Trying to determine whether or not meetings are productive in your office? If so, take a good look around the conference table during your next brainstorming session for some signs of boredom. You may just be able to draw some definitive conclusions.

According to a recent feature on MSN Health & Fitness, one way to beat boredom in meetings is to try doodling on some paper:

If you’re yawning and having trouble concentrating on a conference call, consider pulling out a pad of paper and a pen and letting yourself doodle a bit-that’s right, hearts, unicorns, rainbows … whatever goofy thing comes to mind. I recently interviewed an expert for a magazine article who told me that doodling can help the brain focus. So surprising, right? And when you’re focused on what you’re doing, you’re less likely to be zoning out and thinking about a nap.

Slaughter Development fully supports the idea that promoting creativity and happiness in the workplace will help improve productivity and stakeholder satisfaction.  However, when it comes to overcoming boredom, doodling seems far from productive. After all, what message does that send to your colleagues? Instead, perhaps the best approach is to re-evaluate the purpose of meetings and the roles that employees play in them.

As suggested on The Methodology Blog previously, take time to consider all elements of a meeting:

Besides the usual complaints that meetings are just too long and waste too much time, there are other factors that affect a meeting’s environment such as forced collaboration, lack of agenda or direction, power struggles, absence of a plan or outcome, and stress derived from loss of productiveness. Experiencing one or a combination of these issues in a meeting is the reason why it fails. Yet, as was presented on Wednesday, identifying types of meetings and the ways in which they fail can assist in determining not only their value, but can help highlight tools for making them worthwhile.

A good rule of thumb when calling a meeting should be to ask yourself the question, “what is the purpose?” If it is something other than brainstorming ideas or making decisions, then its time to rethink the meeting altogether. After all, time wasted equates to more than just wasted money. It can result in loss of direction, creativity or even motivation; three areas that empower stakeholders and assist in achieving productivity and innovation.

Meetings can contribute greatly to workplace success so long as they complement rather than compromise workflow. To learn more about ways of improving productivity and stakeholder satisfaction in your office, contact Slaughter Development today.

❖ ❖ ❖