A little while ago, I facilitated a workshop where I promised the participants it would run between 90 minutes and 2 hours. Hearing that one of the members of this small group had a lunch meeting to attend, I was sure to wrap things up just between 1½ and 1¾ hours, short of the maximum of 2 full hours.
Why do meetings go over? Why do they go as long as slated if the agenda has already been fully covered? It’s usually because the facilitator doesn’t adhere to an ending time and perhaps doesn’t even announce it. Our time is one of our greatest resources. Once we spend it, we can’t get it back and once we waste it, we can’t use it for something more beneficial.
Often times, people don’t understand the full purpose of a meeting so they can’t really feel that their time was well spent. Time management is an ongoing skill that many have not fully mastered. It’s amazing how much time you could save by knowing how you spend it and how you could learn to spend it more productively. Our Time Mastery Profile® and program – Full Plate?: Becoming Master of Your Own Time and Energy have offered insights to many on how to use their time more effectively and the barriers that stop them from doing so. Do you have any?
“Progress always involves risks. You can’t steal second base and keep your foot on first.” - Frederick Wilcox