Month: February 2020

Great infographic about the ugly truth behind meetings.

We love this infographic from the guys at fuze.com it really hits home with the issues we are facing in our current meeting culture.

Take back control of your meetings

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So what could you do with all that time? We talk a lot about cutting down meetings, here’s what it means to some of our amazing Amazemeeters.

We talk a lot about meeting efficiency and saved time but when was the last time you stopped to think what that really meant. What would you really do if you got some of that precious time back? So we asked you and as usual our amazing community was not slow coming forward. For me this is really what Amazemeet is all about having better meetings and getting back in control of not just our working lives but our lives so we can spend more time doing the things we love. My time saved is spent doing too things time with family and time to create ideas. Here’s what everyone else likes to do

The 2 hours per week savers

2 hours doesn’t seem like a lot but there’s plenty you can do with 2 hours! For most of us it seems 2 hours is a great piece of time saved to actually do some work. The biggest complaint we hear from Amazemeeters is that meetings stop them from actually doing their jobs. Gaining back 2 elusive hours is a great block of time to sit and concentrate on that report, come up with that next amazing idea or simply day dream. More on that here.

If you had 2 hours back what would you do?

4 hours per week

4 hours, that’s half a working day

We’re getting into super efficient territory here. Amazemeet is a brilliant step to saving this kind of time but like all tools it’s only as good as the person wielding them. When we spoke with our community our more experienced users are saving this kind of time cutting out unnecessary meetings but it’s also been a catalyst to get better organised in other areas of their working life. Cutting out distractions at work, being more disciplined with tasks are high on the agenda. WHat’s more startling though is how much happier Amazemeeters seem when they are making significant time saving at work.

When we asked the community what they do if they’re saving 4 or more hours a week it’s a lesson in balance. Whilst everyone seems to cite getting actual work done this is balanced with having more time for things outside of the work environment. Having fun, spending time with family, picking the kids up from school all feature highly. As does taking some time out for yourself. Many of you commented how saved time is great for mindfulness.

What’s very clear though is that more focussed Amazemeeters are getting the balance right. They generally seem happier, they’re more productive and they feel much more in control of the working lives and lives in general.

8 hours, the holy grail

So i’m sure you’ve read that and thought, hey hold on that’s a whole day. Yep, that’s right. If you read our recent post about the 5 hour work day then saving 8 hours a week is definitely possible. Just imagine what you’d do with all that time. Actually what’s interesting is that most of the community say the more time they save the more they actually need to plan how to use it. Once in a while a box set binge on the couch can be great for the soul but it’s not a long term strategy. I have to admit there aren’t that many Amazemeeters saving 8+ hours a week, those that are have really taken the bull by the horns and decided to completely re-evaluate they way they work and live. It’s not something to be done lightly. But it’s something that’s becoming increasingly necessary. Many of our work based cultural constructs are rooted in the past, particularly the idea that time spent at work equals productivity. In fact the opposite is true, it’s something we seem to have fallen into with meetings as well. Good communication is a hallmark of good company culture, but couple this with technology that’s made it super easy to meet and talk and it’s easy to tip the balance. Microsoft Japan trialled the 4 day week and two things happened. Productivity went up and so did employee happiness. The idea of simply spending more time at something goes totally out the window. Sure in a cotton mill more time on the production line probably did equate to more output. But, when the jobs that many of us do really on creativity, thinking, ideas the opposite is true.

My own experience as a seasoned marketer working both cleint and agency side is that the more you work something the worse it gets. My tactic is to walk the dog, get some clarity of thought, it’s where the saying “sleep on it” comes from.

But just think a whole day! What would you do if I suddenly said you could have a whole day back? Drop a comment and let me know.

We can’t promise you’ll save 8 hours, but we can promise you’ll take back control of your meetings

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So when Mike first mentioned the better meetings breakfast club it immediately made me think of the image in this post!

Sadly this belies my age and fondness for John Hughes movies. No, the better meetings breakfast club isn’t a Saturday detention for angst ridden teens. Rather it’s a chance to meet with Mike and other like minded people who are simply tired of having crap meetings and want to do something about it.

As the founder of Amazemeet Mike brings a wealth of experience to the table, he’ll be there to hear your frustrations and offer up suggestions about how things can be improved. Mike’s also there to learn your experiences and tips to get better meetings are super valuable so come along and share.

Oh and there will be coffee, tea, croissants and bacon sarnies!

WHEN: Friday the 21st February, 10:30am-11:30am

WHERE: Lantana London Bridge, 44-46 Southwark Street, London, SE1 1UN

*This event is not about selling, Amazemeet are committed to making meetings better for everyone. To do that we need to meet as many people as we can who are motivated for change. Sharing our experiences and ideas will help shape better meeting and a better working life for us all.

