Scheduling Techniques for Comprehensive Workshops

📐 The Architecture of Collab Workshop Design 👉 Meeting-by-Meeting Here’s the set of “Prep Meetings” me & my colleagues use for designing & planning our workshops. Context: ▸ My typical workshop prep time is ~ 5 weeks. ▸ I work typically with 1 or 2 co-facilitators. ▸ More of my colleagues are ready to consult. BEFORE, I would: 👉 Schedule the workshop (5 weeks in the future), and then 👉 Would schedule the prep meetings from week to week on an “as needed” basis, meaning: “Oh, it’s time to start working on the agenda. Hey team, let’s meet on this!” Not optimal, because: ▸ Calendars get busy ▸ My attention can slip, and I can forget ▸ Scheduling “every now and then” is a distraction So I came up with this fix: 💡 Schedule ALL prep meetings in advance. Like I would schedule a training curriculum. Here are the meetings: 🔵 Weekly Meetings 🔵 ▸ Progress check-in with the client/workshop requestor (30 min) ▸ Progress check-in with co-facilitators (30 min) 🔵 One-Off Meetings 🔵 ▸ Workshop prep kick-off with co-facilitators, requestor (30 min) ▸ Individual interviews with participants (1 with each participant, 30 min) ▸ Creative moment (all co-facilitators throw ideas on what to do in the workshop: 30 min) ▸ 1st Draft of Agenda (with co-facilitators; 30 min) ▸ 2nd Draft of Agenda (with co-facilitators; 30 min) ▸ Agenda Peer Review (with 1-2 colleagues who are NOT my co-facilitators; 30 min) ▸ Final agenda walk-through (60 minutes) That’s it! Now I schedule all those meetings immediately after we schedule the workshop. It saves me a lot of focus, and creates a nice & steady cadence for our team prep work. — Want to know more? Let me know in the comments! I might give this topic space in a future post 😏

In my recent workshop “Plan your incubator time” for #Sibbstartups, I presented three scheduling strategies that I use on a daily basis: - Time boxing - Project scoping - Planning backwards While this is part of everyday life for many people, I have seen that others have never heard of these methods and can benefit greatly from them, so I thought I'd introduce them here too. ⭐ Timeboxing Grouping similar tasks into “timeboxes” between 0.5 and 4 hours. This helps to fulfill multiple roles and juggle many balls at the same time. If the workload is too large for the planned timebox, the work is either moved to the next similar timebox or the quality or scope is reduced. This way, all processes are compromised, but everyone can get started, and necessary parallel activities do not become sequential. ⭐ Project scoping “A project takes as long as it is allowed to take.” Of course, there are indeed large and small projects, but a lot of project sizing happens in our heads. We can blow up a project by 5000% or shrink it. To keep projects small, - we need the courage to make changes early, - we need the confidence to stick to a plan, - we need the ability to say no, and - we need to train ourselves to visualize projects at an appropriate size. This does not mean underestimating the time required, but rather structuring the project in such a way that it is easy to complete while still allowing for creative iterations and research in between. A challenge for perfectionists as well as for time optimists. ⭐ Backward planning ▶ a great tool for high quality, stress-free and on-time delivery. Sometimes just needed in order not be blown away. By planning backwards from the end, we can allow a project to flourish without rushing or compromising on quality, or it just allows us to deliver until a tight deadline. A well-backward planned project allows enough space for the execution and closing phasis, and starts with an intense concept phasis followed by a preparation phasis that unfolds the project. This structure is always the same, whatever the timeframe is. Below is my visualization of a project - we had a great sharing session as well where everyone visualized the word "project" and guess what: it was soo different and so enriching to see. Thanks everyone for participating and giving such helpful feedback to the workshop.

We've all been there: you meticulously craft a team on-site or workshop, jam-packed with activities and discussions. It seems perfect! But the day comes and reality sets in: surprise delays, deep dives that take longer than expected, or simply the need for some breathing room. How do you account for this when planning your agenda? I usually start with a three-step checklist: After you've drafted your onsite/workshop agenda make a quick round of revisions by: 1) One ruthless cut - identify and remove one activity, no matter how interesting. This creates buffer time for unexpected discussions or delays. 2) On the block: Now, circle another agenda item that can be shortened or even eliminated if time gets tight. 3) Reallocate: Finally, review your goals for the onsite/workshop and compare them to how the time is allocated to agenda items. Consider where you've over/under-allocated time to the agenda and rebalance