http://unclutterer.com/discuss/forum/meetings The community for people interested in home and office organizing. en-US Mon, 13 Feb 2012 12:55:21 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 q http://unclutterer.com/discuss/search.php http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/need-advice-for-meetings#post-46588 Sat, 04 Feb 2012 14:04:33 +0000 xarcady 46588@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>In my experience, the longer a meeting goes, the less productive it becomes. The longest useful meeting time is about 2 hours, but shorter is better. </p> <p>You can use luxcat's parking lot idea for new ideas that crop up in meetings as well. Say you are discussing how to improve the TBS reporting procedure. Someone remarks that the change you are discussing would be great for improving the XYZ process. Don't spend time discussing the XYZ process or how the change could benefit it--write the idea down in the "parking lot" and continue on with the meeting. The "parking lot" can be a simple piece of paper in the middle of the table--nothing fancy. </p> <p>The important thing is remembering to add the parking lot items to future meetings. </p> <p>And not having a boss like my former boss, who simply could not let a new idea go and sidetracked many meetings because she got a new idea. The parking lot didn't help, because she'd insist on hashing out the new idea right then and there. Reminding her of the time left in the meeting didn't help, because she'd declare that New Idea! was more important than anything on the agenda. Reminding her we really needed a decision on X and that decision was why we were having the meeting in the first place didn't help either. She owned the company and we couldn't stop her. </p> <p>On the other hand, she did give me lots of books on how to run good meetings, because my meeting running skills were so poor, and I learned a lot of good techniques from them. Which I'm putting to use in my new job, with a much more reasonable boss. </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/need-advice-for-meetings#post-46461 Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:19:35 +0000 luxcat 46461@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>I have to deal with meetings for both work and a large non profit I am involved with.</p> <p>1st- always have an agenda<br /> 2nd- if a topic is really going on and on and does not need to be resolved at that moment, put it in the "parking lot", note where you need to pick up the discussion later, and move on to the next agenda item.</p> <p>If you suffer from a particularly verbose group, set time slots for each agenda item. </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/need-advice-for-meetings#post-46457 Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:01:56 +0000 Lori Paximadis 46457@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>Count me in with those who would complain -- politely but firmly -- about meetings that go on hours over schedule. (And recognize that the others are just as irritated, but for whatever reason choose not to speak up.) You have to respect people's time. </p> <p>It's fine to ask open-ended questions, but once the time you have allotted for discussion on question A is up, make a note to have a follow-up meeting on just that question at a later time and move on. </p> <p>It sounds as if you might be trying to cram way too much into one meeting, too. If you know that your attendees tend to go on for half an hour on each of your questions, putting 12 questions on the agenda of a 2-hour meeting is just cruel. </p> <p>You'll develop a sense of how long things will take over time. Until you have a sense of how things will go, it's always better to err on trying to cover a little bit in a lot of time rather than the other way around. </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/need-advice-for-meetings#post-46451 Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:39:00 +0000 mskris 46451@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>My advice is similar - have an agenda and issue it ahead of time. It's your job to keep the discussion on track to accomplish the agenda items. Also, you might try limiting the number of questions per meeting, especially when you know the responses may be lengthy and involved. </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/need-advice-for-meetings#post-46445 Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:16:43 +0000 ninakk 46445@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>- Come prepared and motivate others to do so too.<br /> - Politely but brutally cut multitalk; everyone can be heard but not simultaneously and all opinions are equally valuable.<br /> - If tech stuff are acting up often, fix problems or learn not to use them until they are properly working; don't waste time trying to have fancy slideshows either unless you know how to use them.<br /> - Read up on meeting technique; it is an art form and meetings can be incredibly repulsive to attend if the leader sucks (just ask me).<br /> - Chit chat is not done during meetings but those who wish to socialize pleasantly can meet up after the meeting in informal ways. Even volunteers have goals elsewhere in life. God this one bothers me.<br /> - The purpose of a meeting is on the other hand not to breeze through it in 30 min either, if the discussions at hand require 60 or 120. Don't let the impatient ones take over to influence everyone's mood, but lead efficiently and optimistically.<br /> - Again, have everyone arrive prepared. </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/need-advice-for-meetings#post-46438 Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:35:30 +0000 susanintexas 46438@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>It's the job of the meeting facilitator to keep it on track and within time. I would recommend:</p> <p>(1) Set a start and an end time for the meeting and honor it.