How to Use the Meeting Space

Meeting Space is where your group's work gets captured as it happens. Instead of decisions scattering into email threads and documents no one can find later, everything lives in one place: the agenda, notes, Commitments, and Decisions, all connected to your group and visible to everyone.

Every meeting has three phases. Before: set up the meeting. During: run it and capture what happens. After: send results so everyone leaves with the same clear record.

Jump to: Before the Meeting · During the Meeting · After the Meeting

Before the Meeting

Setting Up (GL only)

When you open a new meeting, fields that still need to be filled in are highlighted in yellow. Click any yellow field to start. Once a field has been filled in, click the text in that field to edit it. To edit the date, time, or video link, click the icon next to that field.

Name your meeting

Use a name that describes what the meeting is for. Meeting names appear on reports, so clarity matters.

✅ Good: "Q1 Budget Review"
✅ Good: "Fall Campaign Strategy"
❌ Not helpful: "Team Meeting #5"

Date, time, and video link

Times automatically adjust to each person's time zone.

Invitees

Everyone in your group is added automatically. Add anyone else who needs to attend.

Group Purpose and Scope

Click "View details >" in the meeting header to see your group's purpose, what it decides and delivers, and who the key roles are. Useful context when planning the agenda.

Meeting Purpose/Objectives (GL only)

Write one or two sentences explaining why this meeting is happening and what you hope to accomplish. This is visible to everyone.

Building the Agenda (GL only)

For each agenda topic, enter the topic name, who's leading that discussion, and the time allotted in minutes.

Watch the Remaining Minutes counter

In the upper right of the Agenda Topics section, a red counter tracks how much time remains across your agenda. When your topics exceed your meeting duration, the counter goes negative (for example, "Remaining minutes: -34"). Trim topics or extend the meeting before you start.

You can drag topics to reorder them at any time.

Linking Documents (GL only)

Use "+ Add Document Link" to link any documents people need to review. JustOrg Design never stores your files. It only stores a link to files in your existing storage (Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, etc.). Think of it like sharing a link in an email.

Meeting Options Menu (⋮)

Click the three-dot icon (⋮) in the upper right to access additional options. The menu is divided into two sections. A labeled separator marks where GL-only options begin.

Everyone can use:

• Go To Planner
• Go To Capture Board (grayed out until one is created)
• Download Agenda

GLs only:

• Pull Users to Meeting (pulls any logged-in user from anywhere in JOD directly into this Meeting Space)
• Email Agenda (sends the agenda to all invitees)
• Add New Capture Board (creates a brainstorming space for the meeting)
• Delete This Meeting

Close Meeting Window

The Close Meeting Window button in the upper right of the meeting header is visible to everyone. It closes the meeting and returns you to the last page you visited.

During the Meeting

Taking Notes (Anyone)

Select yourself from the Note Taker dropdown in the upper right of the Meeting Notes tab to activate the editor. Anyone can claim the Note Taker role at any time. Only one person can edit at a time, but it can be passed off fluidly during the meeting. Notes are auto-saved as you type and are visible to everyone as they're typed.

Use the formatting tools at the top of the notes editor (headers, bold, bullet points, and more) to keep notes organized. Notes are searchable by keyword, so descriptive language now saves everyone time later.

The active Note Taker also sees an Insert Content into Notes dropdown. Use it to pull Meeting Attendees or Agenda Topics directly into the notes with one click. This is useful for capturing attendance or setting up notes that follow the agenda flow.

Marking Topics Complete (GL only)

Click the circle to the left of any agenda topic to mark it as complete. Everyone in the meeting sees this update automatically.

Commitments or Decisions: Which Do You Use?

This is the question first-time GLs ask most often.

Use a Commitment when someone is promising to do something before the next meeting. "Maria will send the draft budget by Friday." It's personal accountability to the group.

Use a Decision when the group has made a strategic agreement together, something that shapes how your group activates strategy and will appear on reports. "We will apply to the Ford Foundation for the 2026 youth voter engagement campaign."

Recording Commitments (GL only)

Click "+ Add Commitment" in the upper right of the Commitments tab. Record who has committed to do what, and by when.

Commitments belong to the group and carry forward from meeting to meeting until they are marked as complete. They also appear on each person's My Dashboard, so it is easy to recall what they promised between meetings.

Recording Decisions (GL only)

Click "Create New Decision" in the Decisions tab. A strong Decision record includes:

1. What was decided. Keep it clear and specific. "We will launch the new website on March 15" is a decision. "Website stuff" is not.
2. The details. Include who's leading it, key dates, and any scope boundaries. Details prevent misunderstandings today and help everyone recall what was agreed to three months from now.
3. Who made the decision. Was it the whole group, or a specific person?
4. How it was decided. See Understanding Decisions for a full guide to decision-making methods.
5. Which strategy or priority it supports. This is what connects your group's work to organizational strategy and makes it visible on reports.

Decisions made in a meeting are visible within that meeting. To see all Decisions your group has ever made, visit the Group Planner.

Updating Decisions

As your group learns more, Decisions can be updated to reflect new information. Use "Update Existing Decision." This is not a correction. It's how good decision-making works.

Voting on Proposals (Everyone)

When a Decision needs genuine group agreement before it's recorded, use "Vote On Proposal." This slows things down intentionally, creating space to shape and refine the proposal together. See Group Voting for a full guide.

Using the Capture Board (GL creates, everyone participates)

The Capture Board is a brainstorming tool for moments when you want everyone to contribute ideas at the same time. Create one from the ⋮ menu using "Add New Capture Board," then access it any time via "Go To Capture Board." See Understanding and Using the Capture Board for details.

After the Meeting

Sending Results (GL only)

Click Email Results Now at the top of the Meeting Activity section. This sends everyone who attended a clear summary including:

• Decisions made
• Commitments completed
• Open Commitments
• Linked documents
• Full meeting notes

Send it while the meeting is fresh. Don't wait.

What Carries Forward

Commitments follow the group. Any open Commitment from this meeting will appear in the next one until marked complete.

Decisions are tied to the meeting where they were made. Your group's full Decision history lives in the Group Planner.

Quick Tips

✨ Name meetings for reports. A clear name makes your group's work visible at the organizational level.

✨ State the purpose before building the agenda. If you can't write it, reconsider the meeting.

✨ Watch the time counter. A negative number means something needs to be cut.

✨ End with a Commitment review. Everyone should leave knowing exactly what they're responsible for.

✨ Send results immediately. While the meeting is still fresh.

Updated on: 17/05/2026