fabiochiu/medium-articles huggingface dataset:
White Perfection
By: Georgia Lewitt
Tags: One Line, Poetry On Medium, Childhood, Farm Animals For Kids, Poetry

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Lost
By: Ramalingam Monisha
Tags: One Line, Chalkboard, More, Poem

Lost

Every time I lose myself,

it takes a millennium to find my spirit,

and one more to live blissfully again,

only to be helplessly thrown back into the blinding darkness.

— — — — — — — — — — —

Life is a wondrous journey, but what is more important than not losing your path is not losing yourself in life’s path.

Thanks for reading!

Thanks to Harper Thorpe for this amazing prompt and thanks to Kathy Jacobs and the rest of the Chalkboard team!
What I Want
By: Vinitha Dileep
Tags: One Line, Writing, Poetry On Medium, Poetry, Wishes

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Grounded Indefinitely
By: Elaine Hamilton
Tags: One Line, Approach, Poetry, Love, Desire

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Amidst the Dead Stars
By: Natalie Jeanne Maddy
Tags: One Line, Poem, High, Stars, Poetry

Photo by Allef Vinicius on Unsplash

Amidst the Dead Stars

you want me here on Earth baby,

but don’t you know I’m floating high in space,

where my thoughts roam freely amidst the dead stars

that somehow still shine so brightly,

nearly paling the fullest of moons?
Tantalize
By: Sandhya Ganesh
Tags: One Line, Unrequited, More, Lov, Poetry

Nothing is more bitter-sweet than unrequited love. It leaves you craving for more.

In response to Harper Thorpe’s prompt:

Thanks a lot, Chalkboard team, for the wonderful platform and amazing prompts.
Fight of the Drowning
By: Joey Lim
Tags: One Line, Self, Poetry, Drowning, Life

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One More
Tags: One Line, More, Way Of Living, Poetry, Life

One More

Photo by Bartosz Gorlewicz on Unsplash

doesn’t matter how far have you traveled

there’s always a place more

a step more a day more

you have one life

won’t get one more
Mistakes & Learning
By: Suntonu Bhadra
Tags: One Line, Poem, Mistakes, Chalkboard, Poetry

No one comes from a mother’s womb as a writer or poet. So, even a poet having a natural talent to express words requires to develop. People who aspire to write eventually understand that they need to improve as they make mistakes. Some of us learn from mistakes; some of us don’t realize. And, ultimately, in the long-run, it’s the quality and probably a bit of luck decide who remains to write their expression to share with other people and who don’t. Sometimes, writers need to overcome obstacles put in front of them by others (to topple them or test them). Like any other challenge of life, they require to keep their heads up and tackle it to proceed further. More words, more mistakes, more learning, and more obstacles; these elements make a writer a better one.

Thanks to Harper Thorpe for such a beautiful prompt to write on. The following content contains beautiful words from Harper himself on the theme. Thanks to Kathy Jacobs and Chalkboard team for hosting my words.
Never enough
By: Emma Laver-Scott
Tags: One Line, Poetry Prompt, Writing, Poetry, Time

Never enough

Photo by Kunj Parekh on Unsplash

I reach into the ether

Marvel at the fruitlessness

of begging for more time

Forever a bitter pill to swallow

It is never enough

Many thanks to Harper Thorpe and the Chalkboard team for the theme word ‘More’
Less is More
By: Priyanka Srivastava
Tags: One Line, Writing, Muse, Poetry, Writing Life

Learn more. Medium is an open platform where 170 million readers come to find insightful and dynamic thinking. Here, expert and undiscovered voices alike dive into the heart of any topic and bring new ideas to the surface. Learn more

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More Family Time
By: Kim Smyth
Tags: One Line, Connection, Family, Acrostic Poem

I was in Mississippi last week for a family emergency and was dismayed at my family’s disconnect. A hurricane had recently come through as well, some of my family members were still dealing with downed trees and other damage. I was upset to learn that even though my cousins, aunts and uncles all live close to each other, some have never been to each other’s homes. This in a community that was once so close to each other it made my heart swell. I realize life goes on and we all get busy — I’m guilty myself of losing touch — but in a time of crisis, I would hope some of my family would come to my aide. My wish is that my family, like the rest of the world, can see past differences, stay connected, and at the very least, pray for each other when someone is sick or needs help.

The news was not all bad however. Cousins and their husbands were helping clear debris, feeding the family of my sick uncle, and watching their children. One of my cousins gave us a place to stay and cooked for us the entire time we were there. I was able to see many of my cousins that we don’t get to see due to the distance we are from each other and I left feeling much better than when I visited a few years ago.

