If you attend a lot of meetings, how do you organise all the info and get things done?

[jamaisjedors]

Hoping for some tips from those of you who work in the kind of role where you have meetings and then have to follow up on them.

I'm a teacher in HE but have been asked to take on more of a Project Manager role but have zero training in this kind of thing.

Actually I'm already on the Board of Directors and attend lots of meetings, and make lots of notes, but never have to do much follow-up.

Now I'm going to be in even more meetings, liaising with the Ministry of Education and Head Teachers etc. and think I'm going to get lost in the reams of notes I'll be taking, and forget to do something essentiel or follow-up.

I'd be interested to hear how you proceed in this kind of role or any tips for being efficient in meetings/following up etc.

Thanks!

[strongandlong]

You need to separate actions from general notes. My method is pretty simple - if there's an action or something I need to follow up, I put an asterisk in the margin of my note book at the relevant line in my notes. After the meeting I transfer all those action points into a to do list.

[strongandlong]

Out of interest, what do you use all your notes for? Most formal meetings will be minuted, so you shouldn't need to make comprehensive notes. You might find things easier to manage if you're more selective about what you note.

[poocatcherchampion]

Make fewer notes so there is less to wade through.
Have a separate action log - I put it at the bottom right of My sheet of paper or agenda.
Add time to the diary to review a particular project / stream a couple of times hence.
If I really worried I print paper copies od minutes etc but mostly just review online.
Spend time every week planning upcoming meetings / deadlines and working back.
If I take minutes I type them directly and always try to get a checked version out with in the week and follow up on actions straight away.
Make time to update action plans

I'll try to think of more.

[Nevercan]

If I run the meeting I write up the notes afterwards and then out any actions In a different colour with the initials of the person and the agreed deadline date.

[jamaisjedors]

Thank you!

Some of the meetings have formal minutes but we don't get them til about 3 months later so by then they are pretty redundant. We also have to vote on them so it's useful to have your own notes to check back that nothing got forgotten.

I am trying to set up an asterisk/box system for action points.

Most of the stuff doesn't have a specific deadline - I guess I should fix my own (semi-realistically) so things don't just get lost at the bottom of the pile? Any tips on that?

Other meetings are one-on-one and so not minuted, I suppose I should use my notes to write up a short summary of the meeting and the action points.

I've just signed up for Evernote and started using it, am hoping to fill my summaries/scan my notes into there so I can always access them. Anyone else use it for that?

[Brightbutchilly]

Ok I have one of those bic 3 colour pens and all actions are outlined in red at the end of the meeting. All notes are kept in an A4 note book so they are never lost on scraps of paper. Always, always date and title each meeting so you can look back and find them.

Actions not completed that day are entered onto my action list (which I have saved as an early morning appointment in Outlook, so basically my first appointment each day is to review my actions. I cross them out as I go but don't delete them for reference.

I also have a ruthless email and electronic filing system.

You'll find your own system soon I'm sure.

[Brightbutchilly]

Look up the urgent/important matrix for how to prioritise actions online.

7 Habits of Highly Effective people is worth a look too.

[chutneypig]

I agree with noting actions in a separate area of my pad. Very easy to run through them at the end of the meeting to check everyone's in agreement. Anything with a deadline in next couple of weeks goes into my Outlook tasks, longer range stuff goes on my white board. I look at that several times a day so that ensures it doesn't drift from my mind.

I've often sent bullet points from a one to one afterwards to check everyone's clear and it's down in writing.

Taking minutes I try and get them done ASAP. Depending on the meeting I'll type as we go, depends how much of the talking I'm doing.

[MrsMargoLeadbetter]

Firstly, I'd always question if I need to go to the meeting in the first place. Some organisational cultures thrive on meetings!

It sounds like you probably do have to go, but keep that question in mind.

I would agree with the advice of others about highlighting actions in your notes.

When chairing a meeting I go through the actions again at the end to ensure everyone (including me) has a note.

If you aren't chairing don't be afraid to clarify actions if the chair isn't being very clear.

I have used Evernote before and liked it. However I have decided I am a pen and paper 'girl'! I am currently trying 1 large book for everything, meetings and my own notes.

I try to vaguely follow the 'Get Things Done' (often known as GTD) method of time management including how to handle meetings.

There is an UK organisation (I don't work for them!) called Think
ĺProductive who do courses based on GTD and productivity. I have done their 'Email inbox to 0' course and it still helps me now a few years later.

Good luck.

