Meetings

A 2-post collection

Episode 10 of Lost and Founder — Time Management

We've reached the considerable milestone of episode 10 of Lost and Founder — thank you, dear listener!

In this episode, I talk through what I have learned about time management — from how I’ve been using my calendar instead of a to-do list, to the importance of making time for reflection each week.

I hope you enjoy the show — even if I say so myself, I felt like this was a good one.

“The secret to doing good research is to always be a little underemployed; you waste years by not being able to waste hours.” — Amos Tversky

Actions and take aways

  • Take time each week to reflect, and map your time. Book in 15 minutes this week.
  • Try using a calendar instead of your to-do list to plan your tasks.
  • Keep meetings to fixed days in the week — like Mondays and Tuesdays, to free up your other days for deeper work.
  • Wrap up meetings with 5-minute breaks in between to refresh and re-energise.
  • Close your email and only open it at fixed times in the day.
  • Enable "Do Not Disturb" on your devices.
  • Don’t be afraid to pause, and make time for you. You can’t spend every waking hour being productive — you will eventually crash.
  • We each have different limits — so try to find what works best for you.

Thanks, and see you next time!

Music: Jakarta by Bonsaye. Podcast hosting: Transistor.

The 2x Preparation Rule: How to turn Good Meetings into Great Meetings

A general rule of meetings I’ve found to hold true through the years: however long your proposed meeting is, you need to prepare for at least twice that amount of time in order for the meeting to run optimally.

That may sound like overkill, but I hope you can hear me out...

As with any rule, there are always exceptions. I have always found if I prepare for twice the duration time of the meeting then the outcome of the meeting itself is dramatically better. For example, if I have a 30 minute meeting to discuss a topic with three other team members, with the goal of getting to an outcome, I know that I should ideally prepare for at least an hour for it.

The seemingly excessive time I spend is recouped by saving even more from the attendees of the meeting.

This likely doesn’t need to apply for every one-on-one or regular meetings you’ve really got into a groove with, but for new meetings, and especially for meetings with 5+ people, the time one person spends preparing is often recouped several times over by being more efficient with the time of the attendees.

A while ago I wrote about how we do silent meetings – these are a great example of how the preparation beforehand is so critical, and can lead to a far better outcome for a meeting.

The expense and value of meetings

Meetings are expensive – the more people and the more time given, the more expensive they become. But they're also valuable moments where team members get to collaborate, bond, and integrate with each other.

Through lockdown and working remotely, I sense that many people enjoy a meeting to get together with their colleagues. It’s not surprising we all crave social contact and want to hear how each other is doing.

Trying to find the balance between social and “work” focus in a meeting will vary by team and culture, but it’s possible to find a sweet spot, and preparation before a meeting will help get clearer on what is needed from a meeting, and help you ascertain just how much time to spend on catching up on your weekend plans at the start of a Zoom call!

Try this out and let me know how it goes

For the next meeting you’re in charge of, book out twice the time of the meeting beforehand to prepare for it. And then assess:

  • Did the meeting run better?
  • Did you get better or clearer outcomes?
  • Did the attendees feel more energised at the end of the meeting?
  • Was the meeting shorter thanks to the preparation?
  • Did the meeting even need to happen once you did the prep?

Good luck!