Structure your day with meetings

Meetings can often interrupt our workflow and make us feel like we’re losing productive time during the day. However, even when their content, timing, and duration are beyond your control, you may still be able to structure your day with meetings.

Have you noticed how meetings split your day into two segments; your time before the meeting and your time after the meeting? This splitting of time can be useful if done intentionally; it can serve as a break between cognitively demanding sessions, or between work that’s unrelated. In this way, meetings can serve a useful purpose in helping to structure your day by creating useful breaks between other activities.

Try to schedule meetings (if you can) for a time when you’re less likely to have high levels of cognitive energy. And if possible try to make it at a natural break in your day.

For me, that’s about 11:00 in the morning after I’ve put in a few good hours of work, or 13:00 when I’m coming up to another break after a 1.5-2 hour session of cognitively demanding work. Or possibly, later in the afternoon when I’ve done my most valuable work for the day and am wrapping up with admin-type tasks.

Scheduling meetings at natural breaks can help ensure that the time ‘before’ and ‘after’ meetings are still productive. By being intentional about scheduling meetings during natural lulls in your day, you can leverage them as productive breaks that segment your time, ultimately increasing your overall focus and productivity. Or, if you don’t have the privilege of deciding when they’ll take place, you can still be intentional about how you use the time before and after the meeting.


Found this post useful? Stay connected with Head Space via the newsletter or blog, or share it with your colleagues on social media.


Comments

Leave a comment