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How to Wast Time, Keep Occupied During Tedious Meetings.

Discussion in 'Fred's House of Pancakes' started by Mystery Squid, May 23, 2006.

  1. Mystery Squid

    Mystery Squid Junior Member

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    Me, I just write strange stuff, usually involving a Louisville Slugger, and various other things I can't post up, but I will give you sample of what I did during one of my last meetings....:

    Anyone else have an good ideas?




     
    #1 Mystery Squid, May 23, 2006
  2. Schmika

    Schmika New Member

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    Do you have the poser to DO something about poor meetings? Is so, qwit yer bitchin. Whenever I am in one of those I chime in to re-direct or point out we are "majoring in minors here"
     
    #2 Schmika, May 24, 2006
  3. TonyPSchaefer

    TonyPSchaefer Your Friendly Moderator
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    Fortunately, I work with people who hate meetings as much as anyone. Usually, the meetings are to the point, highly detailed, require attention, and only as long as they need to be. I've learned working with Engineers and Developers that they hate being pulled away from their computers to discuss the stuff that they would be doing had you not pulled them away from their computers.
     
    #3 TonyPSchaefer, May 24, 2006
  4. Tom_06

    Tom_06 Active Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Mystery Squid @ May 23 2006, 04:39 PM) [snapback]259908[/snapback]</div>
    Buzzword bingo was popular a few years back. Try not to shout out "Bingo!" if you win.

    http://www.lurkertech.com/chris/bingo/index.html

    http://isd.usc.edu/~karl/Bingo/

    - Tom
     
    #4 Tom_06, May 24, 2006
  5. Somechic

    Somechic Member

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    I tend to scribble random notes/drawings about whomever is speaking.

    Here's a sample from my last meeting:
    Death of Personality (during a tirade about "personal pet peeves")
    Palm Tree sketch (person went on and on about their Florida vacation)
     
    #5 Somechic, May 24, 2006
  6. daniel

    daniel Cat Lovers Against the Bomb

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Mystery Squid @ May 23 2006, 01:39 PM) [snapback]259908[/snapback]</div>
    You could take a Boggle game to meetings, and play it. Be sure to shake it loudly between rounds, so everyone knows how much contempt you have for them and their meeting. Maybe the best would be to shake it while the boss is talking, even if you weren't finished with the round yet.
     
    #6 daniel, May 28, 2006
  7. zapranoth

    zapranoth New Member

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    Meetings that are a waste of time should be identified as such, and discontinued.

    1. If you possibly can, don't go. Even if there are repercussions, consider not going if it's truly a waste of time. (If.)

    2. If you have to go, make an an appropriate complaint about the non-relevance of the meeting. If your time is truly being waste, you're doing the right thing by arguing against the mutual waste of resources.

    Or are you just a spazz who can't separate his own boredom from what is objectively a waste of time? ;)
     
    #7 zapranoth, May 28, 2006
  8. galaxee

    galaxee mostly benevolent

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    dude, our meetings are entertaining through the boredom already. between the 4 of us that regularly chat throughout the day, there are at least 3 near-incidents of explosive laughter per meeting. somehow we always manage to keep our cool until we make it outside.

    i usually bring a notebook and will jot down random things i think of when things get boring. makes for an interesting flow-of-consciousness record later.
     
    #8 galaxee, May 28, 2006
  9. Salsawonder

    Salsawonder New Member

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    Drink alot of water so that you have to keep excusing yourself to the restroom but take little side trips while you are outside the meeting room......add in a jog around the floor, polish your shoes, brush your teeth, learn chinese!
     
    #9 Salsawonder, May 28, 2006
  10. furkidsnprius

    furkidsnprius New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Mystery Squid @ May 23 2006, 04:39 PM) [snapback]259908[/snapback]</div>
    You could work on reducing the number of interjections you use while writing. Otherwise, nice work. Ever considered writing for a magazine? any magazine?
    For other ideas have you considered doing Yoga or other exercise whilst in meeting? You'd be surprised at how many butt clenches you can fit into two minutes :ph34r: . Just how long can you hold your left foot one inch off the floor? If the meetings happen often enough and go on long enough you could be in fantastic muscular shape by the end of this summer. Of course it might be difficult to explain why you are so sore and tired after everyone else got a good nap in....Naw, heck you'll come up with something. B)
     
    #10 furkidsnprius, May 28, 2006
  11. Mystery Squid

    Mystery Squid Junior Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Marie @ May 28 2006, 09:54 PM) [snapback]262195[/snapback]</div>
    eh, too lazy... :lol:

    the yoga and exercise thingy sounds pretty good actually, bravo! guess im the only one in finance here... these meetings are, in fact, necessary, and rarely do they go off topic, it s all business.... problem is, the speaker is an Actuary with a raspy monotone, who keeps his office freezer cold, shades drawn, with the cheap flourescent lights humming above, i swear he isnt human...

    i have to admit though, aside from the writing, i usually imagine strange scenarios i cant eh, too lazy... :lol:

    but i will drop this nugget from the secrets of the male mind... when all else fails, ill keep an eye on all the chicks that walk by, and wonder what it would be like to GET DOWN with each one. like some milf will walk by and i might think, shes got a tight little bod but her hair is all fd up and a real turn off, plus shes wearing cheap shoes... of the fat chick with a hot face who dresses super nice, i struggle with the idea of whether i would tag it or not if i had the chance, wondering if i could actually go through with it... then there was some crazy chick who wore all the wrong clothes and had this bizarre stare and laugh... imagining her actually creeped me out.... then there was this hot girl roughly my age who had great legs, dressed super cool and had a great tan. thing is, she smoked like two packs a day, and i swear, only wore a training bra, as she had zip up there, BUT she was cool enough as to where that actually wonldnt have mattered... anyway.... :lol:

    oh, heres another thing i want to confess online to

    if im sitting next to some acceptably hot female, ill actually write in my pad, slightly tilted of course, while sitting right next to her, something like, i would like nothing better than to ***k ****insert her name here****, and imagine my pad falling on the floor or something, or even tilt it right in her field of view for a second or more, daring myself.... now i ask, is this normal....
     
    #11 Mystery Squid, May 29, 2006
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