1 00:00:05,240 --> 00:00:10,000 Speaker 1: Good morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the New Corner Office, 2 00:00:10,480 --> 00:00:13,720 Speaker 1: the podcast where we share strategies for thriving in the 3 00:00:13,760 --> 00:00:17,680 Speaker 1: new world of work, where location and hours are more 4 00:00:17,720 --> 00:00:21,639 Speaker 1: flexible than in the past. Today's tip is to be 5 00:00:21,720 --> 00:00:26,760 Speaker 1: strategic about your meetings. By understanding exactly when they'll be happening, 6 00:00:27,200 --> 00:00:30,760 Speaker 1: you can be better prepared, manage your energy, and figure 7 00:00:30,800 --> 00:00:33,520 Speaker 1: out what times you can do non meeting work too. 8 00:00:35,040 --> 00:00:39,199 Speaker 1: Collaboration is amazing in theory, none of us has all 9 00:00:39,200 --> 00:00:42,400 Speaker 1: the answers in practice, though, what it means is that 10 00:00:42,720 --> 00:00:47,040 Speaker 1: most jobs and big organizations involve a lot of meetings. 11 00:00:47,960 --> 00:00:51,760 Speaker 1: This tendency to schedule meetings about everything is exacerbated in 12 00:00:51,800 --> 00:00:54,040 Speaker 1: a world where lots of people are working from home. 13 00:00:54,840 --> 00:00:57,480 Speaker 1: You can't see your colleague to casually ask for his 14 00:00:57,520 --> 00:01:01,480 Speaker 1: feedback on your proposal, schedule a formal meeting to get 15 00:01:01,480 --> 00:01:07,200 Speaker 1: his feedback, and thus meetings proliferate. Some of that is inevitable, 16 00:01:07,680 --> 00:01:10,440 Speaker 1: but by being a bit more mindful and strategic, you 17 00:01:10,440 --> 00:01:14,640 Speaker 1: can manage your meetings better. Here's what you do. By 18 00:01:14,680 --> 00:01:17,280 Speaker 1: the time you start work on Monday morning, take a 19 00:01:17,319 --> 00:01:20,720 Speaker 1: good look at your calendar for the week. When do 20 00:01:20,800 --> 00:01:24,440 Speaker 1: you have meetings. Some are no doubt weekly recurring sorts, 21 00:01:24,480 --> 00:01:27,479 Speaker 1: and some are one off types. Figure out how many 22 00:01:27,480 --> 00:01:31,560 Speaker 1: hours you currently have booked into meetings. Then do a 23 00:01:31,560 --> 00:01:35,600 Speaker 1: little triage. Do all these meetings have to happen. We've 24 00:01:35,640 --> 00:01:38,319 Speaker 1: talked in previous episodes about seeing what can be canceled, 25 00:01:39,160 --> 00:01:43,120 Speaker 1: ask for agendas for anything that seems iffy. Anything that 26 00:01:43,240 --> 00:01:45,080 Speaker 1: is a one on one check in might be better 27 00:01:45,080 --> 00:01:48,280 Speaker 1: approached as a quick phone call, So go ahead and 28 00:01:48,320 --> 00:01:51,680 Speaker 1: make that call. The goal is to reduce the overall 29 00:01:51,680 --> 00:01:56,360 Speaker 1: meeting load. Then, once you're clear on what's staying, figure 30 00:01:56,400 --> 00:01:59,920 Speaker 1: out what you need to prepare for. When people get busy, 31 00:02:00,080 --> 00:02:02,480 Speaker 1: they just start tromping from one thing to the next, 32 00:02:02,520 --> 00:02:06,320 Speaker 1: like middle schoolers changing classes. Here's my two o'clock, my 33 00:02:06,400 --> 00:02:10,440 Speaker 1: three o'clock, my four o'clock. This can be a harrowing 34 00:02:10,520 --> 00:02:13,600 Speaker 1: experience if you suddenly realize that the three o'clock involves 35 00:02:13,600 --> 00:02:17,519 Speaker 1: a complicated pitch to a not entirely friendly audience, or 36 00:02:17,560 --> 00:02:19,240 Speaker 1: if you're going to be asked at the two o'clock 37 00:02:19,560 --> 00:02:23,160 Speaker 1: for your opinion on a rather lengthy document. So figure 38 00:02:23,160 --> 00:02:25,760 Speaker 1: out when you can prepare for anything that requires preparation, 39 00:02:26,320 --> 00:02:30,560 Speaker 1: and mark these times on your calendar and finally take 40 00:02:30,600 --> 00:02:34,000 Speaker 1: a step back and look at the landscape. Not all 41 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:35,960 Speaker 1: meetings for the week will be set by Monday morning, 42 00:02:36,040 --> 00:02:38,800 Speaker 1: of course, but when you see what time is available, 43 00:02:39,160 --> 00:02:41,560 Speaker 1: you can decide what time is good for meetings and 44 00:02:41,600 --> 00:02:44,880 Speaker 1: what isn't. For instance, if you've got no meetings on 45 00:02:44,919 --> 00:02:48,160 Speaker 1: Wednesday morning and two in the afternoon, I'd suggest that 46 00:02:48,160 --> 00:02:51,160 Speaker 1: if someone asks to meet on Wednesday, you offer any 47 00:02:51,200 --> 00:02:55,480 Speaker 1: remaining afternoon slots that leaves the morning open for individual 48 00:02:55,520 --> 00:02:59,679 Speaker 1: focused work. One of the most aggravating parts of organizational 49 00:02:59,720 --> 00:03:02,799 Speaker 1: life is that people feel their schedules are chopped up 50 00:03:03,480 --> 00:03:05,800 Speaker 1: they never have time to achieve that state of flow. 51 00:03:06,919 --> 00:03:11,200 Speaker 1: Some of this is inevitable, but some is self imposed. 52 00:03:12,040 --> 00:03:14,200 Speaker 1: You don't have to give Wednesday morning away unless there's 53 00:03:14,240 --> 00:03:17,800 Speaker 1: a really good reason. The upside of mapping out your 54 00:03:17,800 --> 00:03:19,959 Speaker 1: meetings is that you can approach the week feeling far 55 00:03:20,040 --> 00:03:23,280 Speaker 1: more confident and ready for what's to come. You'll steward 56 00:03:23,320 --> 00:03:26,880 Speaker 1: your energy appropriately, you'll perform better in the meetings that happen, 57 00:03:27,400 --> 00:03:29,720 Speaker 1: and there may be fewer of them, and they'll happen 58 00:03:29,760 --> 00:03:33,200 Speaker 1: at times that work better for you. Given how draining 59 00:03:33,280 --> 00:03:38,480 Speaker 1: meetings can be. That's really the best possible outcome. So today, 60 00:03:39,120 --> 00:03:43,160 Speaker 1: approach your calendar with this strategic spirit, map your meetings 61 00:03:43,160 --> 00:03:45,680 Speaker 1: for the week, and see what you can do to 62 00:03:45,760 --> 00:03:49,720 Speaker 1: make your work life feel more doable. In the meantime, 63 00:03:50,200 --> 00:03:53,880 Speaker 1: this is Laura, Thanks for listening, and here's to succeeding 64 00:03:54,200 --> 00:04:00,720 Speaker 1: in the New Corner office. The New Corner is a 65 00:04:00,720 --> 00:04:05,360 Speaker 1: production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts, visit the iHeartRadio app, 66 00:04:05,640 --> 00:04:08,360 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your favorite shows.