This is a collection of heuristics for deciding on meetings. Found it via twitter from Shane Parrish. I subscribed to both of his blog and twitter @farnamstreet. He is putting out incredible content on everyday wisdom.
Filling this for myself for future meetings:
- If you wouldn’t do it right now, say no.
- Say no to everything outside of work hours you wouldn’t call your partner and bail on dinner for.
- Say no to all recurring meetings with the exception of ones from your boss if you have one. Tell people you’ll opt-in on a per-agenda basis.
- Cut all meetings in ½
- If you’re in a meeting and it’s clearly pointless, politely excuse yourself.
- Keep an internal calculation of what your time is worth. Raise this every year.
- If you’re going for the drink, don’t go.
- If you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong meeting.
- Even if you can’t get out of a meeting, rather than sit there an be bored or make a grocery list, become a detective and see what you can learn from/about everyone else in the meeting.
- If everyone is on their phone or laptop at the meeting, leave. The decision has already been made.
- If you’re talking to signal how smart you are just shut up.
- If you’re going to “add value” to someone else’s idea, just skip the meeting. That type of stuff is best-done one-on-one and not in a group setting where you reduce the motivation of the other person. (See signally how smart you are (11) and shut up.)