Did you know that every 20th of June, the world celebrates World Productivity Day? Probably not - unless you are supplier of productivity tools. Because let's face it: this celebratory day is just an opportunistic way for this business to promote themselves and their products. And because we are part of this industry we want to pitch in with this blog post. Yes, we're just as opportunistic - but at least we're honest about it!

Preparing for this blog post, I looked up some stats about unproductive meetings. Here are a few:

  • Only 60% of the time you spend at work is actually productive
  • Meetings of over 1 hour are usually considered unproductive
  • The average IT staff member walks 42 km a year to start up meetings
  • 91% of professionals admit to daydreaming during meetings
  • 39% of professionals has actually ever fallen asleep during a meeting

Especially the last figure shocked me. 39%, goodness! But then it got me thinking. And I must admit I did it. Once. Nearly 20 years ago, at my first job. I hardly slept that night, it was an awfully boring meeting without any visual assistance (not even a presentation), and I was totally unfamiliar with the topic. And I must add that I worked as a software engineer at the time, and I was really, really bad at it. My 'nap' lasted about 5 seconds (I actually woke up to the sound of my own snoring), but I do qualify to spice the statistics. And I have been to other meetings in which I've seen people doze off. Do you have a confession to make yourself, then please leave a comment!

But why do people fall asleep during meetings - other than common lack of sleep during the night. Here's a short list:

  • Unfamiliarity with the meeting's topic
  • One person just talking, with no visuals to support his points
  • Lack of interaction
  • It's just after lunchtime

And I realized something: our ClickShare actually makes sharing visuals easier AND promotes interaction! Which means that half of the reasons to fall asleep are countered by our product. How's that for a tip for World Productivity Day, huh?

Note: Yes, World Productivity Day takes place on a Saturday this year. Which means 'productivity' will very likely be about the speed you mow your lawn. But if you happen to be at the office, and happen to hold a meeting, and happen to feel your eyelids close, don't forget that ClickShare would have kept you awake!

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