The best time to hold business meetings is when?

Studies show that there is no best time to hold a business meeting. However, acceptable meeting times may depend on a corporate culture, career type, work group, or country. The key to finding the best timing is what will work for the group that is meeting and for the type of activities that you expect to do at the meetings. If the meeting activity requires information sharing, then this can be done at a leisurely pace if desired, or it can be done at a faster pace to avoid too much irrelevant discussion. If the meeting requires a significant amount of participation, such as problem solving or idea generation, then a time when people tend to be more active and ready to work creatively would be preferable.

Early morning is often considered good for high-participation meetings as people are much fresher and more ready to discuss ideas. In addition, the participants have not yet encountered any problems with their usual working day that could distract their concentration. Unlike the early morning hours, if you want meetings to be short, scheduling time later in the morning or just before lunch will often keep people from getting sidetracked, as they don’t want to miss lunch. A pre-lunch meeting should not last more than an hour.

Lunch meetings can be beneficial, as they often save people time by combining eating with doing work or sharing information in a group setting. Lunch meetings should include light, low-fat, low-sugar meals that contain carbohydrates and protein to increase alertness during the meeting and decrease the drowsiness factor in the afternoon. Consider small sandwiches or salads that contain chicken or turkey. Alcohol should not be allowed in the gathering. Instead, serve water or tea, which is better for participants than sugary soft drinks.

Meetings held too early in the afternoon can conflict with people’s lunch schedule, which could mean they don’t show up or show up late. This time can definitely be related to your internal clocks, according to some studies, many humans are programmed for quieter functions from 2:00 to 4:00 pm. Some countries even encourage restful activities sometime after lunch. Since this could mean nap time for some, if a meeting is planned for mid-afternoon, it should be about a highly participatory topic to keep people engaged and not a meeting that requires lights out, such as presentations or watching videos. . While late afternoon meetings can be a more relaxed time, since many will have much of their daily work already done and distracted. However, if the meeting is too close to departure time, people may be thinking about what to do after work instead of concentrating on the topic of the meeting. Participants may become irritated if the meeting goes past its designated stopping time, as this may cause them to be late for their personal plans. If you want a rushed meeting with little wasted time, the afternoon may be a good time to plan the meeting, as long as you stick to the agenda and the meeting ends on time.

Other things to consider when holding a meeting is how long the meeting will last. Most informative business meetings can be covered in 30 to 90 minutes, depending on the number of people sharing data and whether a question and answer period is allowed. Participatory meetings can be one to two hours typically. However, some meetings may require more time due to the complexity of the topic to be discussed, the urgency of the problem to be solved, or the need for training or change management to present to the group. If a meeting lasts more than an hour, a short break should be planned during the meeting. For meetings where participation is low, there should be a break every 45-60 minutes to allow the group to space out for 15 minutes or stretch out for 5-10 minutes. For high participation meetings, such as problem solving or brainstorming, breaks can be a little further apart and should be planned around logical changes to the meeting activity or topic.

Since there is no best time to hold a business meeting, always plan a culturally acceptable time when people are most prepared to work together. The key to finding the best timing is what will work for the group that is meeting and for the type of activities that you expect to do at each meeting, such as information sharing or a more participatory process.

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