Sarah and Toni, two friends with completely different jobs, share the same struggle: endless back-to-back meetings, spontaneous requests from colleagues, and constant distractions.
Sarah feels like she can’t even finish one task. Toni thinks she’s losing IQ points from being constantly interrupted. But then Toni shares a solution from her colleagues, Marie and Simon, who found a way to save almost a quarter of their meeting time by communicating more effectively.
Chapter 1
Meeting Mania
Sarah and Toni are good friends and have known each other since school. Sarah now works at a big company providing car parts to car manufacturers. Toni just started a new job two months ago at an IT development company.
They usually take time in the afternoon or evening to chat, relax and gossip a bit ;-).
Sarah sits relaxed in her chair, yawning and lolling. “Toni, that was a workday from hell again!” she complains. “Who gives me back the time I spent in these kinds of meetings?” And adds, “I couldn’t even go to the bathroom for almost three hours!! That is real torture, some would say!”
“Oh, my poor little! You really are to be pitied!” Toni odds and smiles. “But, do you know, what is worse than your back-to-back meeting marathon?”
“No, what could be worse?” Sarah wonders. “Well, I only had four meetings today. But the entire day was fragmented. There were only 15 or 30 Minutes in between the meetings. Too much time to only relax. Too less time to really start a task. I filled it with spontaneous chats with my coworkers.” Toni explains, “…and eventually got none of my tasks finished.”
“Ah, I like these people who hold me back from my work with spontaneous chats” Sarah utters cynically. “Thomas, my supervisor, behaves the same! He always asks for information spontaneously.” Sarah shouts, “I cannot hear it anymore: Have you got just a second!” Toni answers with nodding, “Yes, many managers do this. But you have to understand: As a manager, his main work is having meetings and talking with people. He even doesn’t realize that he’s disturbing you.” Sarah reflects, “That’s true! Everyone has their own priorities and tasks.”
Toni answers, “But there are stripes of hope on the horizon! Do you remember my colleagues Simon and Mary from the other team?” “Yes, sure. We met them some months ago on this fabulous evening at Den’s Club. Both were really relaxed and chilled. What are they doing?” Sarah wants to know. “They say they analyzed all their meetings in their team and found almost a quarter of time across all meetings that could be saved easily - just with other ways of communicating. Now, they are also chilled at work and not only in the club!” Toni laughs.
“You have to ask them what they did! I need help. I can’t stand this much longer!” pleads Sarah, folding her hands and falling on her knees theatrically.
“I will, I will!” Toni assures. “But now we have to go to bed! Tomorrow at 8 o’clock, the next meeting is already waiting for me …”
“Toni, we cannot meet. I have to work this evening 😔.” Sarah looks sadly at her phone and presses the send button in the chat app. “Hey, stop!” Toni replied almost instantaneously. “Why?” “Two reasons. Number one: The whole work day, I could not concentrate on finishing my presentation for the next all-hands meeting on Friday. Between the meetings, I had reserved enough time. But then, a colleague from the other department called me on the phone. I got two emails with “urgent” questions from 🥸 and 👹.”
“And, Lucy sent me a quick meeting request. She called me to find a common time slot for the next big meeting and was desperately asking everyone for their availability.” continues Sarah. “She said it had now taken her 20 minutes to find a free slot. Not really surprising. With 8 people, the chance is almost zero…”
Toni laughs ”😀 Yes, that’s true. But calling everyone is not really efficient to do this either.”
Sarah writes: “True. Finally, I had 30 minutes in sum to work on my presentation. But these 30 minutes were divided into four chunks of about 5 to 10 minutes. No chance to focus on it at all 😓!” Toni replied: “As every normal work day 😭. Recently, I read that your IQ declines by 10 points when you are constantly distracted. That is like having had a night without sleep or having smoked more than two joints 🚬 in a row!”
“Ha ha, perhaps it makes me now as creative as smoking pot! Would be good for my presentation! But I don’t think so 🙁” Sarah jests desperately.
”🤣. You said there were two reasons not to meet. What’s the second one?” asks Toni curiously. “Yes, in five minutes, I have to interview a colleague of mine about the financial data I need for my report. She was busy all day in meetings and had no time to document them well. This evening was the only free slot she could offer me. One more meeting to go 🥱.” yawns Sarah.
