by Eric Bailey

Created on: February 22, 2011

Every day, millions of professionals are likely wondering about the best ways to get through a boring meeting at work. These connection points can be to determine an upcoming marketing plan, to launch a new advertising campaign, to internally introduce a new produce, to explain a new service, an emergency get-together to address a concern, or for plenty of other contrived reasons. Whatever the case may be, sometimes a worker just wants to make the best of the boredom, and fortunately there are a few strategies available.

Doodle

Assuming the meeting attendee brought a notebook and pen, let the scribbling begin. This can be a fun, nostalgic child-like playtime, where whimsical figures are crafted against fantastical landscapes. One immediate benefit is that it can seem like legitimate note-taking; another potential advantage, albeit a bit more far-fetched, is to discover actual hidden drawing talent and soon turn it into a successful webcomic.

Write

This method resembles legitimately note-taking even more closely, and can serve many functions. Writing remains among the best ways to get through a boring meeting at work because it can release tension, function as brainstorming for an unrelated project, or just a brain defragmentation of arbitrary randomness.

Daydream

Pleasant visualization is a cheap, simple, easy pursuit in life, and immensely enjoyable under the right circumstances, including being utilized as one of the best ways to get through a boring meeting at work. The real trick for amateur daydreamers to ascribe to is to be able to look at the presented and occasionally nod, acting as though paying focused attention, yet completely oblivious to what is actually being said and daydreaming instead.

Joke

Sometimes a leader must emerge and show the initiative to change circumstances in need of help, such as a boring meeting. This can be a bold risk, but undeniably, one of the ways to get through a boring meeting at work is to crack a joke and thus eliminate the boringness. In front of the wrong crowd, this can be disaster; but done properly, the joker can become office legend and save an audience from an otherwise terrible event.

Leave

If the meeting is truly awful, even beyond merely being boring, then on rare occasion it may be one of the best ways to get through a boring meeting at work to bite the bullet and leave the room. Truly courageous individuals can simply stand and depart, while those seeking a “safer” approach may wish to quickly mumble an excuse concerning a phone call, more important meeting, or much-needed bathroom break.

The best ways to get through a boring meeting at work should be saved for truly boring meetings, and not frivolously used at meetings that otherwise could actually be salvaged. However, used wisely, these boredom-busting methods can prove to be fantastic weapons in the arsenal of an otherwise well-prepared professional.

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