First and foremost, if it’s not essential, don’t go. Most of the time, you’ll find, meetings will fall into that 80 percent category. They are useless. It’s amazing how many meetings you can miss without it making any difference to how you do your job. It’s equally amazing how quickly people get used to you NOT attending meetings and soon assume you won’t.
katty Every day we have a 10 a. m. and a 3 p. m. editorial meeting. When I took up my current job, my editor said it would be great if I could come along to them a few times a week. I said I’d probably try to call in. I’m afraid I lied. I’ve never attended any of those meetings either in person or by phone. And it really doesn’t affect how I do my job. In fact my time is better spent reading reports and talking to contacts. And here’s the real bonus: not going saves me at least an hour every day. If I have something to discuss that affects my reporting, I call or e-mail the editor directly. That takes five minutes instead of fifty.
claire Ditto. We have hours of meetings and conferences at Good Morning America. Over time, I’ve realized it’s more efficient for me, in my role as a reporter, not to participate all of the time. I now jump in when I’ve got something important I’m working on; otherwise, I get a synopsis at the end and use that extra time to actually report stories or do research or write.