We lost the “glue” that held our family together when my grandparents died. I’m praying this crisis brings my family much closer and I will stay in touch better myself after seeing the damage that has destroyed some of my family’s relationships. I welcome prayers for my uncle as well as he struggles to regain his health and I pray he gets to go home from the hospital soon. I had to come back to Texas without having seen him except for when he was unconscious. He is thankfully on the mend now and for that I am so grateful!

Thanks to Harper Thorpe and Kathy Jacobs and the entire Chalkboard team!
Reflective through sunlight
By: Anna Rozwadowska
Tags: One Line, Journey Of Life, Humanity, Poetry, Love

Inspired by Harper Thorpe’s weekly prompt “More”

Photo by Forest Simon on Unsplash

Awe inspires a woman’s journey~inward struggles

fill majestic curvature in lonely multiplication,

where more becomes apprehensive and souls become

the piece of what remains, torn apart.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

With thanks to Harper Thorpe for his “More” prompt:
Greed
By: Fọlábòmí Àmọ Ó
Tags: One Line, Human Nature, Poetry, Greed, Selfishness

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No Time For a Diet
By: C Mcclung
Tags: One Line, More, Chalkboard, Poetry, Love

This is a response to the prompt, More by Harper Thorpe. Thank you to Chalkboard hosts, Harper Thorpe and Kathy Jacobs, and to the entire talented Chalkboard team for their inspiration, and for this fun place to play!
A Bit More
By: Kathy Jacobs
Tags: One Line, More, Move, Poetry, Pack

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The Pit
Tags: One Line, Poetry Prompt, Sinkhole, Relationships, Poetry

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More Time
By: Rhonda Marrone
Tags: One Line, Poem, Chalkboard, Poetry

A One Line Poem

Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

I want more time

to see her smile

to talk and hug.

I want to be

a better person:

more like her.

I want to see

my BFF once again.

— My best friend has been battling stage 4 breast cancer for several years. It has metastasized to her brain where she is now experiencing her 2nd round of tumors. She is in the hospital having brain surgery tomorrow. I can’t visit her because of COVID-19. No matter what she will most likely never be the same and her time on this planet is short. I miss my friend already. No matter what I hope she has no more pain, suffering and confusion, but the part of the world where she has been in will be dimmer without her. —

~~Rhonda Marrone 11/2020

Thanks to this Prompt:
Empty
By: Dana Sanford
Tags: One Line, Philosophy, Paradox, Chalkboard, Poetry

Medium is an open platform where 170 million readers come to find insightful and dynamic thinking. Here, expert and undiscovered voices alike dive into the heart of any topic and bring new ideas to the surface. Learn more
The Sole Soul Who Wept More
By: Somsubhra Banerjee
Tags: One Line, Journey, Chalkboard, Poetry, Thoughts

I belong, only to the journey,

but it was important for me,

to remember,

that the sole soul who wept more,

more than anyone else,

was the home of mine.
Lucid Dreaming
By: Ana-Maria Schweitzer
Tags: One Line, Chalkboard, Nature, Poetry

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New Life of More
Tags: One Line, Dads, Loss, Love, Life

New Life of More

©Jennifer Marie Gady 2019

You believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself

So today I honor you daddy with a new life

Of wanting more because of your love and belief.

©Jennifer Marie Gady 2020
Chalkboard
By: Anamika Pokharel
Tags: Longdistancerelationship, One Line, Lovers, Poetry, Love

Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash

When you are far, there is warmth.

The warmth of sadness, solitude, and mislay of self.

©2020 Anamika Pokharel
Overflow
By: Elaine Hamilton
Tags: One Line, More, Wanting, Poetry, Love

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Crawling Nightmares
By: Fọlábòmí Àmọ Ó
Tags: One Line, Depression, Mental Health, Poetry, Love

I feel your presence

in the dark

approaching

The filth

of your love

creeping up

along my skin

As I scream out

stuck in fear

in search

of the light.
Silly Conversations
By: Priyanka Srivastava
Tags: One Line, Relationships, Writing, Sisters, This Happened To Me

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The Last Call
By: Joey Lim
Tags: One Line, Relationships, Poetry, Love, Grief

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Hidden Formation
Tags: One Line, Togetherness, Poetry, Photography, Society

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Happiness
By: Ana-Maria Schweitzer
Tags: One Line, Childhood, One Line Poem, Happiness, Games

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Pajamas
Tags: One Line, Memories, One Line Poem, Nostalgia, Poetry

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Not a Bad Dog
By: Kim Smyth
Tags: One Line, Presence, Patience, Poetry, Companionship

My own dogs watch from our bedroom window for our eventual return. I just loved this picture because it reminds me of our sweet little Shorkies 😊 (Even though this is obviously not one) he is still waiting patiently for his master.

