“A meeting is an event where minutes are taken and hours wasted.”
James T. Kirk
This morning, I participated in the biweekly staff meeting at my parish as a function of my part time position on the parish staff. I’ve held this role for over a year now and have grown to look forward to our staff meetings. Some may find that fact surprising – many folks these days try to minimize meeting attendance as much as possible. Actually, I’m in that camp. But since I “telecommute”, working from my home office 90% of the time, attendance at these meetings is a crucial component of my job. Face to face interaction with the rest of the staff often yields a wealth of information that might have otherwise skipped through the cracks. Our meetings are relatively informal, beginning with a prayer and rotating around the room for staff reports and calendar items. I’ve found that the following elements make attending these (and other) meetings worth my time:
• Be prepared – Prior to attending any meeting, I anticipate what my expected role will be. If I am expected to report on anything, I take time in advance to prepare my remarks, with an eye towards keeping them relevant and concise. I gather and document statistics, action items and questions prior to meeting time, taking written notes with me.
• Take Notes – I used to be a copious note taker, documenting nearly every word of every attendee. However, this skill that served me so well in college created a paper nightmare in meetings. I have honed my note taking skills and now use a portion of my daily planner to note relevant items brought up in the meetings. Later, if I’m required to reflect back on something that came up in a meeting, I can simply flip to that date in my calendar for easy reference.
• Immediate Follow Up – In the course of meetings, if an item requires action on my part, I note the item in the upper corner of my meeting notes. Immediately following the meeting, I transfer these items into my “to do” list of next actions, completing those items that can be taken care of in a couple of minutes.
• Buffer Zones – I am a prompt person, almost to a fault, so I grow anxious if I am running behind. I attend some meetings in the evenings, when my children may be involved in sport practices or activities. Regardless of the time of day, I either plan for meetings to take longer than the allotted time or I come up with an “exit strategy”, advising the meetings’ facilitator in advance if I may have to duck out early. Having a buffer zone of time immediately after the meeting prior to my next scheduled activity frequently also allows me the chance to actually complete a few of my action items while they are fresh on my mind.
I’ve found that implementing these few steps and going into meetings with a positive attitude rather than a sense of dread has helped me to view most meetings as meaningful experiences.
