One Meeting Minute Thought for Your Week
You’ve got to protect your time because it’s your most valuable asset.
You only have the time you’re given and you can’t make more of it.
And no one else can make more for you either.
We’ve only got 24 hours each day and you’re at work at least 8 of those hours.
And of those 8 hours each day, you spend most them in meetings.
In 30 or 60 minutes chunks, your precious time flies by while you’re in meetings.
If you’re leading those meetings, you can make them productive and spend your time wisely.
As a meeting participant, however, you’ve got less control.
But, you have more ability to protect your time than you may realize.
Here are 3 techniques I’ve found helpful.
3 Techniques to protect your time as a meeting participant
- Ask to review the agenda
- State your boundaries
- Speak up
Let’s see how each of these techniques looks in a real business meeting scenario.
1. Protect your time by asking to review the agenda
This is the first and easiest way to protect your time during a meeting.
Simply ask to see and review the agenda at the beginning of the meeting.
The person leading the meeting should be able to show you the agenda and explain how the group’s time will be used.
The agenda should include specific topics with allocated durations assigned to each topic.
Ideally, the owner of each topic discussion will also be listed.
The agenda might look something like this:
I use a Microsoft Outlook template for every meeting I schedule and it includes this exact Purpose / Agenda section.
When the meeting leader shows you the agenda, you and the rest of the participants can do a quick review with the leader to ensure you’re all going to use your time most effectively during the meeting.
The review will give you the opportunity to say something like this to Billy who’s leading the meeting:
“Billy, I don’t think I’ll add any value to the last topic so I’m going to leave after we cover the first 2 items.
I can stay if I need to, but I want to protect my time and be as productive as possible today.
What do you and the rest of the team think?”
This quick review will allow you and the group to have a open discussion about being productive and model the leadership behavior of recognizing the value of your time.
I’ve talked to hundreds of people about how meetings actually go in the real world of business so I know what you’re thinking.
What if Billy doesn’t have an agenda for the meeting?
You’re asking that because most meeting leaders don’t follow the 3Ps for productive, effective meetings. So they don’t prepare.
Too many meeting leaders don’t even create a meeting agenda!
So what can you do to protect your time in that common scenario?
Here are 3 suggestions.
3 strategies to use when the meeting leader has no agenda
1. Work with the meeting leader to quickly create an agenda for the meeting.
You might step up to a whiteboard and help sketch out a simple agenda.
Or, if you’re on a virtual call, you can build it in the online chat window.
2. Proceed without an agenda.
Not all meetings need an agenda (despite what some meeting “experts” say).
If the Purpose of the meeting is clear, the meeting can still be highly effective even without a detailed agenda.
3. Leave.
There are times when you know a meeting is going to be a waste of your time.
And, when the meeting leader gives a reason to exit, you may want to take it.
Many leaders follow the “No Agenda. No Attenda.” rule.
You may want to as well.
This is an intentional boundary some leaders or organizations set: All meetings MUST have agendas. No exceptions!
Which leads us to our second technique to protect your time as a meeting participant.
2. Protect your time by stating your boundaries
It’s healthy to set personal boundaries.
Mature individuals know the importance of having guidelines they use when making decisions.
It’s not only “okay” but appropriate to make intentional choices about how you invest your time, including your time in meetings.
For instance, just because a meeting is scheduled to end at 10:00 am doesn’t mean you have to stay in the meeting until the end time.
As long as you’re clear with the leader of the meeting and the other participants, leaving early may be a good choice for you.
For instance, you can state your boundary for a meeting by saying something like this:
“I have a hard stop at 9:50.
I’m going to take a few minutes after this meeting to collect my thoughts and prepare before I join my next meeting that starts at 10:00.”
Or when you reach my age, you might protect your time (and your dignity) with this statement:
“I’m predicting now that I’m going to need to leave this 2-hour meeting a little early.
This middle-aged guy will need a bio break before I go to my next meeting.”
You may not feel comfortable making a statement like that, but I’ve found that being vulnerable can open up a conversation about whether anyone should spend 120 minutes in a meeting with no break. Regardless of their age!
It takes courage to let people know your boundaries and limits.
And, it takes courage to protect your time using this last technique.
3. Protect your time by speaking up
Some people find it easier to speak up during meetings than others.
You may feel uncomfortable sharing what’s on your mind when you’re in a group.
But, if you want to protect your time, you need to develop this skill.
Asking to review the agenda is one example of speaking up to protect your time.
Here are two more:
1. Politely interrupt someone who is rambling during a meeting.
I’ve written about that before and have included links below that explain how to do that.
It’s not as scary (or as rude) as you might think once you get the hang of it.
2. Challenge when discussions aren’t relevant.
You can refer to the Purpose of the meeting with a question like:
“I’m having trouble understanding how this relates to what we’re trying to accomplish during this meeting.
How is this relevant to our Purpose for being here?”
Often others will recognize they’ve let the conversation drift off topic when you ask an intentional question like this.
A gentle nudge can get them back on course and protect your time – and theirs.
Another effective comment is this one:
“I don’t see this topic on the agenda.
I know it’s important, but we may want to schedule a separate meeting to discuss this so we have time to cover the topics we were planning to cover.”
These two phrases are easy ways to graciously speak up and make the meeting more productive.
More Resources to Help You Build Your Career and Your Business
This article by James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones, explains how to figure out what your time is worth and use that information to spend your time more effectively.
🔷 The Value of Time: How Much is Your Time Really Worth?
As Clear writes,
“Understanding how to get the most out of your time starts with knowing—in exact terms—what your time is worth.”
James Clear
If you’re the official note taker for the meeting, you have even more power to protect your time as a meeting participant.
Learn how to do this in these resources.
🔷 How To Unlock The Power To Lead In A Role You Probably Don’t Like (click here – blog post)
🔷 How To Lead A Meeting In A Way Most People Won’t Try (click here – podcast episode)
Interrupting someone during a meeting to protect your time just takes some practice.
Check out these blog posts to learn how to do it.
🔷 How To Politely Interrupt Someone In A Meeting (click here)
🔷 How To Stop Someone From Rambling So They Can Be Heard (click here)
🔷 How To Protect Your Meeting From A Rambler (click here to listen to this podcast episode)
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That’s All for this Issue
You can’t lead every meeting you’re in.
If you could, you wouldn’t need to worry about wasting your most valuable asset because I’m confident YOUR meetings are well planned and productive.
But, for those meetings you don’t lead, use these 3 techniques to protect your time.
- Ask to review the agenda
- State your boundaries
- Speak up
Let’s lead with kindness and confidence!
Greg
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