Ask an expert

Q I’ve made a resolution to waste less time in meetings. Any advice?

A If you notice the following time-wasting signs, confirm with the meeting’s host that your attendance is required and, if so, offer some of these ideas for keeping the meeting efficient:

Everything but the kitchen sink is being covered. It’s wise to have an agenda, but one that is lengthy or unfocused could indicate that not all of the information will be relevant to every attendee. When the agenda becomes too long, organizers should consider holding smaller, more focused gatherings.

It’ll take more than an hour. You often lose people after 60 minutes, so think carefully about scheduling a meeting that will take more than an hour of someone’s time. If there’s no way to condense, consider snacks, interactive elements or multiple speakers to keep people engaged.

The attendee list goes on and on. An extensive participant list may signal an overly ambitious meeting, or one where people are being invited as a courtesy, rather than because they need to attend.If you’re organizing the meeting, be sure to list people as “optional” if their presence isn’t required.

There’s a large PowerPoint deck involved. It’s possible much of that information could be shared prior to the meeting. The gathering then could be used to field questions or highlight the most important data.

It’s a habit. Routine meetings can become, well, routine. Think about whether regular gatherings are necessary or could be held less frequently.

Robert Hosking is executive director of OfficeTeam (www.officeteam.com)