How to get through a meeting

I have a new way to pass the time in meetings. It looks like you're taking notes, you can still pay attention to what's going and play, you can play alone or with your neighbor.

Down the margin of your paper, write the alphabet (each letter to a new line). Then take a sentence or phrase from the agenda or hand-outs, and write that down the page next to the alphabet. Then with the two letters, think of a famous person with those initials.

Easy, right? Not as simple as you might think, but a great way to pass the time.

So, for example, in my meeting yesterday, I took a headline from a newsletter in front of me: "Smith Hands Off to Schermerhorn."

A S -- Ashley Simpson
B M -- Bobby Murcer
C I -- Chris Isaak
D T - Dylan Thomas
E H -- Ethan Hawke
F H -- Faith Hill
G A -- Greg Anderson
H N -- Helen Newman
I D -- Ira Davis
J S -- Jessica Simpson
K O -- Katie O'Hara
L F -- Larry Flynt
M F -- Mary Fran
etc....

After six meetings yesterday, this was a welcome change in my end-of-the-day meeting. :)