NSider • Posted on May 31, 2023
NASCO’s Take 5 and 10
Back to back meetings with nary a moment to “bio break”. Smeared remnants of a pb&j on your keyboard, and unworn sneakers with the best intentions remain under your desk. These descriptions of the embattled virtual worker may hit close to your home office.
Microsoft researchers confirmed what many people sense from experience: Back-to-back virtual meetings are stressful. But their research also points to a simple remedy—short breaks.
“Our research shows breaks are important, not just to make us less exhausted by the end of the day, but to actually improve our ability to focus and engage while in those meetings,” says Michael Bohan, senior director of Microsoft’s Human Factors Engineering group, who oversaw the project.
It’s time to offer some relief. A way to own more of your day, your schedule and some blessed time to think and problem solve.
Introducing the Take 5 and 10
We invite you to visit your calendars and adjust all your meetings. Every single one. Even customer meetings since we’re sharing our sanity-preserving strategy with them as well. That goes for vendor partners, too.
When scheduling new meeting, only schedule for 25 and 50 minutes. Have a previously scheduled standing meeting? Make an adjustment. You may have an occasional training or planned external meeting that may take longer. Make those meetings the exception, with more meetings that allow breaks. We know this a manual process, one that takes some adjustment. Be patient and committed to giving it a chance to work.
• Your 30 minute meetings become 25 minute meetings
• Your 60 minute meetings become 50 minutes
It’s not a break, it’s a reset
According to neuroscientists, virtual meetings are unnatural. “The brain is working overtime to ignore digital and physical distractions in the environment during remote calls. Resisting distractions consumes an enormous amount of mental energy. Simply put, the exhaustion you feel at the end of a long virtual meeting is real.”
Reclaiming 10 minutes every hour allows you to process and analyze information and to put ideas and thoughts in motion.
Less is more
Aware of time constraints, meetings are more focused, more purposeful, in other words, it forces everyone to get to the point faster. Try these approaches for keeping meetings concise:
• Every minute matters, start your meetings on time, even if not everyone is in attendance.
• Make decisions quickly, even if they are imperfect
• Getting traction on a single thing is far more useful than touching on many without
forward momentum on any
• Recap what you learned, commit to who is doing what and when, and define
expectations/how you assess success
• Be fully present, save tasks for after the meeting
Can 400 minutes a week make you more productive?
It’s not just about being able to be present and focus, it’s also about you. You are not a robot, or a chatbot. Use your time to eat lunch away from your desk, put on those unworn sneakers and take your dog for a walk.
Breaks of all kinds can increase productivity and creativity. Working for long stretches without breaks leads to stress and exhaustion. Taking breaks refreshes the mind, replenishes your mental resources, and helps you become more creative, and ready for your “aha” moment. Stand up and take a stretch, refill your coffee, get a glass of water or others ways to give your body some relief from sitting.
