Let’s talk about the challenge of back-to-back meetings. In many (dare I say most) companies, back-to-back meetings have become part of the time culture. The last three years of remote work have exacerbated the problem exponentially. How does anyone get any work done? What is the impact on productivity?
Being in meetings, literally one right after the other, leaves workers with no time to think, bleary-eyed from being on the screen and so wound up by the end of the day it can be hard to fall asleep at night. Microsoft did a fascinating study of the impact of back-to-back meetings on our brains. It’s not pretty.
Ironically, back-to-back meetings leave absolutely NO time for the prep and follow-up associated with those very meetings. So, workers need to use their evenings and weekends to get any work done.
What can we do take back control of time? One game changing habit is to focus on outcome-based meetings. What does that mean?
TOPIC vs OUTCOME BASED MEETINGS
What is the difference between a topic based agenda and an outcome based agenda? Topic based meetings are generic, and give us a hint as to what we are going to talk about; e.g. Weekly Staff Meeting, Project Meeting, Strategic Planning Session. We can have multiple meetings on any given topic.
Outcome-based meetings identify what we want to walk away having accomplished from each particular meeting. For example, the outcome for a given project meeting might be to leave with a decision on the budget. The desired outcome for a brainstorming session might be to generate three viable ideas. For a weekly staff meeting, the intended outcome may be to identify gaps and overlaps between people's functions.
BENEFITS OF OUTCOME BASED AGENDAS
When every meeting invitation includes the outcome of that meeting, it gives people the chance to consider if they belong in that meeting and to come prepared. Best of all, once you've achieved that goal, you can end the meeting, often giving people time back. By incorporating outcome based meeting habit, I’ve seen clients clear up as much as 30% of their schedule every day.
Shifting the time culture of back-to-back meetings isn’t a quick fix, or a one-and-done conversation. No matter where you are in your organization, you can become a Time Leader by starting with conversations. With practice, a little courage, and some small wins you will create some much-needed breathing space for yourself and everyone in the company.