As always, thanks to the tireless efforts of Kathy, Harper, and the whole Chalkboard team!
Presence
By: Rhonda Marrone
Tags: One Line, Chalkboard, Presence, Elections

a one line poem

Photo by Heather Zabriskie on Unsplash

I am here.

I am waiting.

I inhale.

I exhale.

We are here.

We are waiting.

We inhale.

We exhale.

Someday, hopefully,

we will know

who the

next president is…

~~Rhonda Marrone 11/2020

Thanks to this One Line Prompt:
Not Dead but Gone
By: Hudson Taylor
Tags: One Line, Chalkboard, Death

Photo by Lili Popper on Unsplash

i think about you often

you’re not here anymore

but you walk with me

everywhere

just as before

you’re not dead

but that would make it easier
Your Presence
By: Kathy Jacobs
Tags: One Line, Presence, Friendship, Poetry, Love

Your Presence

Michelle, July 2019 — photo by the author

My sister of choice

My best friend

Your loving, laughing

Presence in my life

Keeps me going, growing,

Loving, living, laughing

I look forward to being

Nearer to you soon
Tempest in a mug shot
By: Antoinette Nevitt
Tags: One Line, Coffee, Chalkboard, Poetry, Humor

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Erasing Our Fleeting Careless Momentary Presence Union
By: Francine Fallara
Tags: One Line, Relationships, Presence, Emotions, Poetry

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Ghost Stories
By: Elaine Hamilton
Tags: One Line, Presence, Ghosts, Mystery, Lovestory

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I Am No More Alive
By: Darshak Rana
Tags: One Line, Fear, Poetry, Time, Life

Medium is an open platform where 170 million readers come to find insightful and dynamic thinking. Here, expert and undiscovered voices alike dive into the heart of any topic and bring new ideas to the surface. Learn more
Skeleton
By: Ak, Aaska Aejaz
Tags: One Line, Skeleton, Emotions, Religion And Spirituality, Abuse

Description:

To be a pure human being, we must learn ethics. I am really disheartened to see that there are so many humans who hurt other people, sometimes physically or sometimes emotionally, we need to understand that, there are thousands of cultures, religions, languages in this world. We are different in this context but we are all human so please respect humanity! #Please stop attacking any religion or culture or language!

© 2020 All rights reserved!

Always grateful to our hosts, Kathy Jacobs, Harper Thorpe, and the entire Chalkboard team
Skeletons In The Closet
By: Sandhya Ganesh
Tags: One Line, Secrets, Idiom, Horror, Poetry

“Skeletons in the closet” is an idiom that generally indicates a secret which has a ginormous impact if revealed. The term was used as early as in 1816 in a British Journal, The Eclectic Review. All of us are apprehensive of unrevealed secrets. Those will haunt us all our lives.

Thank you, Chalkboard team, for this incredible collaboration.

In response to Kathy Jacobs spooky collaboration:
A cut to the bone
By: Antoinette Nevitt
Tags: One Line, Skeleton, Election 2020, Poetry, Freedom

Learn more. Medium is an open platform where 170 million readers come to find insightful and dynamic thinking. Here, expert and undiscovered voices alike dive into the heart of any topic and bring new ideas to the surface. Learn more

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Mi consejo para tus reuniones virtuales en tiempos de pandemia
By: Leo Gutiérrez
Tags: Meetings, Management, It Management

Hi! I am Leonardo Gutiérrez R., a passionate software developer, I hope you find the content in this blog interesting. I write about IT related stuff.
Available now! Microsoft Teams Meetings Live Reactions
By: Pei Yi, Py
Tags: Microsoft Teams, Microsoft 365, Microsoft, How To, Meetings

If you have enabled your Public Preview, then these are the following steps:

Step 1: Open your Teams desktop app → Select your display picture → Check for updates.

Important notes: 1. If you have restarted your computer, you will need to re-enable the Public Preview mode on the Teams desktop app. 2. Live reaction is only available to the meeting organizer and (probably internal) participants who have enabled the Public Preview mode. 3. Live reaction may not be available if you have an external meeting with another organization. 4. Live reaction may not available on Teams web app.

Step 2: Once updated, it will prompt you to restart your Teams, right-click the Teams icon on your taskbar (bottom right, next to your clock) → Quit → (Find and) Click your Microsoft Teams to restart.

Important note: Your Microsoft Teams may experience high performance usage if your device has low memory (RAM), causing your laptop to lag or hang. If this happens, you will need to read this: 9 Easy Fix-Hacks to Teams High Performance Usage

Step 3: Create a Teams meeting → Invite your participants → Join meeting.

Step 4: Ta-dah! Now you have live reactions!

Step 5: If you use the (other than Raise hand ✋)reactions, you will notice it appearing here, in a one-to-one call.

