How to Stay Focused in Long Meetings

An Insight into Managing Meeting-Intensive Days Recently, I had an enlightening 1:1 with one of our young designers. They asked, "After a day filled with back-to-back meetings, I'm exhausted. How do you handle this, given most of your days are meeting-heavy?" This scenario is common for many of us managing large teams and products. Here are some strategies I've developed to thrive when meetings dominate your schedule: 1. Mindset Shift: Recognize that meetings are work too, especially in large organizations. As a young designer, I viewed meetings as productivity thieves. Now I understand they're integral to the work process. 2. Calendar Mastery: I structure my day via my calendar, scheduling focus times, breaks, and meetings. I batch tasks and allocate them to ensure time-sensitive work gets done. 3. Pomodoro Technique: I aim for 24 pomodoros daily, equating to 12 hours of intense work. This includes writing, thinking, conversations, tasks, and team interactions. On lower-energy days, I listen to my body and adjust accordingly. 4. Micro-Breaks: Between meetings, I take 3-minute rejuvenation breaks. My toolkit includes: - Breathwork (sukha kriya, nadhi shuddi, 4-2-5-2 breathing with mudras) - Quick exercises (e.g., a set of squats) - Mindfulness practices (breath awareness meditation) - Short walks (using a walk pad or stepping outside) 5. Deep Listening: During meetings, I practice full engagement without multitasking. If a meeting doesn't align with my priorities, I respectfully decline or leave, communicating my reasons authentically. 6. Efficient Follow-up: I rarely revisit recordings, treating them as equivalent to attending meetings. When necessary, I schedule dedicated time for this. 7. Comprehensive Note-taking: I document discussions systematically, which helps track learning and identify recurring themes for myself and others. 8. Operational Rigor: I maintain high standards in self-management and task execution. This operational excellence keeps work flowing smoothly and maintains quality. These practices have transformed how I navigate meeting-intensive days, balancing productivity with well-being. What strategies do you employ to manage your energy during meeting-heavy periods? I'd love to hear your insights! #workdesign

“I’m really struggling to focus,” shared an enterprise B2B CMO with a staff of 115. “Tell me about it,” I empathized. Honestly, I feel it too. I feel it when I can’t see my phone. I feel it when I instinctively check email during a status meeting. I feel it when someone has to repeat themselves in a meeting because my brain briefly wanders into email triage mode. We are in an attention crisis. And CMOs may be among the hardest-hit because their jobs reward responsiveness, availability, and rapid context switching. We’ve convinced ourselves this is a superpower. It isn’t. In one of the most-cited studies on multitasking, Stanford researcher Clifford Nass found that heavy multitaskers were actually worse at filtering out irrelevant information and slower at switching between tasks. His conclusion was brutal: “Everything distracts them.” That one hit me hard. Because I see CMOs walk into meetings every day with Slack open, email open, SMS notifications firing, and LinkedIn blinking in the background like a Vegas casino. Then halfway through the meeting: “Sorry, can you repeat that?” I’ve done it too. But here’s the bigger issue: every time leaders do this, they normalize it. You are teaching your team that partial attention is acceptable. You are teaching them that notifications outrank humans. You are teaching them that being “busy” matters more than being present. Culture trickles down faster than strategy. Either be in the meeting fully or don’t go. You can’t do both well. One thing I’ve started doing is putting a physical sticky note on my monitor every morning with my top two priorities for the day. Not 17 priorities. Two. And those priorities need to ladder back to strategic priorities. Your OKRs. Your rocks. Your actual business goals. Then encourage your direct reports to do the same. Focus trickles down, too. A few other practices that help: • Hide Slack, email, and SMS during meetings • Block at least 30 minutes daily for deep thinking • Reserve 30 minutes at day’s end for planning and cleanup • Protect those blocks like investor meetings [Please share your tips] Email and Slack are often knee-jerk time sucks. One trick: batch them. Try three 15-minute email/Slack blocks a day instead of constant inbox grazing. And create subject-line rules for your team: • NEED APPROVAL BY 5PM • PLEASE WEIGH IN BY FRIDAY EOB That alone reduces cognitive clutter dramatically. I also like the one-minute rule: • If it takes under a minute, respond right away • If it requires real thinking, schedule time for it • If it’s merely interesting, defer it Your calendar is a clear expression of your priorities. Try to audit your time this week: How much is reactive versus strategic? How much is email versus leadership? How much time is spent on your biggest initiatives versus tiny, annoying fires? Because here’s the uncomfortable truth: Most executives don’t have a strategy problem. They have an attention problem.

I see many professionals struggling with distractions while speaking, especially in virtual meetings or live sessions. A single chat message, a background noise, or an unexpected interruption can throw off your train of thought. You lose your flow, pause awkwardly, or struggle to return to your point smoothly. Handling distractions is a skill, and like any skill, it can be mastered. Why Do We Get Distracted? The moment we see a message pop up or hear a sudden noise, our brain automatically shifts attention. We want to process the new information while still speaking, but that split-second distraction breaks our flow. If we try to ignore it completely, we feel uneasy. If we engage with it, we lose momentum. The key is learning to control our focus while responding strategically. How to Handle Distractions ? 1) If you are leading a session or a meeting, let participants know that you will address questions at specific intervals. Say something like, "I will take all questions after I finish this section. Feel free to drop them in the chat, and I will get to them shortly.” This reduces the urge to check every message in real-time. 2) Instead of reading every message immediately, train yourself to sense movement in the chat without breaking focus. If something truly urgent comes up, acknowledge it briefly and continue speaking. For example: "I see an interesting question in the chat. I will address that in a moment after completing this thought." 3) Before speaking, mentally outline your main points. This acts as your internal GPS. If a distraction occurs, you can quickly return to your last idea without losing track. 4) Watch great speakers and notice how they pause, acknowledge, and continue without hesitation. Instead of stopping abruptly, try phrases like: a) "That’s a good point. I will touch on that shortly." b) "Let me finish this idea, and then we will dive into that question." Great speakers don’t avoid distractions rather they manage them gracefully. The next time a message pops up, or someone interrupts, stay composed, acknowledge if needed, and smoothly return to your message. What’s the biggest distraction you face while speaking in meetings? And how do you plan to handle it moving forward? Drop your thoughts in the comments. I would love to hear your experiences and insights. #distractions

