September 10, 2013 – Meetings Anonymous
There is one person I know that you should never invite to a meeting. She is THE MOST annoying person at meetings I have ever met. Here are some of her crimes:
- Bringing her mending basket and repairing clothing that could have been pitched
- Learning to knit
- Drawing up lists of things to do into the next year
- Sneakily readying a novel
And the worst part of it is her demeanor. She looks incredibly p*ssed off the entire time. I could wring her neck – just to put her out of her misery. The only thing is, it’s pretty much impossible to strangle yourself with your bare hands. Yes, that awful person is me. And if I could knock myself out during meetings, I probably would.
I feel badly about this, but I would rather go to the dentist than go to a meeting of any kind – be it in person or by phone. The problem is me; I admit it. And I have a confession to make. Many years ago I worked from home for an organization and we had a weekly meeting by phone. One time I feel asleep and when I woke up, the meeting was over and there was no one left on the line. Gah! (Or everyone had fallen asleep – they were pretty long and boring meetings.)
*****
I don’t know why I dislike meetings so much. Would I like them better if I could do them while on a treadmill? Maybe. But I don’t have a portable treadmill, and some folks might find that more irritating than sewing. When Laur wants to talk about something for more than one minute, I suggest we go for a walk.
I think his and my conversations are more interesting when we are also getting a hike, but I am not the first person to recognize this. Nilofer Merchant recently gave a TedTalk on the benefits of walking meetings. http://www.ted.com/talks/nilofer_merchant_got_a_meeting_take_a_walk.html
She considers sitting to be the “smoking of our generation” and claims it contributes to obesity which contributes to numerous other health problems. And she maintains that people are more likely to think outside the box when they are not sitting in a box. Her motto is “Fresh air brings in fresh thinking.”
While some folks would argue that having a walking meeting will contribute to distraction, others assert that if you choose a well-known, not too busy route, you will be less distracted by the other things you feel you should be doing at the home or the office.
It can be a challenge having a walking meeting with more than four. But really, in any given meeting there only usually only about four people who talk anyway – be it because they have the ideas or they just can’t stop talking.
If my hubs really wanted to have an effective talk with me, he’d suggest we go jogging. You have to know that, whereas I can easily walk for miles and miles, I can’t run to the corner and back. I’d be so busy gasping for air, I wouldn’t be able to interrupt with such useful comments like, “That reminds me of when I…” or “Have you ever thought of it from the other person’s perspective?”
In the corporate world, there is the problem of how one takes “minutes.” And so some meetings requiring detailed notes would have to happen back in the building. This would seem like a logical task to give to a person like me. It would keep me – hopefully – from doing such distracting things as banging my head against the wall or chewing on my hands and feet.
You would think this, until you saw how I take minutes. “What?! Was I supposed to write this down?!”
Best to send me out for a coffee run, or fast walk. Heck, I’ll even offer to pay! I would consider this a small price…
- Bringing her mending basket and repairing clothing that could have been pitched
- Learning to knit
- Drawing up lists of things to do into the next year
- Sneakily readying a novel
And the worst part of it is her demeanor. She looks incredibly p*ssed off the entire time. I could wring her neck – just to put her out of her misery. The only thing is, it’s pretty much impossible to strangle yourself with your bare hands. Yes, that awful person is me. And if I could knock myself out during meetings, I probably would.
I feel badly about this, but I would rather go to the dentist than go to a meeting of any kind – be it in person or by phone. The problem is me; I admit it. And I have a confession to make. Many years ago I worked from home for an organization and we had a weekly meeting by phone. One time I feel asleep and when I woke up, the meeting was over and there was no one left on the line. Gah! (Or everyone had fallen asleep – they were pretty long and boring meetings.)
*****
I don’t know why I dislike meetings so much. Would I like them better if I could do them while on a treadmill? Maybe. But I don’t have a portable treadmill, and some folks might find that more irritating than sewing. When Laur wants to talk about something for more than one minute, I suggest we go for a walk.
I think his and my conversations are more interesting when we are also getting a hike, but I am not the first person to recognize this. Nilofer Merchant recently gave a TedTalk on the benefits of walking meetings. http://www.ted.com/talks/nilofer_merchant_got_a_meeting_take_a_walk.html
She considers sitting to be the “smoking of our generation” and claims it contributes to obesity which contributes to numerous other health problems. And she maintains that people are more likely to think outside the box when they are not sitting in a box. Her motto is “Fresh air brings in fresh thinking.”
While some folks would argue that having a walking meeting will contribute to distraction, others assert that if you choose a well-known, not too busy route, you will be less distracted by the other things you feel you should be doing at the home or the office.
It can be a challenge having a walking meeting with more than four. But really, in any given meeting there only usually only about four people who talk anyway – be it because they have the ideas or they just can’t stop talking.
If my hubs really wanted to have an effective talk with me, he’d suggest we go jogging. You have to know that, whereas I can easily walk for miles and miles, I can’t run to the corner and back. I’d be so busy gasping for air, I wouldn’t be able to interrupt with such useful comments like, “That reminds me of when I…” or “Have you ever thought of it from the other person’s perspective?”
In the corporate world, there is the problem of how one takes “minutes.” And so some meetings requiring detailed notes would have to happen back in the building. This would seem like a logical task to give to a person like me. It would keep me – hopefully – from doing such distracting things as banging my head against the wall or chewing on my hands and feet.
You would think this, until you saw how I take minutes. “What?! Was I supposed to write this down?!”
Best to send me out for a coffee run, or fast walk. Heck, I’ll even offer to pay! I would consider this a small price…