Too many meetings and not enough time to do the work?

How often have you sat in a meeting and thought to yourself why am I here?

Or asked:

• When will this end?
• Did this really need to be a meeting, couldn’t it have been figured out on email?
• How will I get my to-do list done today?
• What’s should I get for lunch?

If so, it’s likely you’ve been invited, or created too many meetings in your schedule and are victim to meeting overwhelm. It’s a crisis of the modern day workplace – where meetings make us feel like we’re interacting and are busy, when in fact they’re taking up so much time it’s hard to actually get the work done!

So, what can you do about it?

1.  Cut down on meetings you attend and schedule

The most straightforward solution is to say no to meetings you don’t need to attend, or stop scheduling so many. If you’re not in control of meetings, raise your concern with senior staff that there are some unproductive or unnecessary meetings happening and you’re worried about your workload as a result.

2.  Understand your objectives before you enter the room

Everyone who attends a meeting should understand why they are there and what they will get out of the meeting. If you’re invited to a meeting and unsure of its purpose, ask the organiser to outline everyone’s role, expected contribution and objectives. If at that point it still doesn’t seem useful for you to be there, you’ve an easy way out.

3. Keep them short and sweet

Agree a maximum duration for meetings and ensure everyone knows the time limit when scheduling and at the start of every meeting. Keep a big clock in the meeting space if this helps. Or set a timer on your phone, to go off 5 mins before the end so you can wrap up promptly. This will help you get to the point and make the meeting productive, as you’ll be mindful of the time.

4. Fresh air, standing and the perfect timing

If you have a regular meeting space, make sure you can open the windows and allow fresh air to flow in. This keeps everyone alert and focused and makes meetings more productive. It’s also been shown that standing meetings can shorten the duration, as people will get tired of standing for long lengths of time. If you’re running a standing meeting, notice when people start to try and sit down or lean as that’s an indication that meeting fatigue has set in and its time to wrap up. Finally, time your meetings effectively, first thing or right after lunch are when people are most alert and full of energy. Avoid clashing with the 3pm slump!

5. Schedule something into your diary straight after

Having another appointment or necessary task scheduled immediately after your meeting will help hold it to deadline and let you step out if its starting to drag on. Mention it to the meeting organiser before you kick off, to remind them that if it’s not finished at the agreed time you’ll be stepping out.

6. Don’t be afraid to offer an alternative

Sometimes, a quick phone call, email exchange or chat whilst on the way out of the office is enough to cover what you would do in a scheduled meeting. So, if that’s the case, don’t be afraid to offer it up as a suggestion and acknowledge that you respect the other party’s time.

Have you suffered with meeting overwhelm? How do you cope with too many meetings? Share your stories in the comments below.

Jen Smith coaches entrepreneurs in social media.