Otherwise, you may be able to view it like this:
Waiting For The Host To Start The Meeting
By: Darrin Atkins
Tags: Work From Home, Meetings, Telecommuting

If you have been doing online meetings or working from home, you may have seen a familiar message that is something like, “Waiting for the host to start the meeting."

How has this become an everyday occurrence around the world?

It is happening every day for adults and children. I see the message and hear about it too. It is everywhere.

I don’t get it. Yes, I know our lives have changed a lot. But still.

How long should we wait and watch this message? Please let me know.
ZOOM Has Become A Household Word
By: Floyd Mori
Tags: Zoom, Pandemic, Meetings, Technology, Society

ZOOM Has Become A Household Word

Photo by Martin Shreder on Unsplash

People can meet together virtually

It is a pretty safe bet to say that most people had never used ZOOM a year ago and may not have even heard of it. Now many people use ZOOM everyday. It has become a household word and something that people seemingly cannot do without in this age of the coronavirus pandemic. People can have business meetings or any kind of gathering on ZOOM without having to go anywhere.

Zoom Video Communications, Inc. is headquartered in San Jose, California. It is an American communications technology company. Video and online chat services are provided by Zoom. It has been used for teleconferencing, telecommuting, social relations, church, and educational classes. Zoom has become the method of choice for nearly everyone who needs to meet virtually together during this pandemic.

Founded in 2011, Zoom has revenue of over $600 million as of 2020. The CEO of Zoom is Eric Yuan. Zoom trades on the Nasdaq with its stock changing in value from around $62 in November of 2019 to $528 in October 2020. It is now trading around $388 per share as of December 2020.

Eric Subrah Yuan is a 50-year-old Chinese-born American billionaire businessman. He is the founder of Zoom and owns 22% of the company. He got the idea for Zoom while trying to find a way to connect with his girlfriend who lived quite far away. She is now his wife.

With millions of people now working from home in the coronavirus pandemic, Zoom calls have become increasingly popular. Zoom is also used for school, church meetings, weddings, funerals, and all kinds of gatherings.

Zoom has been a boon to almost everyone affected by the pandemic. People cannot travel freely during these difficult times, but they can meet through Zoom. Older people who would not have been able to travel even if there were no pandemic can join in weddings, funerals, birthday parties, and other special events through the miracle of Zoom technology.

The pandemic has caused a huge increase in usage of Zoom meetings. It is very likely that Zoom will remain relevant and important to society even when the pandemic is finally over. It is bringing amazing benefits to millions of people. Technology is a wonderful thing.

[Source: Wikipedia]
Meeting Cheat Sheet
By: Joanna Ngai
Tags: Business, Satire, Work, Meetings, Humor

Meeting Cheat Sheet

The shift to remote work may have caused a boom in scheduled meetings. Whether you’re stuck in back to backs all day long or just feeling confused, here’s a handy guide to help you see what’s coming up.

Pre-meeting = A meeting to get all the buy-ins before the actual meeting

Debrief = A meeting to figure out the real decisions after the actual meeting

Retro = A meeting to discuss past meetings

Kickoff = A meeting to plan for future meetings

Status update = A reoccurring meeting with the same people

Webinar = A sales pitch disguised as a meeting

All hands = A meeting with way too many people

Fireside =A meeting where you peer into an important person’s conversation

Lunch and learn = A meeting where you’re scarfing down food on mute

Team building = A meeting where fun is mandatory

Brainstorm = A pointless meeting

Working session = A meeting to get clarity from past brainstorms

—

Thanks for reading! Feel free to check out my design work if you’d like.

My handbook on UX is now available on Amazon! Learn more about design thinking here and get honest lessons from the field of design.
Understanding the 4 Stages of Group Development.
By: Roman Grant
Tags: Meetings, Communication, Leadership, Collaboration, Productivity

Understanding the 4 Stages of Group Development. In 1965, a psychologist named Bruce Tuckman identified a 4 stage model of group development. The 4 stages that were identified are:

Forming:

The first stage is Forming, and the primary focus in this stage is on the people. This includes defining roles, building relationships, creating structure and developing group norms.

Storming:

As time goes on, conflicts eventually arise and teams transition into the Storming stage. This is when frustration and disagreements about roles, goals, and responsibilities begin to surface.

Norming:

During the Norming stage, team members resolve their differences and begin to shift their energy toward the team’s goals. Members start to feel like they are part of a team and can take pleasure from the increased group cohesion.

