If there is one word which traditionally we as engineers hate, it has to be meetings.
We are by nature not so human friendly. Our relationship works best with machines. Humans are so dynamic it almost feels like they are a different species. Machines also doesn’t understand us as engineers. However it’s still better to program a Machine. Try programming a human and you know how complex it is. There are so many things involved.
That being said, meetings play role of that unwanted guest in our life who comes and gives us Gift. And we pray that once the gift is received this guest should just get out.
To make matter worse meetings collaborates with its counterpart called Timing and our differentiator i.e. technical jargons. For example 5 Minute Standup Meeting. It feels someone has fired multiple bullets.
Somehow these meetings gives us memory power and suddenly before these meetings we are remembering what was discussed in last meeting, what’s going to happen in today’s. What will I say about the work I have not done due to laziness or just time pass. All kind of anxiety creeps in.
We have to prepare our selves in many ways like:
- How not to yawn
- How to sleep with open eyes
- How to pay attention to the speaker or the presenter
- How to be ready with excuses when asked about something or the other
- Find out the reasons for coming late
- Find out the ways not to become the host or presenter
- How to go early and grab the back seat to avoid getting into limelight
- How to avoid being the notes taker
- For How to present we don’t need to prepare, it’s somehow built in our genes. We just go and deliver. It’s now upto others to understand. We are awesome others may not be. But we don’t care.
There are multiple duration of meetings nowadays.
- Very Short – Few minutes
- Short – More than 10 but less than 20 mins and this starts with, I just want to meet for couple of minutes.
- Long – These are meetings which take up most of your productive time and you have to find ways to have relaxation, Yoga or go stress busting.
- Very Long – These I call picnic meetings, where one can bring his tea coffee snacks, some side craft work which can be finished while the meeting is running.
Biggest joy in the world is when we hear those 3 magical words. “Meeting is Cancelled”. This gives us like a new life. Nothing can best this feeling. Its joy can be compared with the recess bell when we were in the schools.