Most of us are aware that meetings can be a place where we don’t make the best use of our time. It is easy to get bogged down in details, to wander off track, to spend more time discussing something than we should. As a result, management experts have come up with many different ideas for making meetings more efficient – distributing an agenda and sticking to it, limiting the amount of time spent on a topic. Here are a few more clever ideas from the experts on how to get the most from your meetings.

1. Make a set aside list.
As just mentioned, often meetings wander off topic. In the course of discussing one topic, people will throw out ideas and suggestions on related subjects. These off-topic ideas may be valuable, something that you and your team may want to look at in more detail. If that is the case, create a list where you jot down these ideas for later discussion, so they don’t derail the focus of your meeting.

2. Prohibit laptops
This may sound like heresy, but it works. First of all, people are not distracted by others who are tapping away on their keyboard. And without a laptop, there is no temptation to surf the web or check email.

Plus, as far as taking notes is concerned, research has shown that it is actually more effective to take notes with a pad and pencil.

3. You don’t have to always meet
You may have a longstanding tradition in your department of holding a weekly meeting, no matter what. But there is no rule that says you have to hold the meeting. If you have nothing important to cover that week, no updates or other items to talk about, cancel the meeting. The world will not end.

4. Be aware of scheduling.
When you have your meeting is something you don’t want to overlook either. Some times are better than others. For example, only an out-of-touch manager would schedule a meeting for a Friday afternoon.

The same is true for Monday mornings. Many people are preoccupied with checking their email and planning their week at that time.

The best time to schedule a meeting is midweek.

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