This is Steveer Robbins.

Welcome to the Get It Done Guys, quick and dirty tips to work less and do more.

Oh boy, meetings!

I just love meetings.

No, no I don't.

I hate meetings.

You start talking about important points, like market share penetration of opus-branded penguin

panty snow cones, and the next thing you know, someone goes off on a tangent about, who left Tom Riddle's diary in the gender-neutral bathroom? Again.

But it's the middle of the discussion about what sizes of penguin panty snow cones to offer, and as relevant as Tom Riddle might be, now is not the right point in the conversation.

Tangents and meetings waste

everyone's time. People who showed up for the main topic have to sit through the meeting, trying

to pretend they're not reading their email on their laptop. The person who called the meeting

doesn't get the answers they need, like which colors of penguin panty snow cones are expected

to produce the highest sales. People go on tangents and stay there

for good reasons. They think that the tangent is important. Tom Riddle's diary might contain a clue

for magically ensuring the success of the Penguin Panty Snow Cones product launch. They keep

returning to the tangent to make sure the concerns don't get lost, and of course, just because the

person thinks their issue is relevant relevant doesn't mean it is.

But debating the relevance in the middle of a meeting probably also isn't constructive.

Parking lots are what solved these problems.

Step number one. Add a parking lot to your meeting. To make your very own parking lot draw a square,

a big square, like a quarter of the whiteboard, on your whiteboard,

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