeting, it’s also the recovery time your brain needs to get back in the zone for real work.

Your brain requires 15 uninterrupted minutes to fully engage and be at full capacity to do real work (by real work I mean creative, strategic thinking).

Really think about this…How often do you get 15 minutes of uninterrupted time at work?

For me, it is absolutely impossible to be uninterrupted for more than 3 to 5 minutes if I’m sitting at my desk. We have an open office environment, which is great, but it is totally not conducive to accomplishing deep, productive work.

The solution? Find a place where you can be alone and get in your zone. I usually find an unoccupied conference room or work from home.

Don’t blame your working environment. Change your working environment.

Are you painfully aware?