Timing is everything. It impacts how our ideas are heard and can have a measurable bearing on how successful we are in convincing someone to do things for and with us. In short, timing can make or break us in business and in life.
Here are some do’s and don’ts to keep in mind that I’ve found can make a big difference:
1. Don’t schedule meetings at 9 a.m. employees want to come in and get their heads together: get through their emails, think about what they need to accomplish that day and prepare for your meeting. Scheduling meetings at 9:30 a.m. is a far more gracious path. Caveat: if you need to call China and 9 (or earlier) is the only time that works, than do your thing.
2. Do schedule your big meeting of the week or quarterly presentation for 3 p.m. on a Tuesday. You avoid the craziness of Mondays and are far away from the pressures of end of the week deadlines, studies show.
3. Don’t schedule mid-day meetings to start between noon and 1:30: employees can grab lunch a bit early or a bit late, but making them eat too early or too late will make them cranky, even if they won’t admit it.
4. Do bring snacks: We make better decisions with a little food in us. Researchers from Columbia Business School found that judges who were hearing cases made consistent decisions first thing in the morning and again right after lunch.
5. Don’t schedule 4:30 meetings: most people prefer that their last meeting is at 4, whether it’s an hour or half an hour. It allows people to get out on time and shows them that you respect their evenings – both important for employee retention.
6. Do or a don’t? Weekend emails: you have to use your judgment on this one. Would sending an email outside of normal business hours irritate your colleagues? It is a risk, but studies show that emails sent on the weekends or at odd times get more reads. Heck, you can even schedule an email to go out at 6 a.m. without having to get up early!
7. Do deliver bad news in the morning, if you must. This is due to something researchers call “The Morning Morality Effect.” You see, our brains are wired to make more morally conscious decisions earlier in the day, so your employees will take bad news in greater stride. It also gives you and your employees more time to find a solution to a problem.
8. Don’t let meetings go too long. It’s true, and we know it: long meetings usually produce diminishing returns. People are tired – tired of sitting, tired of listening to one particularly outspoken person, tired after a long day. That’s why I recommend 30 minute, structured, focused meetings, for the most part. You’ll get more done in the end when the meeting isn’t allowed to drag on endlessly, I promise. End meetings when you say you will end them. Honor people’s time. Also start on time, don’t wait for stragglers. It is imperative to start and end on time, regardless of who is or isn’t in the room. Then people can plan accordingly knowing that your meetings always start and end on time.
9. Do interview in the morning. Two words, “narrow bracketing.” What’s that, you ask? Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and Harvard Business School studied MBA applicants and found that when similarly qualified candidates were interviewed consecutively on the same day, the last interviewee received lower scores than he or she actually should have. Why? Because as time goes on, interviewers are reluctant to give higher and higher marks, so yours may be lower than it should be.
10. Don’t schedule Friday afternoon meetings after 3 – it’s just mean.
Need help putting these ideas into practice where you work? It’s fun to plan the perfect meeting, so let me know and we’ll make a plan!
By Blair Koch
