Ineffective

Since January 1, I have had 83 meetings.  That's an average of five and a half meetings a week.  That is an ineffective use of my time.  Seriously.  Today I went to a meeting at 1 p.m. It lasted until 2:30 p.m. and I said two sentences the whole time.  I was there to give safety perspective on a specific portion of work.  But an hour and 15 minutes of my time could have been used elsewhere.

I spend most of this type of meeting thinking about other things I could be doing.  Should I go to the fabric store on the way home tonight?  Maybe I'll go there tomorrow since I have to drive right by there.  Maybe I'll mow the lawn when I get home.  Do I have strep throat?  Why does it take this many people to have this meeting?  Would it be impolite for me to leave?  I don't want them to get the idea that I don't care, but I just don't care.  I have other things I could be doing right now.

At the end, everyone thanks everyone for coming and we all go our separate ways.  Tomorrow it will start all over again. 

On the plus side:
I got to be in downtown Portland for a while, which I always love. 
It poured down rain and it was beautiful to watch from the top of the building we were in.
I made it back to my office by 4 and have actually managed to accomplish a few tasks that needed work.  Now, we'll see if I feel like mowing that lawn when I get home or lying on that sofa.

j