Use An Agenda

For all meetings make use of an agenda. Use the agenda to first establish the purpose and the objectives of the meeting, including the important meetings with yourself. Stick to the points and go through them one by one. At the end, make note of the items you discussed, what decisions were made, who was going to take action and by when they are expected to be completed. This way the agenda also can serve as a simple follow up tool after the meeting. With a constructive use of an agenda your meetings can be made shorter and much more effective.