I L-O-V-E Fridays. I Love closing up my desk and fantasize about being completely calm and devoted to my DVD collection at home for two full days.

So you can imagine the shock across my face when it was decided that we would hold our fortnightly team meeting on Fridays at 4:00 pm. Of course, there was so much to discuss that we really wrapped up at 8:00 pm. We spent four hours going through two 50-slide powerpoint presentations and talking about market trends, important industry breaking news, enterprise strategies and press coverage numbers. Lots of numbers.

The first week was excruciating. And then it just got worst.

After a couple of meetings I realized that what made the experience so unbearable was not the meeting but me, my whiny attitude. So I decided to transform my perspective and live every meeting request as a unique, loving experience.

The first thing to do is to recognize that everyone in the room Loves Fridays and want to go home and fantasize about their own weekend adventures. Secondly, live the today, the here, the wonderful right-nowness of my job, instead of the two days to come. Thirdly, appreciate the effort of the colleagues who prepare their presentations with days of anticipation and take the time to help everyone do a better job.

It was not easy, I must admit. It was not easy at all embracing the joy of conference-rooming for so many hours, so it was time to take it step by step by doing the following:

Talk to the speaker before the meeting. Ask if  they need help with anything, from connecting the projector to helping them make their cue cards

Enter the room with enthusiasm and willing to learn

Bring treats and candy for everyone

Take notes. Ask questions. Engage in the conversation

Live the now, inside and outside the conference room. No more using the verb spend with the noun time. No more counting the minutes to run away from anything. Never again.

Meet me in the comment section below or the discussion forum and share your thoughts.

See more posts by Emma Sifuentes

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@Office