by Dawn Hawkins

Created on: May 17, 2009

When you work in an office environment, it is inevitable that you will end up in a few company meetings along the way. It is important to stay on task during these meetings but it can become difficult when the meeting turns into a three-hour venture. These meetings are not fun at all. They can get very boring, especially when you don't see what the topic has to do with your job.

Ultimately, each job within a company affects every other job in one way or the other. That is why it is important to stay alert and focused on what is going on. Here are a few tips that may help you stay on task and know what happened in the meeting when it's over:

Doodling

You should take notes when you attend these meetings. Pen and paper are a must but be careful of the doodle bug. The doodle bug creeps in when we get bored. We all become great artists during these times. However, a company meeting is not the place for it. Put the pen down on the table until you hear something that you may need to write down. This way you will not be as tempted to doodle the meeting away. Once you are done with the note, lay the pen back on the table until another noteworthy event happens. Doodling causes the mind to wander away from the work at hand.

Avoid Personal Discussions

It is easy to walk into a meeting and talk about things that have nothing at all to do with work. Such things as your child's daycare situation or your car being broke down are not topics for discussions in a work meeting. Leave everything personal outside the conference room. These discussions lead to a longer period of time away from your work. If you get right down to the topic at hand, you will be able to get back to your work where you belong.

Close Doors and Blinds

It is far too easy for people to get distracted by outside forces. Someone walking outside can easily take the eyes off the subject and onto the person that isn't involved in the meeting. Outside noises can cause a great deal of distraction as well. Meetings should be held behind closed and quiet walls that allow you to be fully focused. If this does not happen when you enter a conference room, you should make sure that it does.

Stay Involved

Don't just sit there listening to everyone else. That is a sure way to become bored and lose your train of thought. Get involved in the conversation that is going on around you. Put in your ideas. Who knows, it is possible that you could make a big change simply from stating your opinion. Meetings are about making the company a better place. That can only mean good things for you. Getting involved with the company meetings shows that you care about how business does for it. It also keeps you focused so that you will have more knowledge when you leave than what you had before you came in.

Company meetings can bring out a lot of great ideas to help the company do better. When the company does better, so do you. Give the meetings your full attention so that you can make a difference in the company as a whole.

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