How can you incorporate mindfulness into meeting planning?

1 Define the purpose

Before you start planning a meeting, ask yourself why you are having it and what you want to achieve. This will help you set clear and realistic goals, prioritize the agenda, and invite the right people. It will also help you avoid unnecessary or unproductive meetings that waste time and energy. Write down the purpose of the meeting and share it with the attendees in advance, so they know what to expect and how to prepare.

3 Plan the agenda

Creating a well-thought-out agenda is essential for a successful meeting. It assists in organizing topics, allocating time, and assigning roles. Additionally, it helps to keep the meeting focused and relevant. When planning the agenda, use mindfulness to reflect on questions such as what key points or questions you want to cover, how much time is needed for each, who will lead, present, or facilitate each point or question, how to engage attendees and encourage their participation and feedback, and how to summarize and conclude the meeting. Before the meeting, write down the agenda and share it with attendees so they can review it and prepare their contributions.

4 Prepare yourself

Before the meeting, take some time to prepare yourself mentally and emotionally. You may want to do some breathing exercises, meditation, or stretching to calm your nerves and clear your mind. You may also want to review the purpose, the goals, and the agenda of the meeting, and remind yourself of your role and expectations. You may also want to check your equipment, your environment, and your appearance, and make sure everything is ready and working.

5 Conduct the meeting

During the meeting, use mindfulness to stay focused, attentive, and respectful by starting with a brief introduction and a reminder of the purpose and goals. Make sure to follow the agenda and stick to the time limit for each topic or question. Listen actively and attentively to what others are saying, without interrupting or judging. Speak clearly and concisely with positive and constructive language, while asking open-ended questions and inviting comments and suggestions from the attendees. Acknowledge and appreciate their contributions and feedback, then end the meeting with a summary and a thank you note.

6 Follow up

After the meeting, use mindfulness to evaluate the outcome and process. Review the notes and action items to ensure accuracy, then send a follow-up email to attendees thanking them and reminding them of next steps and deadlines. Ask for feedback from attendees, and use it to improve your meeting planning skills. Reflect on what went well and what could be improved in the meeting, and learn from your experience. Mindfulness can help you plan and conduct meetings more effectively and efficiently, as well as more enjoyably and meaningfully, thus making meetings a valuable part of office administration work.