WEBVTT - The New Corner Office: Map your meetings

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<v Speaker 1>Good morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the New Corner Office,

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<v Speaker 1>the podcast where we share strategies for thriving in the

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<v Speaker 1>new world of work, where location and hours are more

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<v Speaker 1>flexible than in the past. Today's tip is to be

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<v Speaker 1>strategic about your meetings. By understanding exactly when they'll be happening,

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<v Speaker 1>you can be better prepared, manage your energy, and figure

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<v Speaker 1>out what times you can do non meeting work too.

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<v Speaker 1>Collaboration is amazing in theory, none of us has all

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<v Speaker 1>the answers in practice, though, what it means is that

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<v Speaker 1>most jobs and big organizations involve a lot of meetings.

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<v Speaker 1>This tendency to schedule meetings about everything is exacerbated in

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<v Speaker 1>a world where lots of people are working from home.

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<v Speaker 1>You can't see your colleague to casually ask for his

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<v Speaker 1>feedback on your proposal, schedule a formal meeting to get

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<v Speaker 1>his feedback, and thus meetings proliferate. Some of that is inevitable,

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<v Speaker 1>but by being a bit more mindful and strategic, you

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<v Speaker 1>can manage your meetings better. Here's what you do. By

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<v Speaker 1>the time you start work on Monday morning, take a

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<v Speaker 1>good look at your calendar for the week. When do

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<v Speaker 1>you have meetings. Some are no doubt weekly recurring sorts,

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<v Speaker 1>and some are one off types. Figure out how many

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<v Speaker 1>hours you currently have booked into meetings. Then do a

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<v Speaker 1>little triage. Do all these meetings have to happen. We've

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<v Speaker 1>talked in previous episodes about seeing what can be canceled,

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<v Speaker 1>ask for agendas for anything that seems iffy. Anything that

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<v Speaker 1>is a one on one check in might be better

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<v Speaker 1>approached as a quick phone call, So go ahead and

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<v Speaker 1>make that call. The goal is to reduce the overall

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<v Speaker 1>meeting load. Then, once you're clear on what's staying, figure

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<v Speaker 1>out what you need to prepare for. When people get busy,

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<v Speaker 1>they just start tromping from one thing to the next,

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<v Speaker 1>like middle schoolers changing classes. Here's my two o'clock, my

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<v Speaker 1>three o'clock, my four o'clock. This can be a harrowing

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<v Speaker 1>experience if you suddenly realize that the three o'clock involves

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<v Speaker 1>a complicated pitch to a not entirely friendly audience, or

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<v Speaker 1>if you're going to be asked at the two o'clock

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<v Speaker 1>for your opinion on a rather lengthy document. So figure

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<v Speaker 1>out when you can prepare for anything that requires preparation,

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<v Speaker 1>and mark these times on your calendar and finally take

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<v Speaker 1>a step back and look at the landscape. Not all

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<v Speaker 1>meetings for the week will be set by Monday morning,

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<v Speaker 1>of course, but when you see what time is available,

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<v Speaker 1>you can decide what time is good for meetings and

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<v Speaker 1>what isn't. For instance, if you've got no meetings on

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<v Speaker 1>Wednesday morning and two in the afternoon, I'd suggest that

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<v Speaker 1>if someone asks to meet on Wednesday, you offer any

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<v Speaker 1>remaining afternoon slots that leaves the morning open for individual

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<v Speaker 1>focused work. One of the most aggravating parts of organizational

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<v Speaker 1>life is that people feel their schedules are chopped up

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<v Speaker 1>they never have time to achieve that state of flow.

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<v Speaker 1>Some of this is inevitable, but some is self imposed.

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<v Speaker 1>You don't have to give Wednesday morning away unless there's

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<v Speaker 1>a really good reason. The upside of mapping out your

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<v Speaker 1>meetings is that you can approach the week feeling far

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<v Speaker 1>more confident and ready for what's to come. You'll steward

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<v Speaker 1>your energy appropriately, you'll perform better in the meetings that happen,

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<v Speaker 1>and there may be fewer of them, and they'll happen

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<v Speaker 1>at times that work better for you. Given how draining

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<v Speaker 1>meetings can be. That's really the best possible outcome. So today,

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<v Speaker 1>approach your calendar with this strategic spirit, map your meetings

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<v Speaker 1>for the week, and see what you can do to

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<v Speaker 1>make your work life feel more doable. In the meantime,

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<v Speaker 1>this is Laura, Thanks for listening, and here's to succeeding

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<v Speaker 1>in the New Corner office. The New Corner is a

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<v Speaker 1>production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts, visit the iHeartRadio app,

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<v Speaker 1>Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your favorite shows.