How many times do you sit in meetings and wonder why you are there?  Do you ever find yourself clock watching and thinking that rather than discussing it you could be doing the work. How often do you attend meetings about meetings?  

I know some meetings are essential but can recall times when I have been asked to attend meetings that are a total waste of time (this is not just in my former jobs but also to make a team appear bigger and make the coffee)!  As a business owner,  I have met people who seem to spend a lot of time attending meetings, to such an extent I wonder when they actually get down to doing some real work.  

With the advent of applications such as Zoom life has become easier.  No more travel time and the ability if you are the host to record the meeting.  Today I was on a work call from the UK with us situated in various parts of the UK, with others in India and California, with the associated time differences, we were all in the same 'room' at the same time.

Even virtual coffees (or wine), depending on the time of day are a great way for meetings both for business and social purposes.  From a business perspective It reduces the need to travel, I am certainly a fan of them, as it gives me a chance to build working relationships 

Of course, there are times when face to face meetings are the best way forward  and I too love a good chat and cup of coffee with a real person.

However, I do believe it is a fantastic opportunity to embrace the technology and enables you to 'meet' people that perhaps you would previously have had to travel to meet.

My top tip is to practice first with a friend as like all new things it can take a little time to learn how to use it and research the market to see what options are available and the most suitable for your requirements.    

This month I have been challenging myself to learn new skills, not necessarily to offer to clients, but for use within my business.

For me, I thrive on learning new skills and it helps to keep me motivated. All my learning is online based, so it fits in around the rest of my workload, so whether it's 15 minutes, while I wait for a response or an hour in the evening it is about adding value to my business.

I have noticed that all the challenges I have found suggest the bite size approach, with this in mind I decided to undertake a 5 day challenge.  Days 1 & 2 went well and so was day 3 until every parent's challenge occurs - the call from school, telling you your child is unwell.  That saw the end of the challenge for that day.  Days 4 & 5 - no point doing those until I completed day 3.  So on day 5 I started day 3 and then didn't finish it as paid work was a priority.

No problem the weekend arrives, I had a couple of days to catch up on days 2,4 and 5.  Again I was caught up sorting out paid work.  Reassuringly the videos were still available for another week.  Monday morning arrived - I had a little quiet time, so caught up with days 3, 4 & 5.  Hooray finished! I loved it and despite a couple of moments of worry - experts always make it look easier (they have had lots of practice) but the feeling of something new was brilliant and now I am putting those skills into practice.