“What a pity! I wanted to tell you a bit about Simon’s reply to my questions about his ways of working. It’s really interesting! They have clear agreements in their team on response time and distraction-free work slots to allow them to do more “deep work’ as he calls it. I will send it over to you. He has made a video to explain it to me and allowed me to forward it to you!”
“That sounds great. Again, sorry I couldn’t make it today. Next time perhaps at Da Mario? I love his antipasti!” Sarah daydreams. “Yesss! And, I will ask Simon and Marie if they will come with us!” proposes Toni. “Good Idea! But, now, I have to switch to the video call! CU and have a good night with sweat dreams 🛏 😙!”
“Do you see these grilled eggplants! Delicious!” Sarah points out while looking at the antipasti dishes in front of her. “Simon, Marie, you have to try them!”. Simon, Marie and Toni instantly grab their spoons and fill their plates with the wonderful-looking antipasti.
“Thank you for your video, Simon! Now I know how you are working and even have understood the concept of deep work.” Sarah begins to speak while sipping her red wine. “I can’t remember if I’ve been in a work state like this in the last few months.” Simon nods, “Yes indeed, often all people at work are quite busy but not productive.”
“And there is another point” Marie adds “Introverts - as I am - cannot think and speak simultaneously as extroverts often do. Without constant chatting and talking, I can concentrate on the topic more deeply. Sometimes, you just need time to think things through!” Simon teases, “Marie, you are an introvert? Good to know! Now I understand why you are so silent and so smart!” Toni laughs “Simon, be careful! Never mess up with an introvert. They have secret superpowers.”
When the pizzas arrived, and the first slices were cut and shared on their dishes, Sarah is curious “Simon, Marie. Don’t you feel alone sometimes…” Toni laughs “Sarah! Isn’t that a bit too private?” “No, No, I mean, at work” smiles Sarah “…without any meeting, never talking to their coworkers, just deep working…” Marie replies, “I can reassure you. We still have meetings. But we use them mindfully and concentrate on discussion and socializing.”
“Information sharing, for example, is often misusage of meetings.” Simon explains. “In particular, when someone is missing in the meeting and the information is not documented well.” “That’s true…” Toni reflects, “None of the last meetings were complete. Someone was always missing, and no one really cared how they would receive the shared information.”
Sarah confirms, “Likewise, It would be great to get the information beforehand - like Simon’s video! We were all ready to discuss when we arrived here at Da Mario”. Marie smiles. “If you only knew that he had already made the video some time ago for our team and just had to send it out to you. But I won’t tell you… Ups…” “It’s no secret at all. That is a matter of efficiency” Simon laughs.
“Now you have to try the Tiramisu.” Sarah suggests. “They make it very special here on the basis of a recipe from their grandma. She wrote it down precisely so that now even the junior chef can reproduce it perfectly. Who wants to try?”
Toni makes herself comfortable on her sofa while she takes the video call from Sarah. “First things first! I feel a little bit guilty. Do you remember when I asked Simon and Marie about feeling lonely? Marie got red cheeks and looked at Simon in a ‘special’ way. Did I reveal a secret? Are they only good friends or more?”
Toni admits, “Yes, I also saw it. But no. Actually, with them, there is nothing more. But everyone at the company talks about it already. I hope they will discover their secret love themselves. They are a perfect fit. By the way, I also feel guilty. We had this meeting today with, in the beginning, lots of talking and joking … It was a relief after all the other boring and soulless meetings. But then, a colleague came in; he came too late and directly complained about the ‘unstructured’ dialogue. He even used the word ‘useless talk’. Now I feel guilty about having had fun with my coworkers.”
“I totally feel you! I think meetings shall be inhumane and boring. Then we have something to look forward to in our leisure time.” Sarah replies cynically. “My guilt is still not getting my tasks done without extra shifts in the evening. But the cure has already arrived in the form of John, the ‘Senior Advisory Managing Consultant’. He has the order from the upper management to ‘help’ us become more productive!” Sarah continues ironically.
“Oh, these consultants are always a pleasure. Perhaps he will help you with these asynchronous working methods that Simon and Marie use?! Just kidding…” Toni replies. Sarah negates, “Unfortunately, no. Not at all. The first thing he introduced was a status meeting to report our tasks. The only good thing is that it’s not daily but ‘only’ twice a week.”
“Well, then … I wish you all the best. Perhaps this will be the last time we will have the chance to meet again. You are now more than busy, I fear,” Toni sarcastically answers. Sarah ends the call, “Thank you! It was a pleasure to be your friend. Fare well!…”
