What if meetings lasted 45 minutes instead of an hour? This would give the attendees time to catch up on the agenda when they have back-to-back meetings. Well-prepared participants translate into more effective meetings. When a calendar app suggests a one-hour meeting by default, users rarely change it. This tip tells you how to change the default setting from a one-hour meeting to a 45-minute meeting. Be sure to read the checklist for effective meetings, too!
What do I need to do?
Default settings for scheduling 45-minute meetings in Outlook:
- Open Outlook. Go to your calendar and select File-> Options-> Calendar.
- In the Options menu, select 1 hour as the default meeting length under “Default duration of new appointments and meetings”.
- Select the checkbox “End appointments early”.
- Select 15 minutes as the duration of the break in the field “One hour or longer”.
- Click OK at the bottom of the screen to save your changes.
Now the default duration of all the meetings you schedule via Outlook will be 45 minutes. You can also use your Outlook web app to make these changes.
What should I take into account?
Good meeting practices help you run effective meetings and remove idle time. Consider at least the following points when scheduling a meeting:
- What is the goal of your meeting? Set the goals and describe them in your meeting invite. This will help the attendees prepare for your meeting. The structure of a brainstorming session differs from a decision-making meeting, but either way you should consider what all the attendees could do before the meeting to help the meeting run smoother.
- Who should attend your meeting? Although the topic of your meeting may be so important that as many people as possible should be aware of it, is it necessary for all these people to take part in your meeting? Would it be enough to send them the information later on? Who is genuinely expected to provide input? Please note! When you are sending a meeting invite via Outlook, you can designate required and optional attendees. Required means the selected attendee is required for the meeting, and optional means that the selected attendee has the option to attend.
- How long should your meeting last? If the attendees prepare for the meeting in advance, time does not have to be spent introducing them to the topic when the meeting begins. Instead of an hour, would 45 minutes be enough? Keep the meeting running on target and on time. If your meeting runs long, the attendees may be late for their next meeting.
- What should be recorded in your meeting minutes? You should write down the main conclusions/decisions after each item on the agenda has been covered. Carefully record the decisions and further measures to be taken, so those who could not attend the meeting are able to stay on track.