Meeting Action Items: How to Write Them (+ Best Practices)

Meetings are a crucial part of any organization. They provide opportunities for collaboration, decision-making, and aligning on goals. However, meetings can also be major time-wasters if not run efficiently. One of the most important ways to ensure meetings are productive is through proper documentation and follow-up on action items.

Action items, also sometimes referred to as tasks or next steps, are the specific assignments that need to be completed after a meeting. They are the tangible outcomes that move projects and initiatives forward. Without clearly defined and documented action items after meetings, discussions and decisions made are likely to be forgotten or not properly implemented. This leads to wasted time in meetings and stalled progress on important objectives.

Properly capturing and managing meeting action items is essential for maintaining momentum. It provides clarity on who is responsible for what by when. Team members will be more accountable and meetings will become more productive. Ultimately, having a process to record and track action items helps drive results.

Define Meeting Action Items

Meeting action items are tasks that are assigned to individuals or teams during a meeting. They represent work that needs to be completed based on decisions and discussions that took place during the meeting.

Action items help turn ideas and strategies into concrete next steps and ensure important follow-up work doesn't fall through the cracks. They provide clarity around who is responsible for specific deliverables and by what date they are expected to be completed.

Well-defined action items include the following components:

• A clear description of the task or objective
• The owner responsible for completing it
• A due date or timeline for completion
• Any additional context or requirements to support getting it done

Without properly documented action items, meetings become less productive. There's lack of accountability and things agreed upon don't materialize. Action items transform meetings from talk into action.

Best Practices for Writing Action Items

Use clear language that everyone can understand. Avoid ambiguous phrases that could be interpreted differently by various team members. Be as direct and specific as possible in describing the task.

For example, "Joe will follow up with the client about the proposal" is more clear than "Someone should check with the client on that thing we talked about earlier."

Action items written clearly:

• Eliminate confusion
• Enable accountability
• Help items get completed on time

Strive to articulate items in simple, straightforward language. Write items in full sentences using proper grammar and punctuation. This ensures all details are captured and the task is easy to comprehend at a glance.

Specify Owners

Assigning each action item an owner is critical for accountability and ensuring tasks get completed. Without assigned owners, items may fall through the cracks as everyone assumes someone else will handle it.

To specify owners:

• Decide who is the right person to own each action item based on skills, responsibilities, and workload. Don't overload any one person.
• Document the owner's name or initials next to each item on the meeting notes.
• Confirm they understand and accept the task. Ask if they need any clarification or have any blockers.
• Ensure all meeting participants know who is responsible for each follow-up item. There should be no confusion.
• If the owner later realizes they cannot complete the task, they should inform the team and reassign it to someone else.
• The owner is responsible for providing status updates at the next meeting.

Assigning clear owners keeps team members accountable and prevents tasks from slipping through the cracks. This ensures meeting action items lead to actual results.

Set Due Dates

Providing deadlines for each action item is crucial for accountability and ensuring tasks get completed in a timely manner. Without due dates, actions tend to linger on indefinitely.

When setting due dates:

• Provide a specific date for completion, rather than vague timeframes like "next week." Using dates (e.g. March 15th) removes ambiguity.
• Set deadlines based on priority and effort required. More urgent or complex tasks may need more time.
• Allow reasonable timeframes. Avoid overly tight deadlines that set people up for failure.
• Factor in team member availability and existing workloads when assigning due dates.
• Use a recurring cadence for recurring tasks. For example, have weekly status reports due every Monday.
• Ensure due dates are agreed upon by the owner, not just dictated. Get their input to set realistic timeframes.
• Allow some flexibility. If issues arise, permit reasonable deadline extensions if the owner communicates them proactively.

Providing clear, achievable due dates for each action item is key to driving timely task completion after meetings. Just be sure to balance accountability with empathy when setting deadlines.

Prioritize Importance

When creating action items, it's important to indicate priority levels so the team knows which tasks are critical versus nice-to-have.

Mark high priority action items that are urgent or directly impact key objectives. These tasks need to get done as soon as possible.

Low priority items are still useful but less time sensitive. They may provide secondary support or be stretch goals to pursue later.

Clearly labeling priority gives team members guidance on where to focus their efforts first. It also helps surface any disagreements on what's truly important to accomplish after the meeting.

Some tips for indicating priority:

• Use "High Priority" or "Low Priority" labels
• Mark with H and L prefixes before the task
• Separate into High and Low priority task lists
• Use formatting like bold or italics to emphasize high priority items
• Put high priority tasks at the top of the list

Setting clear priority levels leads to more efficient follow through on meeting outcomes. Team members can quickly discern the sequence for tackling action items after the meeting concludes.

Follow a Template

Use a consistent template for all your action items. This makes them easy to scan and comprehend at a glance. Include these key details:

• Owner - The name of the person responsible for completing the task.
• Task - A brief description of the actual action item.
• Due date - The date the task should be completed by.
• Status - Columns or checkboxes to mark progress and completion.
• Priority - High, medium or low importance.
• Notes - Any additional context or details.

Having a structured template ensures nothing gets missed and all action items follow the same format. Team members can instantly understand each item when glancing at your meeting notes.

Track Progress

It's critical to track the progress of action items to ensure they are completed on time. There are a few ways to monitor status:

• Use a shared spreadsheet or document to note progress. Have the owner of each action item provide periodic updates on completion percentage.
• Set calendar reminders for due dates. When a deadline is approaching, follow up with the owner to check if they will complete it on time.
• Review status during recurring team meetings. Go through each open action item and ask for a progress report from the owners.
• Mark items as complete in your tracking document once finished. This provides visibility into what's been done.
• If items are delayed, discuss why and determine if the due date needs adjustment. Follow up regularly until completion.
• Celebrate and recognize when major action items are finished. This motivates the team to stay on track.

Monitoring progress is essential for accountability. With a shared system, the team can collaborate to ensure meeting tasks get completed successfully.

Review at Next Meeting

During your team's next meeting, you'll want to discuss the completion status of all action items. Go through each one and have the owners provide updates. Mark items as complete if finished. For those still in progress, discuss new due dates or help needed.

Key points for this agenda item:

• Review all open action items from the previous meeting. Have owners report on progress.
• Mark items as complete if finished. Remove them from the list.
• For uncompleted items, discuss new due dates or challenges holding them up. Offer help if needed.
• Re-prioritize items if necessary based on new timelines or shifting goals.
• Add any new action items that come up during discussion. Assign owners and due dates.
• At the end, clearly summarize which items remain open and who owns them. Set expectations for completion by the next meeting.

Following up on action items ensures accountability. It also provides visibility into what tasks are blocking progress. Regular reviews motivate your team to complete their assignments. Consistently managing meeting action items will lead to greater productivity and results.

Conclusion

Well-written and managed meeting action items are critical for team productivity and accountability. By clearly documenting tasks, owners, and due dates, teams can ensure follow-through on decisions and agreements made during meetings.

Recapping key takeaways, good meeting action items increase clarity, alignment, and efficiency. They provide a helpful record of meeting outcomes and a shared to-do list for the team. With proper tracking and review, action items also enable teams to measure progress toward goals.

Overall, investing time in thoughtful, thorough meeting action items pays dividends through improved execution. Teams that consistently capture and manage meeting tasks will collaborate better and produce higher quality results. The effort to write detailed action items brings structure and organization to projects and workflows.

‍

Learn 5 Pro Tips to Maximize Productivity in Meetings

Learn How to Write an Interview Summary (Full Guide + with Templates)