One of the best ways to get the most from your supervisory meetings is to plan them. Creating an agenda ensures you cover all the important points and stay on topic. It also helps you to agree actions and monitor progress. Few supervisors will adopt this structured approach, so it is perfectly acceptable for you to suggest better ways of working.

This meeting agenda template from Thinkwell provides an excellent basis for planning supervisory sessions. It’s available as a Word document, so you can easily tweak it to suit your own needs.

How to use the template

1. What I’ve done since last meeting

Make sure you have some progress to report! Especially if you agreed actions last time.

2. Questions, issues

If something has been bothering you or if you don’t understand something, ask your supervisor as soon as possible. Ignoring a problem causes unnecessary stress and creates obstacles.

3. Feedback

Discuss any feedback you’ve already received (e.g. by email), or ask your supervisor to discuss any submitted work.

4. What I plan to do before next meeting

Agreeing objectives and introducing accountability boosts productivity and progress

5. The Next Thing

Breaking down your work into tiny manageable tasks makes it much easier. Agreeing the next task with your supervisor gives you a clear direction. It might be reading a particular journal article, writing 500 words on an experiment, or making contact with a colleague.

6. The next meeting

Scheduling your next session creates momentum and avoids leaving long gaps between meetings.