Lately, I've had a lot more meetings to attend at work. We're starting to get closer to completion of the project that I've been working on lately, so we have more things to hash out. I'd prefer to have more time to write code, but I understand that we need to have these meetings. So, I make sure to attend all of them, and not waste anyone else's time.
By default, everyone who is attending a meeting sees a little pop-up 15 minutes before that meeting starts. The idea is to make sure that people have plenty of time to walk to the right room, use the restroom, or otherwise take care of last-minute tasks. It's a good idea, and it also serves as a way to make sure that people don't forget to show up.
However, I've found that I have a decent grasp of what I need to get done in a given day, so I generally don't need a full fifteen minutes. So, I always hit the "snooze" button to be reminded five minutes before the meeting starts. For me, that works far better. I can keep working away until the five minute reminder shows up, and then I can take care of any last minute tasks with the five minutes leading up to the meeting.
The caveat, and the reason I'm writing this, is that every now & then, I time things a little too well. I will finish working on a feature or come to a good stopping point right as the five minute reminder comes up. What do I do then? Five minutes isn't exactly enough time to start any meaningful work, but I don't want to twiddle my thumbs for that long, either (as an aside, I can probably go for about three minutes of thumb-twiddling before I get bored). Dilemmas, dilemmas.
Well, I never pick the twiddle-my-thumbs option. I don't know why, but I never do. So, I try to find some small task that I can try to finish in about five minutes. You know how I got into this dilemma by managing my time very well? Apparently my luck runs out quickly, because I make up for this by being absolutely horrible at picking a five minute task. I will routinely start to get engaged in that five minute task, and suddenly realize that it's time for my meeting. I don't think I've ever once managed to pick something that has actually taken less than five minutes.
Luckily for me, I've never actually been late to a meeting as a result. I have had to immediately stop working on something in order to call in to a meeting plenty of times, though. I've felt sheepish each time this has happened, too. But knowing my ability to become engrossed when I probably shouldn't, I'm not going to push my luck.
After giving it a little bit of thought, I think I'm going to have to teach myself how to twiddle my thumbs for five minutes in a row. Sure, it'll be frustrating at first, but practice makes perfect. After enough repetition, I'll be a pro, enough so that I can avoid these near-misses with meetings. After all, I wouldn't want to waste anyone's time by being late. It's all in the name of doing right by the company.
Either that, or I can get lazy and set custom reminders for some period of time that's smaller than five minutes.
By default, everyone who is attending a meeting sees a little pop-up 15 minutes before that meeting starts. The idea is to make sure that people have plenty of time to walk to the right room, use the restroom, or otherwise take care of last-minute tasks. It's a good idea, and it also serves as a way to make sure that people don't forget to show up.
However, I've found that I have a decent grasp of what I need to get done in a given day, so I generally don't need a full fifteen minutes. So, I always hit the "snooze" button to be reminded five minutes before the meeting starts. For me, that works far better. I can keep working away until the five minute reminder shows up, and then I can take care of any last minute tasks with the five minutes leading up to the meeting.
The caveat, and the reason I'm writing this, is that every now & then, I time things a little too well. I will finish working on a feature or come to a good stopping point right as the five minute reminder comes up. What do I do then? Five minutes isn't exactly enough time to start any meaningful work, but I don't want to twiddle my thumbs for that long, either (as an aside, I can probably go for about three minutes of thumb-twiddling before I get bored). Dilemmas, dilemmas.
Well, I never pick the twiddle-my-thumbs option. I don't know why, but I never do. So, I try to find some small task that I can try to finish in about five minutes. You know how I got into this dilemma by managing my time very well? Apparently my luck runs out quickly, because I make up for this by being absolutely horrible at picking a five minute task. I will routinely start to get engaged in that five minute task, and suddenly realize that it's time for my meeting. I don't think I've ever once managed to pick something that has actually taken less than five minutes.
Luckily for me, I've never actually been late to a meeting as a result. I have had to immediately stop working on something in order to call in to a meeting plenty of times, though. I've felt sheepish each time this has happened, too. But knowing my ability to become engrossed when I probably shouldn't, I'm not going to push my luck.
After giving it a little bit of thought, I think I'm going to have to teach myself how to twiddle my thumbs for five minutes in a row. Sure, it'll be frustrating at first, but practice makes perfect. After enough repetition, I'll be a pro, enough so that I can avoid these near-misses with meetings. After all, I wouldn't want to waste anyone's time by being late. It's all in the name of doing right by the company.
Either that, or I can get lazy and set custom reminders for some period of time that's smaller than five minutes.
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