Like most engineers, I’m not a fan of meetings. But not for the reason you’d think.
The things is…well this is slightly embarrassing to admit, but I have a small bladder. I went to the bathroom 6 times the first time I saw Titanic. When I worked for Lockheed, we had a ton of meetings. Status meetings, warroom meetings, staff meetings, training meetings, standup meetings, sit down meetings, lie down and meditate meetings. Every meeting you could think of, we had. We even had meetings to plan meetings.
See when you have a small bladder, meetings become a hassle because you have to plan your bathroom trips very carefully! Sure you can slip out and use the bathroom, but if that becomes a regular habit people will think you are engaged in some sort of corporate espionage.
So here’s the breakdown. Anything under 30 minutes is fine. I can hold it. For the most part. 30-60 minutes and I’ve got to plan. I need to make sure there is at least a small break after the last meeting so I can relieve myself. If you have too many of these meetings during the day, it can become quite stressful! Meetings that last longer than 60 minutes, all bets are off. At that point I have to start planning my liquid intake.
Reason #1221 I love being an entrepreneur. No more planning bathroom breaks around meetings!