Performing:

In the Performing stage, processes, structures, and relationships work without friction and the team makes significant progress towards its goals.
Q:What can you do to keep the momentum after a meeting? You’ve already taken the time to meet. Don’t waste it by letting the meeting fizzle out at the end. Document key decisions, next steps, and…
By: Roman Grant
Tags: Facilitation, Meetings, Communication, Leadership, Collaboration

Q:What can you do to keep the momentum after a meeting? You’ve already taken the time to meet. Don’t waste it by letting the meeting fizzle out at the end.

Document key decisions, next steps, and owners

Document and confirm key decisions, next steps, and task owners BEFORE you end the meeting.

Assuming that everyone is aligned, without confirmation, increases the likelihood you’ll lose momentum after the meeting.

Communicate outcomes

What did you accomplish during the meeting?

Sharing outcomes will help maintain momentum while increasing transparency and accountability.

Key takeaway
6 Secrets to More Engaging Meetings
By: Dr Rick Goodman
Tags: Zoom, Meetings, Entrepreneurship, Communication, Leadership

As a keynote speaker, I know that we’ve all sat through a bad meeting. You know: The kind that seems to last forever, with a lot of words being spoken but no decisions being made and no action steps taken. Meetings like that are pretty obviously a waste of time — and that’s equally frustrating for leaders and employees, all of whom have things they’d rather be doing. As a virtual keynote speaker during the pandemic, it is even more difficult to keep people engaged.

But there’s another problem with bad meetings: If all your meetings are unengaging, you’ll basically condition your team to arrive at each new meeting already expecting it to be a dreadful bore. You’ll have lost them before the meeting even begins. Now with virtual meetings the process has become even harder to not bore your attendees.

So what can you do? Is it possible to salvage your meetings? Absolutely it is. You’ve just got to be intentional in making each meeting engaging.

How to Make Your Meetings More Engaging

A few basic ways to do that include:

Have a “hook” at the beginning of each meeting. Tell a funny story, show an entertaining YouTube clip, or simply take a show-of-hands poll — anything to get people engaged right from the start. Lead your meetings with a clear definition of the meeting objectives — what you hope to accomplish and what all participants can expect to learn. Allow emotions into your meeting. Ask people how they’ve been feeling about work since your last meeting. Take a temperature check of office morale. Have a strong visual component to your virtual workshops and meetings. In particular, have a way to showcase the brainstorming that’s happening and the thought that’s at work. A marker board, pin-up board, or even a sticker voting system can be useful here. Build positivity into your meeting. Share success stories that have happened since the last meeting. Consider implementing a rule that the team must say three positive things about an idea before anyone is allowed to criticize or to shoot it down. Make your meeting more active. Ditch the chairs from your meeting space, and instead encourage your meeting participants to stand together in a huddle — a great way to engage their bodies and, hopefully, their minds!

Engaging meetings don’t just happen: They’re planned and executed with intention.

Dr. Rick Goodman CSP is a thought leader in the world of leadership and is known as one of the most sought after team building experts in the United States and internationally.
5 Steps for the Most Effective UX Meetings in 2 Minutes
Tags: User Experience, Efficiency, UX, User Experience Research, Meetings

But how do effective UX meetings work?

1: Goal and outcome setting

People at the meeting should know the expected outcome and agenda of the meeting. Explain to everyone the current design process stage since everyone at the meeting may not understand the design process. Drive feedback only for the current stage of the design process.

For example, while discussing wireframes, refrain from reflecting on suggestions on colors and fonts. Focus on the right feedback at the right time.

2: Meeting with all stakeholders.

Ideally, for 1 in every three meetings, all the project stakeholders must be involved. When the senior leaders are not kept in the loop for a while, it so often happens that they swoop in and change the entire design direction.

To prevent this, make sure every stakeholder is updated on the progress, ideally once every three meetings.

This will ensure that everyone is involved in the design process.

3: Separate meetings with Designers, Developers & End-users.

Conduct separate meetings with the design team, development team, and the end-users to capture better quality feedback.

With the design team, conduct brainstorming sessions and encourage design ideas. Discuss development feasibility, UI response behavior, and application performance with the development team and end-users, schedule meetings to validate your thought process, and collect user feedback.

For a functional and usable final product, it’s crucial to meet all of them.

4: Use collaborative tools.

Meetings are ten times better when you use tools like Invision, Google docs, Atlassian, or TeamViewer.

You can collaborate much better internally and externally, especially with remote teams. A siloed work culture among designers, developers, and the product team can be eliminated by tying everyone together and having an open communication culture.

5: Conclude the meetings well.

A great meeting with an unsatisfactory conclusion will be confusing for all parties.

Conclude strongly with a list of action items along with a timeline. This will correctly set expectations for the next meeting across the table. Everyone will also have an idea of the tasks to be done until the next meeting. This is how effective UX meetings happen.