Today, an observation that took me years to really see. When my clients struggle with executive presence, it’s rarely because they’re unprepared. It’s because they’re splitting their attention. In an effort to be efficient, they try to do more than one thing at a time. Here’s the problem with that. The brain doesn’t multitask. It task-switches, and every switch weakens how we think, decide, and most importantly, connect. Below find 3 practices that will help you stay focused and increase your executive and leadership presence at the same time.   REDUCE SWITCHING, NOT WORKLOAD Presence is not about doing less. It’s about SWITCHING less. Instead of flipping between emails, reports, and calls all day, group similar tasks together. For example: handle all email responses between 10–10:30 am, review reports from 11–11:45 am, then focus on your team meeting prep from 1–1:30 pm. When your brain doesn’t have to keep deciding, “Am I answering email or editing a report?” thinking is clearer, decisions are better, and you’ll feel calmer.   DECIDE WHERE YOUR ATTENTION GOES BEFOREHAND Presence requires intention. Decide in advance where to place your attention. Before a meeting, a review, or a conversation, ask yourself this question: “Where does my attention need to be for the next 10 - 30 minutes?” Having a clear answer reduces unnecessary switching and will help you show up fully. USE YOUR ENVIRONMENT TO SUPPORT FOCUS   The brain is highly responsive to visual cues. Being present often starts with what you remove. ·     Put your phone in a drawer or your purse during meetings ·     Close unnecessary tabs on your computer ·     Turn off those notifications Executive presence isn’t about doing more. It’s about protecting attention where it matters most.

That moment when someone’s talking, and you’re fully planning your response then they finish and you realize you… didn’t actually hear them. It’s not that we don’t care. It’s that ADHD brains are wired for speed. We process fast, anticipate patterns, and sometimes… jump ahead. But real connection happens in the now. And staying present in conversations? That’s a skill we can train. Here’s how: ✅ Single-Task Listening – Instead of mentally drafting what to say next, try silent repetition. As they speak, repeat key phrases in your head to anchor yourself in the moment. ✅ Body Check for Engagement – ADHD makes it easy to feel present but look distracted. Quick scan: Are you nodding? Leaning in? Keeping soft eye contact? Small signals show you’re with them. ✅ Slow the Reflex to Relate – It’s tempting to jump in with “Oh, I totally get it, I’ve been through that too!” But first, pause. Reflect their feelings back: “That sounds frustrating. How are you handling it?” ✅ Validate Before Problem-Solving – ADHD brains love solutions. But not everyone wants them immediately. Try: “That sounds tough” before shifting into fix-it mode. ✅ Micro-Sharing for Connection – If opening up feels awkward, start small: “I get nervous in big meetings too.” Small shares create a safe space for deeper conversations. When people feel heard, they open up. And when we train our brains to stay in the moment, we build trust, connection, and stronger relationships. Have you ever caught yourself mentally rehearsing mid-conversation? What helps you stay present? ⬇️ -------------- A lot of us struggle with this without realizing why. If this hits home, consider sharing. It might help someone else stop blaming themselves for something they can actually adjust. And if you’d rather talk privately, my DMs are always open.

Sometimes when I am on the nth video call of the day, I feel the mental fog. heavy eyelids and a struggle to focus... But is virtual meeting fatigue actually real? Turns out, it is Recent neuroscience research confirms that virtual meeting fatigue is a measurable neurological phenomenon. Researchers at MIT attached EEG and ECG devices to measure participants brain and heart activity during meetings. The findings? ➡️ Virtual meetings trigger specific brain activity patterns indicating mental fatigue ➡️ These patterns differ significantly from face-to-face meeting. ➡️ When you can see your own mirror image, brain activity shows greater mental fatigue But with 98% of all meetings now having at least one remote participant, and many of us still attending many hours of virtual meetings daily, we need solutions. So through interviews with 30 professionals from major companies, researchers uncovered strategies that work: Here are three brain friendly meeting strategies for you to try: ➡️ Go audio-only when possible : I now take internal meetings sometimes while standing up or walking. The physical movement offsets mental fatigue and I am more focused without worrying about facial expressions or my background. ➡️ Turn off self-view : This is a game-changer. Constantly seeing yourself is exhausting. Your brain splits attention between the meeting and monitoring how you look. Studies show both men and women feel this equally. To maintain focus, stop constantly checking on yourself during virtual meetings. ➡️ Practice "IT mindfulness: Explore features to adapt platforms to your needs. Play with backgrounds, audience views, and audio settings until you find a setup that feels less draining for you. These suggestions are based on brain science and real experience. What virtual meeting habit will you change this week? Found other strategies that work?