The “Daily Huddle” is a crucial part of our morning office routine, here at the Think Productive UK headquarters. It is, for all intents and purposes, a short team meeting – typically no more than fifteen minutes long. Staff members “huddle” together in a simple and repetitive format, checking in on one another and outlining their own plans for the day, before getting further into their work schedules.
During the huddle, we run through each of these five questions. A simple “How are you feeling? What’s your good news today?” gives colleagues a chance to make each other aware of anything that might be affecting their workflow that day, be it positive or negative. Good news could be anywhere on the spectrum between “I had a really lovely walk to work this morning”, and “I won the lottery!” Encouraging yourself and your colleagues to look for something good in the day is a great way to boost spirits, and set the day up to be as productive as possible.
“What are you working on today?” is beneficial in multiple respects. Firstly, it forces each person to turn a vague idea of what they are going to do into something communicable, making their daily to-do lists appear clearer and better defined. Plus, telling somebody what you’re going to get done can be motivating, if you feel as though you have to “stick to your word”. It can also be helpful for colleagues to be aware of what each person is working on, to gain a better sense of the “bigger picture” in the workplace.
Similarly, daily updates on the company’s targets and progress can be a great way to keep everybody on track, and aware of what they are ultimately working towards.
The last two questions are usually faster to run through. Whoever is chairing the huddle (we like to have a different person chair each day) asks if anyone has any “stucks” – problems, difficulties, or things they are waiting on, and then checks who will be available to huddle the same time the next day. Any issues that require longer discussions and resolutions can be dealt with separately to the huddle itself, to keep the meeting short and sweet.
Why “Daily Huddle”?
Taking just fifteen minutes at the start of each day for a casual team meeting should decrease the need for longer, formalised meetings – or at the very least, make them less frequent. These meetings help to establish daily routine, giving colleagues the opportunity to listen to and motivate each other at the beginning of the day, and get off to the best possible start.
Why not trial-run a “daily huddle” in your own office? Tweet us @thinkproductive, and let us know how it goes!
Like this post? Learn more about The Daily Huddle and other productivity tips in Graham Allcott’s How to be a Productivity Ninja!