No-laptop Meeting Manifesto

Thoughts about being mindful and achieving the most with minimal meeting time

Most meetings are optional. Use your precious time wisely. Control your own destiny.

Having too many meetings is a bug, not a feature.

You may think you can listen while checking the laptop, but you really can’t. Not using laptops is a minimum requirement if you want to be a great listener.

Using laptops in meetings does not only waste your own time but also negatively influence everyone else in the meeting.

If you want others to listen to you, you should listen to others first. It’s that simple.

We are all facilitators. Politely asking colleagues to take lengthy discussions offline saves everyone’s time.

The most effective way to make a slow-paced meeting even slower is to start using laptops. If you put the laptop away and engage in the discussion, you can make it much faster.

The best way to not open a laptop in a meeting is to bring no laptop to open at all.

s/laptop/phone/g

Always ask questions:

• Before a meeting: do we really need this meeting?
• In a meeting: should we spend more time on this topic?
• After a meeting: were decisions made? Were there actions?

If you think the answer is “no” to any of these questions, change something. There is a good chance that you’re not alone.

#InstigateChanges

By recommending this post, you officially sign-up for this manifesto and will make changes.