<br /> (2) Have an agenda. It is useful to have an estimated time for each issue/question. This can be negotiated during the meeting if circumstances warrant, but it keeps people on track. The agenda with the time budget will also give you a clue as to whether you have scheduled too much for the allotted time. In an hour-long session, for example, you can probably only handle 3 or 4 open-ended or controversial/lively questions.<br /> (3) Have a timekeeper -- as Conny mentioned, there are different ways of doing this, but is is critical. It helps to make it a different person than the facilitator so that he/she can concentrate on the discussion and not the time.<br /> (4) Reel the conversation back in if it gets off-track or repetitive. It can help to intervene by summarizing the comments so far and asking if anyone has something new to offer.<br /> (5) If you have people who tend to dominate the discussion it is appropriate to gently cut them off: "We've already heard from you several times, John, but I'd like to hear what Joan has to say about this."<br /> (6) In a discussion that is more learning/insight than action-oriented, a good technique is to break into smaller groups for the discussion -- diads or triads work well. Give them a specified SHORT period, then have one person from each group report back BRIEFLY on their discussion. More people can participate in a shorter period of time. </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/need-advice-for-meetings#post-46432 Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:18:11 +0000 Conny 46432@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>I do similar [volunteer] work(adult AD/HD meetings) and people are constantly interrupting each other. Discussions go into tangents. It (ADHD) is part of the problem.</p> <p>When meeting time is nearing the end, say it loud and clear: "It is soon time to close, any *urgent* last comments that cannot wait till the next meeting?"</p> <p>I will often say, if the question seems valid and i know it might last too long: "please bring up the question on our website forum, or on any other website forum that you like." That seems to help too. </p> <p>My colleague used a kitchen timer, but i don't like that distracting ticking sound, nor did any other people and many stopped showing up after that, but a tap on the glass to get attention back to you to point out that the time is almost up, is a politer way. </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/need-advice-for-meetings#post-46430 Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:06:26 +0000 branchd77@yahoo.com 46430@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>Hi I work as a personal development coach. I attend meetings and help organize them as well. The problem I have is we ask a lot of open ended questions and sometimes my meetings can go on for hours over the target time. The discussions are good, but some people complain about the length. Any advice?</p> <p><a>Personal Development 123 </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/capturing-meeting-notes#post-14141 Thu, 04 Nov 2010 15:16:58 +0000 markS 14141@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <blockquote><p>Springpad is a free web application that helps people quickly save anything they want to remember, and access it from anywhere (ideas, notes, recipes, books, restaurants, wine, etc. We just launched a new web site and an iphone app last week, so you can capture and save anything—notes, recipes, shopping lists, books, movies and more. All feedback is welcome. We want to hear from you. <a href="http://springpadit.com/" rel="nofollow">http://springpadit.com/</a><a href="http://www.goldenrule.com">health</a> </p></blockquote> <p>I just started using springpad, and with my iphone, it is pretty cool. Saving items by barcode is awesome, and something I didn't know was possible. Springpad doesn't do everything under the sun, but works for me as a nice little digital notebook. </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/capturing-meeting-notes#post-7623 Tue, 13 Jul 2010 15:12:08 +0000 knyghtmaire 7623@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>After some time, I have found that Tomboy notes works the best. With the dynamic linking, and great search feature it seems to work the best for integration with both projects, personal notes, reminders, and meetings.</p> <p>Tomboy allows me to sync to the web, more specifically my Ubuntu-One share. I used to use both Dropbox, and Evernote, (still do all the time) but our work firewall is increasingly strict. Since I work and play across multiple computers, and operating systems, this has worked out the best. It's like a personal wiki that follows me around.</p> <p>I must add however that I tag the notes, as well as indicating which project it is related to.<br /> Additionally, if there are any files or data other then unformatted text that needs to be captured, I still must add it to my Outlook Task (for work, Evernote for everything else) by hand. Keeping track of that is as easy as Wiki-Tagging "[_] Added to Outlook?" so at the end of the day (or week) I just right-click the "[_] Added to Outlook?" note, and select "what links here." I put an X in when it's entered.</p> <p>I like OneNote, but it's not an option. I STILL write all kinds of things down. Plus take pictures. But for speed, search-ability, and syncing, I use Tomboy notes. ZimWiki looks really cool, but the work stuff needs to be encrypted. Without getting into it, it doesn't play well with PGP. I once used my own home wiki for a while. But had to stop for the same reason. Outlook Journal works well, but I don't like putting too much personal information in the company Exchange server, nor can I access it from anywhere.</p> <p>I should mention, that I also shamelessly use AutoHotkey in Windows and AutoKey in Linux for shortcuts, text expansion and quick pick menus. This keeps the tags, frequently used lists and formatting all the same.</p> <p>Thank you so much everyone. </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/capturing-meeting-notes#post-7549 Sun, 11 Jul 2010 11:40:49 +0000 robhixkg 7549@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>Some great ideas here. Especially if you can control the software that is installed on your computer. I cannot install software at work, so this get a little harder. I am supposed to be getting OneNote later this month (been waiting since April). Hopefully that will change my note taking process.