When everyone listens, asks questions, and gives insights, truly experiential products are created.
Q: What books should every workshop facilitator read?
By: Roman Grant
Tags: Facilitation, Meetings, Workshop, Leadership, Collaboration

Q: What books should every workshop facilitator read? There are a wealth of resources out there, but I will share 3 of my favorites. 😀

“Whether the facilitator is teaching, or leading or mediating, or simply managing a process, the purpose of the role is to strengthen the effectiveness of the group of people who are there to get the work done.”

“When you are designing an exercise or workshop, you want to think like a composer, orchestrating the activities to achieve the right harmony between creativity, reflection, thinking, energy and decision making.”
I’ll Gladly Do a Meeting Tuesday for an IPA Today
By: Brian Relay
Tags: Beer, Sobriety, Meetings, Alcohol, Blue Insights

When I was younger, hard liquor had me blacking out every weekend. People used to ask me what it’s like to blackout, to which I would ask, “What’s it like not to?”

It was bad.

Whenever someone started singing that damn Lil’ John song “Shots,” it was the beginning of the end of my ability to form new memories for the rest of the night.

So, after getting arrested one night for wielding a samurai sword on two police officers, I decided to stop taking shots. The funny thing is, it actually worked. I never blacked out again after that. The not-so-funny thing is, I gradually devolved into a daily beer drinker.

Read more about the whole samurai sword fiasco here:

I’ve come to the conclusion, yet again, that alcohol is bad for me. The problem is, as always, that I can’t stop drinking it on my own. Every time I think I’ve got it under control, reality kicks me in the head.

That’s where I am today. Well, yesterday I was, anyway. Today I went to a meeting. It was part of a deal I struck with my girlfriend. “Let me drink tonight, and I’ll go to a meeting tomorrow,” said my alcohol-possessed alter ego. I felt like a man at the gallows with a noose around his neck, pleading for another day to live. “I’ll do anything you say. Just give me one more day.”

It’s not the first time I made a deal like that, but it is the first time I agreed to go to a meeting. She was worried that I might not follow through considering my spotty record.

But I did.

The fear I felt this morning before heading out to the meeting was a clear indicator that I was about to do something important. That fear is our body’s way of telling us that something new is about to happen. New is scary because it’s unknown.

We want comfortable patterns in our lives because those are the best circumstances for survival. But when you have a yearning to thrive, then fear will walk along the path with you, hand in hand. No victory can be had without the possibility of defeat.

And I must admit, I tasted a bite of victory when I left that meeting today.

So I’ll do my best to guard my sobriety one day at a time. It’s not my first go-around. I’ve gone to meetings before. I’ve been sober before. I’ve even done them both at the same time. The tricky thing is to continue doing it. Here in New Hampshire, there’s beer in every single store. I’m an IPA guy, and those things are everywhere here.

It’s a struggle.

I may have to run a few less errands for a while so I can avoid literally every single place. The more I write, the less I expose myself to temptation. So here I am writing about being sober.

Day 1.

Wish me luck as I hold my nose and take the plunge.

I’m grateful to be here. That’s all I’ve got. Thanks for listening.
How To Stop Wasting Time: No Unnecesaary Meeting
Tags: Management And Leadership, Time Management, Meetings, Culture, Team Collaboration

in Change Your Mind Change Your Life
The smartest person in the room
By: Bubbbles Media
Tags: Random Thoughts, Mindfulness, Personal Development, Life Lessons, Meetings

In Real Life — The smartest person in the room — by Steve Rigell

Resilience begins with attitude.

Tweak your perspective and give yourself an attitude adjustment before the world has a chance to mess with you.

Make sure you receive “In Real Life” in your inbox every morning.

Subscribe here.
Q: What can I do to get better at meeting planning?
By: Roman Grant
Tags: Facilitation, Meetings, Leadership, Collaboration, Productivity

Q: What can I do to get better at meeting planning? In the boating world frames are used to support the hull and give a boat its shape and strength. In the planning world, framing can be used to strengthen focus, and shape outcomes.

And one of the best things you can do to get better at meeting planning is to make time, before the meeting, to assess the current situation and frame the challenge, or problem you want to solve during the meeting.

Questions to answer
What can I do to lead more productive meetings?
By: Roman Grant
Tags: Facilitation, Meetings, Leadership, Collaboration, Productivity

What can I do to lead more productive meetings? Unproductive meetings waste time and can lead to frustrated team members. So, what can you do to make your meetings more productive? During your next meeting, try the RSS Framework.

Review: Goals & Objectives

— Start off the meeting by reviewing the goals and objectives. It will set the tone and help the group focus.

Share: The Why

— Explain why accomplishing the goals and objectives is important and how their active participation will help.

Show: Don’t Tell

— Display documents, notes, and diagrams where everyone can see them. Make it as easy as possible for participants to understand what’s going on.