Sign me up for the Better Meetings Breakfast Club

Following on from yesterdays post about putting some science into your meeting scheduling to plan your meetings better and get the outcomes you want. We found this great infographic from the guys over at NetCredit and thought we’d share it. It’s a great insight into all those day to day tasks that fill our lives.

Need a simple tool to help plan your next perfect meeting?

Try Amazemeet, free.

Putting some science into your meeting scheduling could be the answer If you’re struggling to get your meetings to reach their goals.

So let’s get this out the way, we’re not advocating using science for meeting scheduling as some kind of brainwashing* tactic! We wrote a few weeks ago about the post-prandial dip and how this can affect meetings, how to mitigate the effects and work it to your advantage. This post is very much a continuation of that. In our quest for ever better meetings we’re constantly exploring the variables that affect outcomes. Whether it’s better planning, meeting scheduling, attendee selection, follow up and most importantly the human element. They all play a role in getting the outcome we desire, which in most cases is why we have meetings in the first place pooling knowledge, insight and experience to work a problem and reach a goal.

*We’ll write a post about brainwashing next week – Ed.

Is there an optimal time to have a meeting?

According to UK company YouCanBookMe, who analysed data from more than two million responses to 530,000 meeting invitations, the best time to have a meeting is Tuesdays at 2:30pm. So from now on you can only have meetings on Tuesdays at 2:30pm. OK, so that’s not really practical especially when some of us spend 30% or more of our time in meetings. I’d also ask the question is this the best time or the most popular time for people to book meetings? It’s certainly true that Mondays tend to be a bad day for meetings, people are back at work, picking up on tasks and tend to be most productive. Does this infer that Tuesday is just the next earliest available day. We could even argue of these are external meetings with clients perhaps could the timing be designed to avoid buying lunch! It sounds almost silly but these are all questions to consider.

Let’s look at things from an Amazemeet perspective. We know that the culture of increasing numbers of meetings is bad and having more meetings is bad, certainly if you believe every study done into meetings in the work place. But, we keep having them and keep having more of them. This would suggest that behaviour is out of whack with effectiveness and efficiency. We could therefore argue that pinpointing a time based on an inherently flawed premise is also a complete red herring.

Let’s take a different view

Perhaps the answer lies in science. Rather than scheduling meetings at the most popular time why don’t we work towards the most effective time. Afternoon meetings, especially after lunch meetings are prime post-prandial dip territory. As we’ve discovered the effects can be mitigated but that suggests after lunch is not the “best” time.

The “best” time has to take into account of the type of meeting. Let’s take 4 examples:

• The informational meeting, mainly announcements
• The decision taking meeting, deciding on actions
• The discovery meeting, discussing problems and solutions
• The brainstorm, lots of ideas and blue sky

and here’s some science to work out which should happen when

The Best Time to Learn Something New

Learning is at its most effective when the brain’s in acquisition mode. This tends to be between 10:00 am to 2:00 p.m. and then again from 4:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

This kind of meeting is definitely not something to do burning the midnight oil, the lowest learning valley occurs between 4:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m.

The Best Time To Make a Decision

How often do we say let’s “sleep on it” it’s common for a reason: we make the worst decisions late at night and first thing in the morning. Your cognitive powers are strongest once your brain has a chance to shake off sleep inertia.

Sleep science research has pretty established that a good night’s sleep i.e. good quantity (7 to 9 hours at night) and good quality (a decent amount of that in deep REM state) allows your brain to properly ‘consolidate’ everything it has gathered in the day. It is literally when your brain has the time to process and build lasting memory and refresh what it already knows. So, as if by magic, the problem that seemed so wicked the night before, is solved when you awake.

Save important decisions for when you feel most alert, generally within one to three hours after waking up.

The Best Time To Brainstorm

The major irony here is that research has found that people are at their least creative when it’s demanded the most: normally at the heart of the workday, between 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Dr Michael Breus suggests leaning into “moments of groggy greatness” when we’re slightly tired and easily distracted. During these times, right and left brain communicate, which can trigger new and novel connections — and spark innovative ideas.

The Best Time to Ask for Money

No question, Friday afternoon. While this is the least productive day of the week, people are generally in a good mood. A positive outlook bodes well for asking for a raise or making a sale. Avoid Monday mornings — when people are the most stressed and grumpy — at all costs. Anecdotally there’s also something to be said for accents, it’s been proven that people trust Scottish accents the most when speaking to their bank. so next time money is involved make sure it’s Friday afternoon and you’ve practised your best Glaswegian accent.

These definitely aren’t 100% the answer every time but try it, you’ll be using science to schedule meetings that align with the way peoples brains work. A good first step when you’re using Amazemeet to plan your meetings is to think about the kind of meeting you’re having and schedule accordingly. We’d love to hear the outcome?

Need a simple tool to help plan your next perfect meeting?

Try Amazemeet, free.