[mFixman]

I thought I was the only person with a serious case of useless-meeting narcolepsy.

Keeping relatively active helps, just like taking walks roughly every hour at minimum during work. If I'm absolutely going to sleep I'll stop paying attention and focus on my work, but then I'll miss opportunities to talk when needed.

I'll owe my career to anyone who can find a solution.

[flurdy]

Ditto.

Hate meetings as I know I will be doing all the tricks to stay awake. Pinching my legs, rotating feet, shifting about, hoping my drink lasts...

Which is why I hate meetings that are longer than 15 minutes. Hardly any need to be any longer. If they do then they are workshops, not meetings.

I get quite frustrated and often walk out before they finish as often a possible solution and plan has been decided on quite quickly, then people realise they got another 45 minutes to go of the booked meeting so might as well discuss another subject or worse: guessing hypothetical responses to what might happen after the meeting.

No, let's just quickly do what we just all decided was the best plan. If that doesn't work, let's talk again. Most of the time it will work and we saved a lot of wasted time. And frustrations.

I don't actually hate meetings. I just hate long meetings. 1 hour is a long meeting.

[manicstoic]

Cheerios (or some similarly nibbleable vittle). Eat one unit at a time, and space it out at minute intervals or so. That completely solved my mtg / conference / lecture narcolepsy problem.

[kaikai]

Maybe don't see meetings as "opportunities to talk?" If that's all they are at your company, pushing for clear agendas and strong meeting facilitation might work.

[ddsea]

Maybe an airliner-grade seat?