The RSS Framework lays the groundwork for increased engagement, and increased engagement leads to more productive meetings.
Novel Ideas to Supercharge Your Meetings
By: Mike Schoultz
Tags: Events, Meetings, Ideas

When you ask someone what they do for a living, it’s not likely that they’ll answer with “Well, I sit in meetings all day.” But when you look at the average businessperson’s schedule, it’s clear that meetings make up a substantial part of many jobs — especially for those in leadership.

Meetings are often dismissed as a waste of time, but meetings that have a clear purpose and are well run can actually make things go more smoothly and save time.

And what happens after those meetings is just as important.

Dealing with meetings is a frequent topic in my work with hundreds of organizations as a leader. I’ve devised a simple system to help my clients have the kind of meetings they need for the best results possible.

An important part of that system is ending a meeting.

Here are the three things you need to make sure you do before adjourning any meeting:

Confirm key decisions

Make sure everyone is on the same page about any decisions that were made. It’s important that everyone comes away with a shared understanding because it will help focus everyone to move in the same direction. You can ensure this by putting two quick questions to the group:

What topics did we discuss?

What decisions did we confirm?

Agree upon the next action steps

Have everyone agree upon the next steps and what actions will be taken. Make it clear that you expect each step to be fulfilled as agreed upon, and that any changes or unforeseen obstacles need to be discussed as soon as they emerge. Ask the group these questions related to the next steps:

What was agreed upon for the next steps?

What are the deadlines?

Create commitments

Be clear about the commitments and responsibilities that are made during the meeting so you can follow up by sending everyone involved a communication about the key objectives and action items. The goal is for everyone to commit to accomplishing their tasks on schedule. Make sure to assign someone to check in at appropriate intervals to ensure that the commitments are being kept and, when necessary, re-evaluated in light of unexpected issues. These three questions ensure that commitments are understood:

Who is responsible for what?

How will we communicate this information?

Who will conduct the follow-up?

One of the biggest complaints I have from the leaders I coach is that they spend much too much time in meetings, leaving them with less time to do their jobs. But I’ve seen firsthand that a good system for meetings can limit distractions and keep everyone focused on what needs to get done so you get the results you want.
Speedy Meetings
By: Mark Nelson
Tags: Time Management, Meetings, Management

Speed it up people!

Bad/too many meetings is the #1 complaint of professionals. And while there are no easy, quick fixes, there are ways to make meetings less terrible. And we owe it to each other to try to make our work lives better.

The simplest way to make meetings less terrible is to shorten them. A little time pressure is a good thing, and everyone could use a little transition time between back-to-back meetings. Schools know about transition times — Social Studies doesn’t end at the same moment that Biology class starts.

So here’s the simple trick: Schedule half-hour meetings for 25 minutes and hourlong meetings for 50 minutes instead.

Meeting scheduling is a form of estimation, and estimation is a form of future-telling. It’s not only something human beings are bad at, it’s not even completely possible. Unfortunately our forecasts are most reliable when we follow Parkinson’s Law: “Work expands to fill the time available.”

The Freakonomics podcast has a terrific episode on improving meetings: https://freakonomics.com/podcast/meetings/. They talk to Steven Rogelberg, author of, “The Surprising Science of Meetings.” The podcast is great, the book is just OK.

Google follows this 25/50 minute rule as do a growing number of organizations because it is so simple and it helps. It makes meetings a little bit less terrible. It lets us get to the next meeting on time. It allows time for little after meeting conversations, which can be more important than the meetings themselves.

Google even includes a “Speedy meetings” setting in Google Calendar to make these 25/50 minute durations the defaults. And Microsoft is experimenting with a similar feature for Outlook.

Join me in scheduling and holding speedier meetings. Don’t accept the default 30/60 minute durations for meetings you schedule. It’s a little bit lazy. And we owe it to each other to make our meetings a little less terrible and our work a little bit better.
Effective Meeting: Practical Guidelines
By: Imran Bangash
Tags: Effectiveness, Meetings, Covid 19, Productivity

Effective Meeting: Practical Guidelines

Photo by Campaign Creators on Unsplash

As more and more people are working from home during the COVID-19 Pandemic, it is becoming common to spend a major portion of the day in meetings, video calls [1].

Effective meetings should deliver clear direction to all involved for the next step. It is important to involve all in the discussion because the assumption is that all members are selected thoughtfully. These are six important things to follow for effective meetings.

Before the start of the meeting, start gently with the light, off-the-topic discussion, imaging as you are coming to the meeting room after fetching coffee.

