📅 Take control of your calendar!
Don't let your calendar take over you.
Hey there 👋🏼
I hope the holiday season has been good to you wherever you are, and that you’re ready to start 2022! This is no longer a drill and no longer in planning mode so let’s buckle up!
I’ve thought a lot about what I wanted to share this month.
We’ve come a long way these past two years, considering how much COVID has changed our way of working, but one thing that I still see a lot of people complain about, is the number of meetings their schedule has and a lot of the times how unproductive they were.
Since coming home in March 2020, our daily calendars became filled with back to back meetings.
I’m not alone here right? 🤔
Communication and clarity are essential in managing projects and teams but, is a non-stop schedule of meetings the way to do it?
I share an article with 10 tips on how to have really productive meetings and not just time fillers.
These techniques will serve as the foundations of a productive and fulfilling year.
Feel free to share other techniques you use to boost the productivity of your meetings 😊
Now, with this being the third issue of the newsletter, I think it’s a great time to start collecting feedback and begin the improvement process. ♻️
I ask you to help me with this by filling this extremely quick survey. It takes 1 minute! Really!
On a personal note, I got a lava lamp for Christmas and I forgot how much I love these things! They’re completely mesmerising.
Yes, I know… The 80s called and want their lamp back!
But hey, it’s actually something that relaxes me and helps me get into the zone. So the bottom line here is to find your own lava lamp and surround yourself with things that actually work for you, that help you focus, and not against you 🙂
Have a focused January!
Until next month ;)
📆 How long since you’ve had a really productive meeting?
I’m sure that you’ve been into time-filler meetings before. Unfortunately, it’s inevitable at least once in your career…
But what is important is to take action once you feel like your time was wasted and ensure that you improve the quality of your schedule.
Have you noticed that now it’s people who are in the office that get late into meetings because they have to understand how the gear works or they have to travel to a different place in the building?
This guide shares 10 tips on how you can improve drastically the quality of your meetings in a fairly easy way:
📆 Stop back to back meetings
🗒 Review the list of invitees
🦉 Pre-meeting preparation
📝 Post-meeting notes
📣 One to rule them all
⌚️ It’s not necessary to occupy the entire slot
📚 Have your support material ready
✅ Ensure to have actions
🧠 Don’t forget about the topic
🐻 You are Kronos! Master of all time!
Let me know what you thought and if you have any other tips to include 💪🏼
📚 What I’ve been reading
Have to say how much I loved this book! I was given this one for Christmas and read it within a week!
It’s extremely easy to digest, and even though it was written sooooo long ago, the advice there are still accurate.
It got me thinking about how I can make small adjustments to how I create my videos, or how I do presentations at work.
If you want to review how you deliver your message in an easy to read book, then this one is for you 😉!
Get it here: Paperback
Do you recommend any books on public speaking or on how to deliver a message with more impact?
This week I also got my hands on a book I wanted to read for a while now. “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team” is an extremely quick to read fable that opens the eyes of every leader out there.
The way Patrick Lencioni writes, you immediately get connected with the story, the same way you get hooked on Gene Kim's "Phoenix Project" or the "Unicorn Project"!
Get it here: Hardcover | Audiobook
I wish there were more IT fiction. So if you know similar books to these please send them my way by replying to this email 📚
📣 Top quote of the month
Focus on being productive instead of busy.
This should be our mantra for the year!
I think it’s a fantastic thought to have when you’re reviewing your weekly calendar.
Be critical and ask yourself, do you really need to go to all those meetings? Are you essential or optional?
Do you have the time to get more done and not just go through the motions of getting in and out of meetings, numbingly going through the day until before you know it it’s over?
The weekly review and planning are essential to achieve your goals as well as to have a good balance between work and personal life.
Remember this every Sunday when you’re planning the week ahead!
If you're not finding value in this newsletter please consider unsubscribing. There are absolutely no hard feelings and I already appreciate a lot your part in my journey. Perhaps in the future, we'll meet again!
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Thank you for being part of my journey!
Have an incredible month! 💪🏼
Parada 👊🏼
A Leader's Mindset