Time Stealers
Avoid loosing time

If you were to closely examine your typical day, you will find a number of time stealers lurking about.  In fact, you will probably be surprised by the amount of time you waste each day in unorganised meetings and in regular daily interruptions.

By implementing a few time management techniques you can reduce the amount of time that is wasted.  In particular I want to address one of the biggest stealers; meetings.

Meetings

If you have ever participated in an unorganised meeting, you know just how frustrating it can be.  I'm sure over the years I have wasted literally hours of my life as I sit and twiddle my thumbs at a meeting.

One of the worst causes of time stolen at a meeting is waiting for everyone to show up.  In some companies I've worked in, I would wait for up to 20 minutes for a meeting to start.  It'd become like a comedy show on TV.

A few people would turn up.  They'd get bored waiting and so some would leave.  Now others would turn up and then leave and so on.  Eventually everyone would hang on and the meeting would start.  It was terrible.  Meetings were one of the worst time stealers in that company.

Similarly, I have lost many hours participating in an unorganised meeting.  This is the type of meeting that has been set up because someone senior wants to talk through an issue.  I'm sure you've been to some.  No agenda, no real control of time and at the end no outcome or actions.

Luckily, there are things you can do to reduce these time stealers.  First you need to understand whether you have any control over the meeting or not.  If you are the person calling the meeting, perhaps chairing the meeting then you have lots of control.  If you've just been invited then there is less you can do.

In Control

If you are in control of the meeting try to avoid time stealers by following this 4 point plan.

1. Check you need a meeting

This may sound a strange place to start but often people call meetings without thinking through whether it is really needed.  Have you fully considered other options?  Could you send an email to the main participants for an answer?  It might require a few iterations but it still might prove quicker.

If e-mail won't work then perhaps you could send out a document for comment.  Often a short well written document will get you further than a meeting.

2. Prepare an agenda

If you're calling a meeting then you should have an agenda.  The agenda should state the items to be discussed, who will take the lead in the discussion and how long is allocated for the discussion.

Although sometimes it's not possible you should always try to send out the agenda for comments a few days before the meeting.  This enables people coming to add items or suggest longer times for items if they think it would help.  It also serves as a reminder that the meeting is happening.

I've included a free agenda form here: time stealers.  This form has the key components of a good agenda.

3. Stick to the agenda

Sticking to the agenda is always hard in meetings.  People always veer off onto other topics.  If you are the chair, your role is to bring them back on track.  I suggest you don't stop them right away but let them discuss the topic and then gently bring them back to the agenda point.

Start the meeting on time.  Don't wait for everyone to turn up.  Start the meeting.  When the people who are late turn up they'll feel embarrassed that they are late and everyone else is making progress without them.  In most cases you'll find that they aren't late at future meetings.   If they are persistent offenders talk to them before the meeting about turning up on time.  Don't let them become one of your time stealers!

Stick to the agenda timings.  Agenda timings can be a powerful way of ensuring the topics remain focused.  If the attendees know that you'll limit the discussion they'll make sure they get their point across properly inside the time allotted.

4. Publish meeting notes

Setting out the key points of a meeting in note form post the meeting is usually very important.  People tend to have a short memory and forget things that were agreed.  It is very powerful to be able to produce meeting notes that support your position.

Make sure that meeting notes are published within 1 day of the meeting.  If you leave it longer than this then people forget what was agreed.  When you send them out ensure that you say that you'll assume everyone agrees with the notes accuracy unless you hear from them within x days.

No Control

If you are not in control of the meetings you're attending you can still take actions to help avoid time stealers.  Adopt my 3 point action plan.

1. Do you have to go?

If you don't have to go to the meeting, then don't.  If it is really important that you go someone will tell you and tell you why.  I used to find it very hard not going to meetings.  It was especially difficult if I later heard of decisions being made that I disagreed with.

I got over my fear of not going to meetings once I realised that if I was really needed someone would come and ask me to come.  I wouldn't get an email; I'd get a personal invitation.  This helped to give me a lot more influence over what went on at the meeting, agenda setting and so on.

2. Go for only part of the meeting

If you're busy ask the chairperson if you can attend part time.  Explain that you're busy but would really like to attend.  Ask for a copy of the agenda so you can make sure you are there for the relevant bits.

This strategy enables you to ask for an agenda in a non threatening way and if all goes well allows you to attend for a focused period only. Best of all the meeting does not end up being one of your time stealers.  This way of tackling the meeting also ensures that the chairman appreciates that you are interested in what they are doing.

3. Take something to do

If all else fails take something else to do during the meeting.  If the person running the meeting has a reputation for not running things well but you have to go, take some work with you.

I worked in a company where one of the senior managers had a terrible reputation for running meetings.  He was one of the worst time stealers I've come across.  People had to attend his meetings because he was the boss.  So everyone would turn up with their laptops and would spend the 2 hours (the minimum time of the meeting) doing their email or surfing the web!