I work in a high-energy team that is constantly seeking to cross action items off the collective to-do list. However, not everything runs efficiently. Let’s face it: no matter how effective your team is, there are certain activities that are just inefficient and drag down your highly-productive day –– I’m talking about meetings (wah waaah).

In a recent blog post, my colleague introduced some “novel” meeting ideas like keeping everyone standing and scheduling (not to mention sticking to) 30-minute meetings.

My team has a tendency to book one-hour meetings that somehow inevitably go into triple overtime. And I will confess right here on this blog: I get bored…FAST. (Don’t take it personally, Team)

So I came across a piece of advice recently that I think is realistic to stick to, even if you are in lengthy meetings:

Meetings, like Action Items, should have specific, actionable goals: Rather than “Discuss Project A,” think of more focused goals, such as, “Determine budget and workflow for Project A.”

From now on, when I create a meeting agenda or receive a meeting agenda, I’m going to seek a resolution or course of action for each action item. Hopefully, I won’t have to feign amusement ever again.

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