Purpose

Preparation

Enable participation

Start time/end time

Conclusion

Follow-ups

References
Different Modes Of Wearing The Hair for Zoom Meeting Online, Why Not?
By: Regia Marinho
Tags: Zoom, Hairdressers, Meetings, Hairstyle, Art

Creativity is needed. An alternative guide to hair styling, from the 19th Century and beyond.

“The right hairstyle can make a plain woman beautiful & a beautiful woman unforgettable.”

The Hair, And Styles Of Wearing It.

The Hair, And Styles Of Wearing It. 1700s.

Long hair styled was the way most women, especially upper class women, wore their hair during the 19th century.

Women in the 1830s usually get their hair tied back in a neat bun, braids, or twist. Sometimes they curled the sides.

And Bangs weren’t in fashion.

Front page of the Harper’s Bazar magazine showing more hairstyles. 1868.

Cover of the Harper’s Bazar magazine. 1868.

Hairdressing art.

French hairdresser at the Académie de Coiffure, working on a large hairstyle, fashionable of the time, in the 18th century.

French hairdresser at the Académie de Coiffure. 18th century.

More art of hairdressing.

A hairdresser cutting a child’s hair, March 26, 1866. Look at his hairstyle!

Hairdresser cutting a child’s hair. 1866

An early hair tongs.

A tool or something similar to make your hair beautiful for your Zoom meeting in 2020?

I’m very sure you can find other and better tools to get the same result.

Early hair tongs.

But in 2020 for more easy hairstyle…

Boys, forget the scissors. And have your laptop ready for your next meeting online.

Photo by vahid kanani on Unsplash

For Ladies. Put some blue color on your hair.

Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash

Or make these if have a long hair.

A French Braid

A High Bun

A Braided Ponytail

Half-Up, Half-Down

A French Twist Punch Clip Bun

For a bad hair day or lazy day use a Twisted Turban. And have you iPad ready for the next Google Meeting.

“Messy hair, uncombed, gel-free, un-styled and perfectly imperfect.”

― Jasinda Wilder, Stripped

An idea for a great hairstyle?

Leave a message idea below and help people that really need hairstyle ideas.

Thank you and stay safe!

_Regia Marinho

November 21, 2020
The Future of Meetings
By: Nick Morgan
Tags: Events, Covid 19, Future Of Work, Meetings, Remote Working

Photo by Pixabay from Pexels

What’s going to happen to virtual events when the pandemic is over? This question has become more and more urgent for speakers, meeting planners, and speaker bureaus as we’ve struggled through the course of the worldwide scourge of COVID-19. I’ve talked to a wide swathe of our communications world and begun to discern some possible answers. Herewith are my fearless predictions, with many thanks to everyone who shared their ideas and expertise with me. And of course, any blame for getting the future wrong attaches to me, not to everyone who helped.

Here’s what I see happening and not happening, sometime next year, or, if things go badly with the vaccines after all, early in 2022.

First, we won’t go all virtual. Until we evolve into some sort of techno versions of ourselves, we humans do much better and develop much deeper connections with each other face to face than virtually. The urge to convene has been building up and will result in an explosion of face-to-face events once it is safe, comfortable, and easy again. Just as the market for meetings bounced back bigger than ever after 9/11 and 2008–9, it will again post-pandemic.

Second, we won’t go all face-to-face. What’s different this time is that we learned how to use Zoom (and other video conferencing software) and the technology is much better than it was 10 and 20 years ago. So what’s going to happen is that we’re going to end up with two tiers of meetings. For the top dollar and the strongest organizations, meetings will be face-to-face, with some aspects streamed and/or recorded for those who couldn’t attend.

Then, for less well-heeled organizations and less critical meetings, there will be a second tier of all-virtual convening. The savings in travel, venue, food and drink are enormous, and the sharp-eyed accountants looking out for their organizations won’t miss that opportunity. One imagines a Board of Directors of a medium-sized organization meeting 3 times a year virtually and once in person. Efficient, cost-effective, and time-saving all at once.

Finally, then, we’ll have a bigger set of options than we did pre-pandemic. I’m predicting that two markets will develop, very much along the lines of Clayton’s Christensen’s Innovator’s Dilemma, and we’ll all be able to pack more in because we won’t have to travel quite as much.

For those who can’t wait for a return to face-to-face, hang in there. It’s coming. Within a year or two, you’ll be able to be on the road as much as ever if you want to.

For those who have enjoyed this strange time of enforced absence from the road, you get your fondest wish, too. You’ll be able to pick and choose and attend those somewhat less important meetings virtually.

Everyone wins, except perhaps the hotel industry. But with time and growth they will be fine, too. People are eager to see loved ones, colleagues, new places, old restaurants, and all the sights they’ve been missing. By 2022, it will be good to be a hotelier, or an Airbnb-er, once more.

See you on the road soon!