What do you do when a meeting or presentation has you counting sheep instead of actively participating?

I ask myself three questions: 

1. Am I well-rested? My ability to creatively assess an idea plummets when I’m exhausted. If I feel chipper, I keep asking questions. If not, I take few moments to reboot. You can guzzle an energy drink, scream in a closet, or do what I do: get your heart racing for at least a minute with some sort of physical activity, change your socks, and throw on a fresh shirt. It works for me. 

2. Am I reacting to a person or an idea? I often find myself saying “Oh please, please, make this stop. I’m so bored” because I’ve let my reaction to a person cloud my view of the content being presented. When I’ve identified why I’m disinterested, I can move forward with the content and leave moaning about boredom for later. 

3. What would I change? If I’ve reached the third question, it  means I’m well-rested and focused on the content. If I’m still disinterested, I start taking notes. I’ll outline content, bullet suggestions, and note possible points to improve. Often, it takes only a few minutes of taking notes before I’m back in the saddle and participating in the presentation.

Actively using these questions has saved me from wasting countless hours waiting for presentations and meetings to be over. Those of you who work for progressive tech companies that provide you with massages and live flamingoes…might not need this. For the rest of us who can’t bring crayons to meetings, knowing how to engage in spite of boredom is a very useful skill. 

Do you have any special techniques you use to stay focused when you’d prefer to drift off?

photo credit: markhillary