[jamaisjedors]

I'm trying to do the Action points thing with a highlighter, must go back over notes though and make a list as some of you suggest.

I think the problem is also that I almost always have to leave straight from the meetings to go to class or pick the kids up, so I never write up the notes or action points straight away and then they get put aside forever!

I have looked up the urgent-important matrix and it's v. good - will try to keep that in mind.

I also used a pomodoro timer system and managed to write up a summary of 2 important meetings a couple of days ago and was pleased with how much I got done in the 25 min slots.

Email inbox 0 sounds good, I have a bad habit of using my email as a to-do list because so much admin stuff gets done by email.

[Chottie]

I have an A4 notebook which a cheap refill type. I put treasury tags in the holes to hold it together.

I write everything down in this notebook. Date every single page, transfer actions to a 'to do' page. Highlight all actions completed. I have coloured post its stuck on the top of important pages.

I've tried lots of different methods, but this way works best for me. If I have to take notes or minutes, I read them through the same day to check I can understand them!

[MrsMargoLeadbetter]

Jama if you have to rush off post meeting, can you schedule in your diary to do the notes the next time you are in an office. And diarise the note production after every scheduled meeting? Even if you don't manage it everytime it will be in your mind to allow time to do it?

I am trying to do that in my work. I don't find it very natural to do as I generally think "I work it out" but clearly a system would work better!

'O inbox' does encourage you to use your email to organise yourself. The key is to process email, not to just read, re-read and then re-read before doing something with it.

You create folders at the top of you inbox 'Action' 'Waiting' and 'Someday' and move emails into them and delete or file everything else. Done properly it makes me feel more in control but it takes work.

[FunkyBoldRibena]

Ok - the simplest thing I can recommend is to:
for your own meetings, use an actions grid, complete it as you go by hand, in your own notebook, and then just scan it to other people or make sure they summarise THEIR action points before the end of the meeting.

For short 'TO DO' stuff, put a square box by each action, and tick it when you have done it. Then you can look back and flick through for unticked boxes.

The biggest tip for project management is to make sure you don't leave with actions for yourself, just a note of everyone else's actions.

I use the Bullet Journal system; I number each page and then a list of all the page numbers on the inside front cover. In fact, I am starting at a new college this week so am buying a new journal for that today - I use a different journal for each teaching group and they are colour coded so I know which is which. And then I follow this technique: bulletjournal.com/ - Watch the video.

You can draw up an actions grid on a page and just title it 'Meeting actions 21 sept - curriculum and resources' in the title page and then you know what page it is on when you need to find it.

For emails, and I also run my own business and work on a private consultancy basis - so have all sorts of little teaching projects here there and everywhere - I try to deal with it there and then if it is important to do at all. Otherwise just file it into different projects.

[tribpot]

You can get Evernote to do stuff like:

• a template for meeting minutes with sections for actions and general notes. Using a service like ifttt.com and Google calendar together you can even have a note created at the start of each meeting with the meeting name and so on ready for you to fill in
  
• you can record voice notes, so if you have 2 mins to record the main points at the end of a meeting, do that so you can come back to it later
  
• you can forward your emails to Evernote and use it as a To Do list
  
• tag your notes so you can find everything related to topic [x]
  

You can also do handwriting into Evernote but it's very easy just to take a photo of a handwritten page of notes and put that in instead - there's a page scan setting which will try and remove shadows to leave the clearest possible image of the text on the page.

Are you reporting to someone in this project management role you've taken on? Even if said person doesn't want a weekly progress report it can be a very useful discipline to compile (and send) one, so you can see what you've got done that week and what you should get done next week. Plus any risks and issues.

[jamaisjedors]

MrsMargo I will try and be more disciplined about blocking off time to do things like that I think - I tend to fill up my diary or take on other stuff and leave things like that til it takes way too long to do them (ages after the event for example). Thanks also for the 0 inbox tips, will check that out too.

funkybold - not sure I'm entirely clear on what the actions grid might look like but will definitely look at the video, thanks.

tribot - I have downloaded a book about Evernote and need to look into those functionalities now I know they exist!

I like the weekly progress report idea, noone will ask me for weeks I think and then I'll suddenly be expected to do a massive report so doing it weekly would definitely be a good discipline. I'll be having weekly meetings with the President of the University but not always about "my" projects but I could aim to get one done for every Monday morning which is when we will meet.

Thanks all, this is really helpful, I just need to make sure I don't spend too much time procrastinating trying to find a perfect system!