meetings
Communicate
What’s Your First Impression Ritual?
2:30AM Sarah Rae Trover | We all know that first impressions are powerful things. Billionaire Steven A. Cohen makes the most of first impressions taking a deep breath and holding it before he enters a room. How about you? More »
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Tuesday At 3pm Is The Most Agreeable Meeting Time
5:00AM Kevin Purdy | Meeting scheduling service When is Good looked at 100,000 responses to 34,000 events logged to their service over 2 years and found that 3pm—specifically Tuesday at 3pm—seems to be the most agreeable time for a meeting. More »
Work
Why The Manager’s Schedule Blows Creative Productivity
8:00AM Gina Trapani | In his latest essay, Paul Graham describes the difference between what he calls the maker’s schedule and the manager’s schedule, explaining how the two are often at odds with each other. More »
Work
Keep Meetings On Track By Standing
11:00PM Azadeh Ensha | Office meetings can drag on for far too long. Our own Gina Trapani has some “extreme” ways to keep them short and on track. More »
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ScheduleOnce Finds Common Meeting Times Inside Google Calendar
2:30AM Adam Pash | Firefox/Internet Explorer: Meeting planning web site ScheduleOnce has a new Firefox and Internet Explorer add-on that adds a new widget to your Google Calendar that helps you and your co-workers find a good time for a meeting. More »
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Jiffle Shares Your Availability More Effectively
7:00AM Jason Fitzpatrick | Jiffle is a scheduling tool which seeks to put an end to the back and forth deliberations that proceed a properly scheduled meeting. Plug in your availability and let people request a slot. More »
Work
Show Document Holds Instant Collaboration Sessions
8:00AM Adam Pash | Webapp Show Document holds instant document, whiteboard and browser-sharing sessions with anyone. You can collaborate on documents in real-time without the hassle of installing an application, and everyone involved can save the results. More »
Work
Doodling Increases Focus And Recall
6:00AM Jason Fitzpatrick | It turns out that your daydreaming doodles of infinite awesomeness not only help with long meetings, but can also help you remember what goes on during the meeting. In a study, scientists asked subjects to recall what they’d just heard in recordings—with some having doodled throughout, others not. The doodlers demonstrated significantly higher recall than the non-doodlers. “People may doodle as a strategy to help themselves concentrate,” said study co-author Jackie Andrade, a University of Plymouth psychologist. “We might not be aware that we’re doing it, but it could be a trick that people develop because it helps them from wandering off into a daydream.” How does it work? The scientists hypothesize the mental load it takes to absentmindedly draw is significantly smaller than the demands of a full-on fantasy, which leads your mind entirely away from the event you’re supposed to be engaged in. That trickle of attention devoted to doodling appears to keep you focused in the present time, while giving you a release valve from a frustratingly over-long group session. It should be noted that the doodling test subjects were doing some light doodling, like shading in boxes. So while abstract or simple shapes might be okay for your focus, try to scale it back if you find yourself crafting elaborate panoramas of medieval battle fields and epic space operas. Then again, your inspired re-imagining of the Sistine Chapel during the report on last quarter’s profits per share might suggest a larger career assessment is in order. Photo by Bigbadvoo. A Sketchy Brain Booster: Doodling [Wired] More »
Work
1:00PM Angus Kidman | I recently attended a seminar run by the by the New Producers Alliance (a film industry organisation) in London, on making sure your fees as a freelancer don’t drop too much during the current economic meltdown. Having read the frankly astonishing accounts of movie industry negotiation in books like William Goldman’s Adventures In The Screen Trade and Julia Phillips’ You’ll Never Eat Lunch In This Town Again, I figured that the film industry might have a different approach to print and Web-oriented writers like myself. Much of the material was pretty familiar, but presenter Rebecca Knapp made one surprising revelation about the haphazard nature of meetings in the movie business:
“The most important thing in terms of negotiation is preparing — really thinking about your meeting before you get there and what your goals are. We all sometimes turn up at meetings and act like it’s an initial meeting and then when they go “how much do you want?” we’re surprised. Even if it is an initial meeting, you should know what you want out of it.”
Sound advice even if you have no intention of seeking funding for a robotic vampire rom com in the near future. For more on negotiating, check out how to get a pay rise by not asking for cash and how to haggle.
More »
Don’t Enter A Meeting Without Knowing What You Want
1:00PM Angus Kidman | I recently attended a seminar run by the by the New Producers Alliance (a film industry organisation) in London, on making sure your fees as a freelancer don’t drop too much during the current economic meltdown. Having read the frankly astonishing accounts of movie industry negotiation in books like William Goldman’s Adventures In The Screen Trade and Julia Phillips’ You’ll Never Eat Lunch In This Town Again, I figured that the film industry might have a different approach to print and Web-oriented writers like myself. Much of the material was pretty familiar, but presenter Rebecca Knapp made one surprising revelation about the haphazard nature of meetings in the movie business:
“The most important thing in terms of negotiation is preparing — really thinking about your meeting before you get there and what your goals are. We all sometimes turn up at meetings and act like it’s an initial meeting and then when they go “how much do you want?” we’re surprised. Even if it is an initial meeting, you should know what you want out of it.”
Sound advice even if you have no intention of seeking funding for a robotic vampire rom com in the near future. For more on negotiating, check out how to get a pay rise by not asking for cash and how to haggle.
More »
Organise
