Why You Should Use Your iPad For Meetings

July 09, 2018

Let’s be real — Meetings usually suck. But thankfully you probably already have a tool at your disposal that can make them much less sucky.

Keeping track of your meetings is essential. Nobody wants to sit through a two-hour meeting with nothing to show for it. But we’re also creatures of forgetfulness. It’s not easy to stay on top of everything brought up in a team meeting, and if you’re the one running the meeting, it’s also not easy to keep track of all of the information you’re sharing. But technology has definitely made that easier.

No, you don’t need a $3,000 smart whiteboard, I’m not even suggesting you get rid of physical notes at all. The Studio Proper team just wanted to share some notes on how we’ve taken full advantage of iPads and why we’ve made it a regular tool in our routine huddles.

1. You can still use your hands.

I know, writing things down in a physical format is so 1985.

But research has shown that people are much better at retaining information when taking notes in longhand.

“Processing information and reframing it in their own words is detrimental to learning”

And with or without an Apple Pencil, most note-taking apps include the ability to input your handwriting.

It also means that after the meeting, you can collect and share notes in a digital format, saving all of that post-meeting time trying to remember what you went over so you can share it around, which brings me to the next point…

2. There’s an app for that.

Before you even start your meeting, the iPad is already an incredible work-ready device. Just taking advantage of the iPad as secondary screen on your desk will boost your productivity.


iPad mounted to a Proper iPad Pivot Stand

Combine that with the more than 725,000 apps designed specifically for the iPad, and you’re in business. Okay, so they’re certainly not all going to help your business per se, but there is a huge market of apps designed specifically to make office life simpler. From organising & scheduling your meetings, to sending out invites, to taking notes, your iPad can do it all.
Here’s a few apps we’ve found super useful for this:

MinuteTaker 2 on the App Store
Create meeting minutes and acceptance protocols on your iPad and share them as clean and professional looking PDF-file to all attendees...

Meetings - Notebooks for Work on the App Store
Meetings helps you create structured meeting notes that are consistent, clear, and fully searchable. Note who was there, what was said, and what needs to happen next...

‎GoodNotes 4 on the App Store
GoodNotes lets you take beautiful handwritten notes and annotate PDF documents. The handwritten notes are searchable and are created using a pioneering vector ink engine...

‎3. Drop it!

The ability to instantly share notes with your peers around the table is invaluable, whether it be via a Slack group, AirDrop, or if you’re all just partying in the same Google Doc.

Being a small studio, we’re constantly sharing ideas, sketches, and moodboards on the fly, and we don’t all have iPads, I share inspiration from my MacBook, while Aidan sketches on an iPad Pro, and James posts links from his iPhone. No matter how you’re collaborating, running the meeting on a central iPad is an immensely powerful management solution.

4. Time is money.

Time saving is essentially the sub-plot to this entire article, but we thought it was still worth emphasising.

Meetings are valuable, but they also take up valuable time. So there’s no excuse for you to not take full advantage of every tool at your wayside to help make your office run more efficiently, effectively, and effortlessly. Two of the apps mentioned above even have built in time management solutions.

5. Stand up.

Finally, I want to talk about standing—not you, you can sit if you want to—but your iPad can stand. If you’re reading this and you’re unfamiliar with Studio Proper; we design iPad Stands! So it should come as no surprise that we use them around the office, and we think you should too.

iPad mounted to a Proper iPad Pivot Stand

In addition to using Proper Stands to keep our iPads securely mounted around the meeting table, you’ll also find Kick Stands lying around our office, which snap quickly and conveniently to/from Proper iPad Cases, raising your device to a comfortable and ergonomic typing angle.

iPad mounted to a Proper iPad Kick Stand

As well as a glorious wall mounted iPad over by our speakers to pump out the office tunes. (This is by far the most popular iPad in our office.)

iPad mounted to a Proper iPad Wall Mount

Conclusion

If meetings in your team feel like a bit of a mess, and you’re feeling like you’re not getting value out of them, try incorporating an iPad. Scribble some notes or use it as a timekeeper — whatever fits into the flow of your office.

 

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