A session is a period of time set aside for one activity: a training session, a therapy session, a photo session, or the time you spend signed in to a website. What makes it a session is that it has a start, an end and a purpose.
A work session is a session where a group gets together, live or in their own time, to produce one specific result: a decision, a plan, a draft or a list of ideas. Unlike a general meeting, it is built around the work, not around the conversation. This guide covers the main types of work sessions, how to prepare, run and close one, and a plan you can copy.
Types of work sessions
Most work sessions fall into a few types. The type tells you what the session must produce, and that tells you how to plan it.
| Type | What it produces | Typical length |
|---|---|---|
| Working session | A piece of work done together: a draft, a fix, a first version. | 60–120 min |
| Workshop | Shared understanding and an output from structured exercises, such as a map or a prioritized list. | 2–4 hours |
| Planning session | Goals, priorities, owners and dates for the next period. | 60–90 min |
| Review session | Feedback on finished or draft work, and a decision to approve it or change it. | 30–60 min |
| Brainstorming session | A long list of ideas, then a short list to take forward. | 45–90 min |
| Training session | New skills or knowledge, ideally practiced during the session. | 60–180 min |
| Async session | The same outputs as above, with each person contributing on their own time before a due date. | 1–3 days open |
Work session vs meeting
Every work session is a meeting in the broad sense, but many meetings are not work sessions. The difference is what you leave with.
- A meeting is often for sharing information: updates, announcements, a discussion. It can end without anything new existing.
- A work session ends with something that didn't exist before: a decision, a plan, a draft, a list of tasks with owners.
- A meeting has an agenda of topics. A work session has steps, each with an input you collect and an output you need.
- A meeting is usually live. A work session can be live, async or both: collect input in advance, then meet briefly to decide.
If a recurring meeting never produces anything, turning it into a work session with a clear output is often the fastest way to make it useful, or to find out it isn't needed.
How to prepare a work session
Preparation is most of the work. A session that is well prepared runs itself; one that isn't turns into a general discussion.
- Write the goal in one sentence. Say what the session must produce. "Agree on the three priorities for next quarter" is a goal. "Talk about next quarter" isn't.
- Invite the people the result depends on. Invite the people who have the information, the people who will do the work, and the person who decides. Share the result with everyone else afterwards.
- Turn the agenda into steps. Each step asks for one kind of input: individual notes, ideas, a vote, an approval or tasks. Order them so each step uses the output of the one before.
- Share materials before you start. Put the background, files and constraints with the session, so nobody spends the first 15 minutes catching up.
- Set the time. For a live session, set a start, an end and a rough time per step. For an async session, set a start and a due date, with at least one full working day for everyone.
- Choose who leads. One person keeps time, moves between steps and writes the conclusion. In a short session that can be the organizer; in a workshop, it helps to have a separate facilitator.
A work session plan you can copy
Paste this into your notes or invitation and fill in the right-hand column.
| Part | What to write | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Goal | One sentence on what the session produces. | Choose the launch date and the three must-have features. |
| Participants | Names, and who decides. | Ana (decides), Luis, Marta, Sam. |
| Format and time | Live, async or both; start, end or due date. | Async input Mon–Tue, 30-minute live decision Wed. |
| Materials | Links and files people need first. | Feature list, customer feedback summary. |
| Step 1 | Collect input. | Each person lists their top five features, with a reason. |
| Step 2 | Narrow down. | Vote on the combined list. |
| Step 3 | Decide and assign. | Confirm the date and features; create tasks with owners. |
| Conclusion | Decision, owners, next steps, where it is recorded. | Written by Ana and shared with the whole team. |
Start from a ready-made session
The SMART meeting template gives you a goal, steps and a conclusion already set up, so you only fill in the details. Open it in the process library and run it with your team in Nova.
How to run a work session
- Open with the goal. Read the one-sentence goal aloud, or put it at the top of the async session. Everything that follows should serve it.
- Collect input individually first. Ask people to write their ideas or answers before anyone discusses them. You get more ideas, and the first speaker doesn't set the direction for everyone.
- Move step by step. Finish one step before starting the next. If a topic comes up that doesn't belong, note it and come back to it at the end.
- Make progress visible. Let everyone see who has added their input and which steps are done. In async sessions, this replaces chasing people.
- Watch the time. If a step runs long, decide on the spot: extend it, cut a later step, or move the rest to an async follow-up.
How to close a work session
A session isn't finished when time runs out; it is finished when the result is written down. Close every session with a conclusion that answers four questions:
- What did we decide or produce? State it plainly, in a sentence or two.
- Who owns each next step? One name per task, never "the team."
- By when? A date for each task.
- Where is it recorded? Keep the conclusion with the project it belongs to, so the next session can start from it.
Share the conclusion with everyone affected, not only the participants. People who give their input and never hear the outcome stop giving it.
What a work session looks like in Nova
In Nova, the session is the basic unit of work. A session can be a live meeting, a workshop or async work. Each one has goals and instructions, a start and due date, a list of steps and a conclusions section, so the structure above is built in.
Goals and instructions
Visible to allAgree on the three priorities for next quarter. Add your input by Tuesday; we decide on Wednesday.
Conclusions
Each step collects one kind of input, such as an individual note, sticky notes, a vote, an approval or tasks. People select Mark complete for me when they're done, so you can see who has contributed. At the end, write the conclusion yourself or select Generate AI Conclusions to have Nova AI draft one from the notes. Conclusions are saved in the project's decision log, and the next connected session shows them, so each session starts where the last one ended.
For a ready-made structure, try the meeting template, the check-in meeting template or the decision meeting template. For every step type and setting, see Sessions and steps.
Common mistakes
- No output. A session without a stated result becomes a discussion. If you can't write the goal in a sentence, it isn't ready.
- Too many people. Every extra participant adds time and makes it easier for each person to stay quiet. Invite the people the result depends on.
- Discussing before collecting. Open discussion first means the loudest ideas win. Collect individual input, then discuss.
- No conclusion. If nobody writes down what was decided, the same topic comes back next week.
- Everything live. Updates and first ideas can be collected async. Keep live time for the parts that need people to react to each other.
Frequently asked questions
What does session mean?
A session is a period of time dedicated to one activity, with a start, an end and a purpose. At work, it usually means a work session: a group gathered, live or online, to produce a specific result.
What is the difference between a work session and a meeting?
A meeting is often for sharing information and can end without producing anything. A work session is planned around an output, such as a decision, a plan or a draft, and ends with that output written down, with owners and dates.
How long should a work session be?
Long enough for the output and no longer. Most planning and review sessions fit in 30 to 90 minutes. Workshops can run two to four hours with breaks. Async sessions usually stay open for one to three days.
Can a work session be online or async?
Yes. A work session can be a video call, or an async session where each person adds input on their own time before a due date. Many of the best sessions mix both: collect input async, then meet briefly to decide.
Who should lead a work session?
One person who keeps time, moves through the steps and writes the conclusion. That can be the organizer. For longer workshops, a separate facilitator lets the organizer take part in the work.