My meeting hacks

Ask anyone about the toughest part of their workday and it usually comes down to one thing: meetings. There are plenty of reasons:

• The meeting could have been an email
• Nobody notices when I attend the meeting, but they notice when I don’t
• The meeting is recurring whether there’s something important to talk about or not
• There’s no time for questions after everyone presents in a meeting
• Someone dominates the conversation

This was a central problem in my “Five tips for a thriving technology career” talk that I delivered this year. I wrote a recap on the blog earlier this summer as well.

I came up with some more ideas since then, so let’s go!

Use headphones or earbuds #

I find it much easier to understand people in meetings when I have the audio closer to my ears. This helps a lot with understanding non-native English speakers or some native English speakers with thick accents. It reduces the noise from various things in my house (kids, pets, appliances) and allows me to focus on the small sounds that are important for understanding someone else.

How many times have you been in a meeting with someone who talks constantly without earbuds or headphones and you can’t break through with your own voice? Some computers will mute the incoming audio to avoid feedback sounds and you’ll totally miss it when someone is trying to get your attention.

I was once in a meeting where an attendee spoke at length about a topic that was already covered and multiple people tried to speak to let him know that he could stop. He was completely oblivious. The situation improved a lot recently with the addition of “raised hands” indicators in most meeting applications, but it’s still not perfect.

Background music #

If you typically join meetings without earbuds or headphones, then this suggestion isn’t for you. Also, you should go back and re-read the previous section. ️😜

Everyone has their own music preferences, but I find that playing some relaxing music at a low volume really helps me stay focused during meetings. I change the genre of music between different days depending on my mood. No matter what you choose, consider music without vocals to avoid distractions.

A good place to start is Lofi Girl’s “beats to relax/study to” playlist. You can listen on Spotify or on YouTube. Very few songs have vocals, and if they do, it’s barely noticeable. I’ve found that I can keep this playlist on for hours without getting bored of it.

This can be especially helpful for those marathon half or full day meetings. 👔

Ask about taking notes #

Most meeting platforms offer transcription and audio/video recording already, but transcriptions are difficult to read and recordings aren’t usually fun to watch. I love it when someone takes some concise notes about the points that were raised, who raised them, and who holds the action items to solve them.

If nobody’s taking notes, ask if you can!

It’s a great way to ensure you pay attention and the people who missed the meeting will thank you later. Nobody has turned me down yet when I’ve asked.

This can also be helpful if someone likes to talk over everyone else during the meeting or if someone birdwalks into other topics. Un-mute yourself and ask:

Wait, are we still on that previous topic or have we moved to something else?

Another favorite question of mine is:

Did we get an action item for that previous topic? Who owns that item?

Your note taking keeps speakers on track and ensures there is accountability and ownership for problems that need to be solved. It’s also a great way to get your name in front of other people during larger meetings.

Decline that meeting! #

This one got the biggest reaction during my talk at Texas Linux Fest. Sometimes you just need to decline a meeting. Certain aspects of a meeting will push me to the “No” button faster than others, but here’s my two biggest red flags:

• More than three attendees: It’s difficult to get much done with a meeting that has 25 people in it. If someone sends me a calendar invitation unannounced and there are more than 3-5 people in the meeting, I ask them on Slack what I’m expected to bring to the meeting. Often times, I hear “Oh, we wanted to be sure you were informed, but there are no action items for you.” That’s a great time to say: “Can you send me the recording or the notes when it’s over?”

• Missing agenda: If I’m taking time out of my day to meet, I want to know about the meeting’s goals. What should we have as we leave the meeting? Will we leave with a plan to do something? A set of decisions? Questions for another team?

You are the only one that can advocate for your own time. Nobody else is going to do that for you¹. A very talented executive once told me:

Time is the most valuable thing you bring to work every day. You can’t get more of it, but you can waste it. Your experience and knowledge means nothing if you don’t have time to use it. Treat your time as your most precious asset.