Unproductive Work Habits: Part II

In this series, we’re discussing how, according to Microsoft’s research, meetings and email are now consuming the majority of time for the average worker. Microsoft found many meetings and emails are crowding out product innovation and personal interactions with customers.

Today, let’s talk about meetings. If you schedule a meeting, first take a minute to consider what’s the purpose of the meeting and what is the desired outcome.

Once those items are decided, consider carefully who needs to be in that meeting. Do not waste team members’ time by including them in a meeting that is not strictly pertinent to them and their work. John 15:2 teaches, “(The Father) cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.”

The Lord desires that the unfruitful be pruned. A similar mindset can be brought into time management. Wasted time is more or less the definition of unfruitfulness, and for a functional business, pruning time expenditures is crucial.

To prune your schedule, consider scheduling 30 or 15-minute meetings instead of 60 minutes and keep to the agenda.

Questions For Reflection

• How long are your meetings currently? Do you feel you accomplish what you set out to? What is most useful about meetings? What is most inconvenient about meetings?
• How well do you feel you manage your time? How much downtime do you have for your family? For your Faith?
• What is the most productive use of your time this week?