Listening in on meetings is one level of fatigue, but hosting/leading meetings is a whole other level for me. Having to multi-process in order to:
1. Keep discussions on track
2. Give everyone a chance to participate
3. Watch the time and make sure that all topics are covered
4. Take notes
5. Think about what is being discussed and participate
is incredibly exhausting. After leading 2-3 meetings, I feel like I've used up all my mental energy for the day. And as I a writing this, I realized that after leading a meeting, I typically hop out to the kitchen and grab a bite to eat. Maybe that's an instinctual need to refill the calories I expended thinking? Or maybe it's just a reward am seeking after the tiring task...
For me the above is part of it. And our company culture isn't big on sending out minutes (which is bad and good).
The bigger thing that tires me out is the wild context switching of one meeting after the next, on very disparate topics. I'm often left still thinking about something from before, and have to jump to a wildly new topic with my full attention. It's exhausting.
1. Keep discussions on track
2. Give everyone a chance to participate
3. Watch the time and make sure that all topics are covered
4. Take notes
5. Think about what is being discussed and participate
is incredibly exhausting. After leading 2-3 meetings, I feel like I've used up all my mental energy for the day. And as I a writing this, I realized that after leading a meeting, I typically hop out to the kitchen and grab a bite to eat. Maybe that's an instinctual need to refill the calories I expended thinking? Or maybe it's just a reward am seeking after the tiring task...