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‘Did we make a decision in there?’ —US executive after a meeting in the UK

Five ways to succeed

Five ways to fail

Welcome to the world of meetings. This is the activity which will take up the majority of your time at work. Up to 60 per cent, in fact. An estimated four million hours are spent in meetings every day in the UK alone.

So now you’ve realised this is likely to be your major work activity you need to know how to organise your time. The best way to do this is to use the time-honoured framework of five W’s and an H: Why, What, Who, When, Where and How. Let’s start with Why.

Why so many meetings? Good question. Meetings are like tribal gatherings. Work groups share a practical and emotional need to get together and discuss things and to exchange information.

You may not have much choice about which meetings you attend, but even meetings you think are irrelevant may be useful. You get the opportunity to observe how meetings work. Remember, don’t just focus on the topic, focus on the mechanics of the meeting (how it’s constructed and run) as well.

Meetings are the lifeblood of any organisation. They are the way information is shared in the group. They are the prime way of giving the work group a sense of belonging. This is why it’s worth:

Let’s unpack each item on that list.

Limit the number of meetings

Attend four two-hour meetings back to back and you’ll know why you need to limit the number of meetings. Your whole working day has gone – and you haven’t done any desk work yet. So you’re already behind. In addition, by the end of the fourth meeting, what you discussed in the first meeting is a distant memory.