My first "No Meetings Wednesday"
Beata Mielcarek ??
IT and Data Analytics leader | Building effective delivery teams | Bringing calm, predictability, and efficiency to programs and teams | Climate champion
Our team is experimenting with "No Meetings Wednesdays". During the month of March, we are asked to keep our Calendars free of meetings every Wednesday. There may be exceptions for such things as management escalations, or Priority One outages, but otherwise we are consciously leaving the day open to "just work".
This past Wednesday, 9 March 2016, was my first "No Meetings Wednesday", and this is what happened:
- I worked only my local timezone office hours - no evening calls;
- I ate all my meals at normal hours: 9am breakfast, 1pm lunch, 7pm dinner;
- I ate all my meals at a regular table - often lunch, and sometimes dinner, are consumed at my desk;
- I had a meaningful not-rushed conversation with a co-worker - we didn’t have to drop off at the top of the hour;
- I didn’t have to watch the clock when I went for my bio-break – I won’t describe “the usual” :)
- I read a few current articles related to my data science job – I usually have to wait until the week-end or skip them all together;
https://www.dhirubhai.net/today/posts/bernardmarr
- I watched a TED Talk related to the next day's Cisco Women of Impact 2016 #WOI2016 event – normally I wouldn't have time to do something like this ahead of time;
https://www.ted.com/talks/reshma_saujani_teach_girls_bravery_not_perfection
- I had a free week-night to do with as I pleased. Oh the possibilities!! – the “normal” rule is not to plan any outings on a week-night. To be honest, I resent that rule, and it is not right by my family or friends.
- I also had time to write this Blog entry :)
What I worried would, but didn’t happen:
- I didn’t get a constant barrage of Instant Messenger pings;
- I didn't get more e-mails than I normally do;
- I didn’t get panic-calls about some thing or other and requiring me to make a decision on the fly;
- I wasn't interrupted from all directions as I do on days full of meetings.
So, what happened? Why was it such a good day? Is it possible that we took a collective breath, relaxed, and remained focused on our own “I have no calls, so I get to do my job today!” stuff. I hope so. Work days should be mostly like this - with time to THINK and LEARN - not an exception. I am already looking forward to my next "No Meetings Wednesday"! :)
Have you tried a "No Meetings Day" where you work? I hope you spent it doing something you normally don't have time to do.
Beata
Turn Data to Insights with Python, Postgres, and Power BI. Oh my!
6 年Going to make this recommendation to my manager during next one on one.
Information Technology Specialist at Global Affairs Canada | Affaires mondiales Canada
8 年That is a wonderful idea. I doubt it would really fly here though. Government is really slow to change anything especially something that they "think" makes them more efficient (which of course it doesn't). On the other hand, I have fewer meetings at DFATD than I did at StatsCan so I can't really complain too much about that. I do see others though, that spend their time going from meeting to meeting and I wonder when they actually get any work done.
Owner and Principal at Meetings That Matter
8 年I think it is so important to have significant blocks of time (even entire days!) to dive deeply into one's work without having to juggle the manifold inputs and transitions of meetings. At least one day a week without meetings seems like it could be an important way to foster creativity and integration for team members. Thanks for posting Lu Ellen.
IT and Data Analytics leader | Building effective delivery teams | Bringing calm, predictability, and efficiency to programs and teams | Climate champion
8 年Thanks Maria Vazquez ! Great to hear from you Lu Ellen Schafer :) WOI event was excellent this year!
Co-founder, Global Savvy
8 年Hi Beata, What a concept: having time to think and learn! I really appreciated your post and will very much encourage this. Like all initiatives, this one stands a good chance of being nibbled away at unless we stay focused on making it happen. (BTW, I did a workshop at the Krakow site for WOI day. : )