</p> <p>Thanks for the great ideas. Especially the ones about the pictures. </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/capturing-meeting-notes#post-7542 Sun, 11 Jul 2010 05:14:07 +0000 rw86347 7542@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>I hate paper!!!</p> <p>However nothing seems to be faster at recording notes than paper and pen. Not to mention the freedom to draw pictures and arrows.</p> <p>So for every meeting I grab printer paper. I write the meeting name and date at the top, then take notes. At then end I snap a photo with evernote on my iphone. Not only does that duplicate my data on every device I own, but it also captures the time and location of the meeting.</p> <p>My notes are duplicated on every computer, and device and I don't have to carry them around. </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/capturing-meeting-notes#post-4084 Sun, 28 Mar 2010 11:06:37 +0000 sugarsmax 4084@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>We use a webcam on our whiteboards as often as possible, even if we may never need it. Getting in the habit of setting it up for any mtg encourages us (a) to get discussions on the wall and (b) get it down to disk to encourage referring back to them.</p> <p>I also use Outlook Journal religiously. Auto time-stamp, auto category, rich text edit, easy to forward to the other people in the mtg, etc. And since I'm in Outlook all day anyway, I've found the Journal is easier than yet another app. Although MindMap does look slick... </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/capturing-meeting-notes#post-3872 Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:49:51 +0000 LaurenS 3872@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>Hi, I'm Lauren from Springad. Notetaking in Springpad is really easy. All of the notes you enter are automatically synced between the web app and iPhone app; and what's really great from an organizational point of view is that the note can be then be added to any Springpad app, list, and/or shared.</p> <p>Springpad is a free web application that helps people quickly save anything they want to remember, and access it from anywhere (ideas, notes, recipes, books, restaurants, wine, etc. We just launched a new web site and an iphone app last week, so you can capture and save anything—notes, recipes, shopping lists, books, movies and more. All feedback is welcome. We want to hear from you. <a href="http://springpadit.com" rel="nofollow">http://springpadit.com</a> </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/capturing-meeting-notes#post-3871 Thu, 18 Mar 2010 13:32:44 +0000 fshapps 3871@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>Try Zim desktop wiki. Free, cross-platform, simple and incredibly flexible. Everything is stored in text files so no worries about data portability.</p> <p><a href="http://zim-wiki.org/" rel="nofollow">http://zim-wiki.org/</a> </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/capturing-meeting-notes#post-3870 Thu, 18 Mar 2010 11:22:29 +0000 georgetownsandi 3870@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>I take a photo if all notes are legible on a whiteboard :-) Even my own paper notes, I photo and scan to Evernote on my iPhone and send out that way. Works great. </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/capturing-meeting-notes#post-3869 Thu, 18 Mar 2010 10:47:18 +0000 timmm23 3869@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>funny that you bring this up, this week we could try our new service</p> <p>paper,pen and phone </p> <p>it is so super cool, you write down your notes and once finish you take the little tag, swipe over the send mark and you have everything in the web portal<br /> from there you can process it further, text recognition, re-send etc.</p> <p>works like a charm </p> <p>=) </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/capturing-meeting-notes#post-3774 Sat, 13 Mar 2010 14:04:54 +0000 rachel_413 3774@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>What I do for important notes, is I scan them and put them in the computer folder for that particular project, usually in a subfolder called Basis. Although scanning your notes is an extra work step, it gets rid of paper files, and it's important to have records for other people who work on the project, or may have to follow your trail long after you've moved on to other projects or companies. </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/capturing-meeting-notes#post-3744 Fri, 12 Mar 2010 05:01:50 +0000 trillie 3744@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>Sorry to be the one spamming comments here, but now that I read knyghtmaire's first post again, it sounds like (s)he is the only one referencing her/his own meeting notes later, no? That email thing works well for us, because we're not many people in an open-plan office where we can yell stuff, too :oD But when you work mostly alone, you work and remember differently. So it might make sense for you to try out free groupware or project management software (like eGroupWare) or anything that lets you assign notes and tasks to different projects. Mind mapping software like FreeMind, or just software like Evernote might work for you. </p> <p>@ AJ, the SmartPen looks like fun. Another cool thing if you have lots of thoughts/notes might be trying speech recognition software where you dictate the text and the computer writes it down for you. Yay for futuristic gadgets! </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/capturing-meeting-notes#post-3732 Thu, 11 Mar 2010 22:33:52 +0000 AJ 3732@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>How about a pen that records your writing and puts it into a PDF? A pen that also records (if you want) and co-ordinates the timing of your notes with the voice recording? </p> <p>I haven't looked into prices because it's not available where I live, but the SmartPen looks like a really cool gadget. </p> <p><a href="http://www.livescribe.com/" rel="nofollow">http://www.livescribe.com/</a> </p>