I'm constantly amazed by how many people think meetings are a waste of time.

The whole point of having a meeting is to exchange information - whether it's a staff meeting, a brainstorming meeting, a "how do we recover from this disaster" meeting, or a Scrum meeting.

If you are in a meeting and find yourself daydreaming or becoming sleepy, it might be for one of the following reasons, and you might be able to do something about it.

- you aren't paying attention. The people who invited you thought your input would be valuable, or that there is information you need to know. It's up to you to determine what your role is - ask questions, even if only to jot them on paper. Find ways to stay engaged without disrupting others (i.e. no under-the-breath running commentary unless that's normal at your workplace 😉 )

- the meeting really is that boring. (For instance, a sales pitch for the latest in vapor-ware.) If it's putting you to sleep, it's likely having that effect on others in the room. Take pity on them an yourself and raise the red flag (gently) to the presenter. Let them know what would work better: "It would really help me if you could show how your product can <insert your need here>."

- if it's a regularly scheduled meeting (staff, Scrum, etc) and it's always that uncomfortable, try a little one-on-one with the facilitator or manager and make suggestions for improvement. Challenge yourself - what would you change if you were running the meeting to make it More Productive?

- you only have a small part in a very long meeting. This may occur because you are a subject matter expert and need to be on hand in case a question should arise. Here's where telecommuters or distributed team members have an advantage; just announce that while you are "listening with one ear" you really won't be following the conversation closely - you'll be multi-tasking and working during the meeting. If they need your input someone needs to get your attention by calling your name - they can ask the question once you respond. (Yes, I telecommute and this has worked very well for me in this type of meeting.)

- you don't belong in the meeting. This doesn't happen very often in my experience (your reality may differ), but if it does, raise your hand (virtual or physical) and excuse yourself. "I'm sorry, this meeting doesn't seem to pertain to me. Do I really need to be here? I have other projects that could use my attention right now..."

I'm sure everyone can think of other examples and solutions to the dreaded non-productive meeting - and that's the kind we should all avoid. Productive meetings, on the other hand, contain great value and should be cherished, IMHO.