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You’re not imagining it, you do spend half your time in meetings. 21.5 hours per week to be exact, which is a shocking 48% increase compared to before the pandemic. In fact, a recent survey from Reclaim.ai shows that overall meetings are up 70% since 2020, which has left many workers struggling with time management.
After all, how can you achieve the actual work needed to progress your job, when you’re spending the majority of your time tackling mundane tasks and attending meetings?
So how can you better manage your time and avoid useless meetings? If you work for a meeting-friendly company or boss, which it appears the majority of us do, suggest the introduction of some of the tools below to help your team become more efficient and meetings to become more productive.
Be Strategic
On days where you know you’re going to lose 20 minutes here and 30 minutes there between meetings – realistically you’re not going to get anything started or completed in this time – use Clockwise to cut out that dead time. Clockwise is a tool which enables teams to block-book meetings, meaning you stack attendance back-to-back. Not only does this “calendar tetris” approach cut out on wasted time between meetings, it also ensures you bring the same energy to each meeting as they’re scheduled together, leaving separate time for deeper work.
Be Realistic
We all want to think that our meeting is essential to the success of the team, but is it really? If you’re pulling a dozen people together to run through a demo of a new software or to show them examples of how you want reports formatted, ask yourself if there’s a more time-effective solution.
Loom is an asynchronous video messaging tool that lets you easily record your screen and a voice-over, meaning what you need to share can be delivered directly to your team and they can engage at a time suitable for them. Plus, it can then be saved for reference, cutting out the need for follow-up meetings.
Be Organised
Before you organise, or attend, a meeting be upfront about the desired outcome. What do you hope to achieve, and who, and what do you need to achieve it? Which key people need to be in attendance at the meeting for it to have a progressive outcome? Ensure they’re free by scheduling the meeting with Calendly, a tool that lets teams sync calendars and organise group events at a time suitable for everyone. Similarly, share an agenda ahead of time so people come prepared – while there are agenda tools available, a simple Google Doc can often be most effective.
Be Honest
Honest and clear communication can often cut down on the need for meetings, because people already understand each other’s pressure points and goals. If you’re struggling to introduce an open line of communication to your team, try Slack. An instant messaging service which, if used properly, should eliminate the need for chain emails, dozens of attachments and round robin communications. Organise your team into channels, pin important documents and watch your meeting time reduce dramatically.
And if all else fails, consider that your working style no longer echoes that of your employer, and it might be time to move on. Here are three exciting companies all currently hiring through the Silicon Canals Job Board, and there are thousands more open roles to explore too.
Spotify
With the possibility for most jobs to be carried out remotely, Spotify is currently hiring for engineering, marketing and customer support roles across its European offices. The company prides itself on continued learning opportunities for all staff, whether they are office or home-based and it encourages employees to embrace the “work from anywhere” programme – with some time zone limitations. Check out Spotify’s current vacancies.
Thought Machine
For those interested in Fintech, Thought Machine is currently hiring a variety of roles across all levels. Thought Machine operates with a start-up mentality and encourages a streamlined and efficient culture of questioning and asking. Each week there’s a company-wide town hall meeting while once every six weeks, the CEO engages in a company-wide Q&A session. Engineering roles are currently available across all levels and disciplines. Browse all vacant roles at Thought Machine.
HubSpot
HubSpot is a leading CRM company with over 3,300 employees worldwide, 93% of whom say it’s a great place to work. HubSpot offers staff exceptional benefits including unlimited holiday days, a four week sabbatical for every five years service and a remote working option for the majority of jobs. HubSpot is currently hiring roles across tech, sales and engineering.
Explore all available opportunities at HubSpot.
Check out thousands more career opportunities currently available on the Silicon Canals Job Board
Catch our interview with Paul Down, Head of Sales at Intigriti.
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