My husband says that the biggest change in our home and lifestyle has come through the Daily Scrum. You can hear that episode here.
So I want to talk a little bit about how to have a daily scrum and the best practices you can have for it.
Respect the timebox
These meetings should last about 5-8 minutes. The point of this meeting isn’t just to be a status meeting. It’s to solve any problems you may have during the day. Everyone has a very busy schedule and respecting the timebox makes it easier for everyone to show up excited and ready.
Meet in Person
When you can, be sure to meet face-to-face. This makes communication breakdown significantly less likely than if you’re texting or even just chatting on the phone. Face-to-face can mean a FaceTime call if that is necessary. We often do this when we are traveling.
Show up on time and prepared
The information you are sharing doesn’t change daily so you should be prepared when you show up to the meeting. This will go along way to keeping you within the timebox as well. If you know you’ve got a busy afternoon, you can present the problem of how to get the kids home from school quickly.
No multi-tasking during the meeting
Again, this will go a long way to keeping you inside the timebox. You’ll actually hear the conversation being started during the meeting if you aren’t also cooking breakfast, packing lunches, or preparing your work documents. We generally fix the kids breakfast and then have the meeting while they eat. This solves a lot of distractions.
Include self-care needs
The number 1 reason I was lacking in self-care time was a total lack of communication. I didn’t say what I needed or how much time I needed and then BAM life happened and self-care didn’t. Now we are both very clear about what we need during our morning meeting. I will say I need to go on a 1 or 2-mile walk by myself. Can we make that happen? What time would be best? Then we have a plan.
Schedule the meeting at the best time for everyone
We like to do it first thing in the morning but it may be that right before bed works best for your family. Only you can know the answer but make sure everyone can show up, be prepared, and keep it within the timebox without distractions.
Sidenote: Consent is key. You want to make sure that everyone is happy with their way of keeping track of their schedule. In our house, we use our own calendars and sync them up to each other via our iCal code. In your house, you may have a large calendar in the family area. You have to do what works best for you. NEVER EVER force someone to use technology they aren’t happy with or are unfamiliar with, but you can make suggestions and let them decide for themselves. This will also help with keeping it in the timebox.
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