I have always struggled sitting still, an average school day of class drove me to the brink of daily insanity.

I have worked for companies who had very few meetings, and I have worked for companies that you would have sworn that was all we did.

Thankfully the current company I work for are not regular meeting offenders, and when we do meet they are not grueling.

I believe employees should be paid time and a half for any meeting that goes over an hour, and involves more than seven pie charts and slides.

Here are some tips and tricks for the introverts and those with short attention spans.

The Do's:

Fidgets: I wouldn't recommend breaking out your kids actual fidget spinner, but having something to fidget with is a great go to. I once attended one of my favorite meetings ever where the presenter had fidget options in the center of the table for anyone to use. Brilliant! The hard core meeting folks will not be as accepting of your desire to distract your mind because it would mean their material is boring. If you have one of these type of meetings a necklace or a bracelet can be your covert fidget companion.

Gum: Chew away my friend, just because your butt has to stay still doesn't mean your mouth has to.

Go to Your Happy Place: Have a mental scene hand from a time and place you loved to be, a vacation, or use your imagination. Pick a place in your mind before the meeting starts and as soon as the meeting material starts to bore you hope on that train to mental enjoyment.

Make Early Eye Contact and Nod: This will encourage the presenter to keep the meeting short if they feel they are connecting with you and will pay divot ends in the end. Do this early and often but be careful when you use this, more on this in the dont's section.

The Dont's: 

Hate the Hydrate: Sitting through meetings is hard enough, sitting through a meeting while you have to pee is the worst. Don't drink any fluids hours before a meeting. Even more difficult is when you don't know how long a meeting is going to go and you have to go. Your brain and your bladder will be in a vicious battle.

Don't Make Late Meeting Eye Contact and Nod: This body language will keep heaping coals on the fire of the presenter. Look away and down at the floor hopefully this will let the facilitator feel like it's time to wrap things up.

Don't Ask Questions: Danger! There are exceptions to this rule, but you have no idea what your question might cause. Questions can turn an hour meeting into two hours. And remember there are other people in the meeting like me who probably have to pee.


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