Meeting Action Items Template

The template

ACTION ITEMS - [meeting title], [date]

| # | Action (verb + object) | Owner | Due | Priority | Done when | Status |
| 1 | [Send revised scope to Priya] | [Alex] | [Fri 16 Oct] | High | [Priya has the PDF] | Open |
| 2 | [Share design options] | [Dev] | [Tue 20 Oct] | Medium | [Link sent] | Open |

STATUS KEY: Open, In progress, Blocked (say why), Done, Dropped (say why)

REVIEW
Next review: [date]   Reviewed by: [name]

Five rules for action items

1. Start with a verb. "Send", "Draft", "Confirm". "Scope" is a topic, not a task.
2. One owner each. A task owned by two people is owned by nobody.
3. A real date. "Soon" is not a date. If a date is unknown, the first action is to set one.
4. Define done. Add what would count as finished so that no one argues later.
5. Review at the next meeting, starting with last time's list.

Assigned or merely suggested?

During a discussion, someone might say "we should send a recap". Unless a person accepted it, it is a suggestion. Keep suggestions in a separate list and promote them only when someone takes ownership.

Reminders

A tracker works only if you look at it. Set a reminder for each due date, and use a weekly review to catch items that are Blocked.

Using MeetMemo

MeetMemo's AI notes list action items, filling in owners and dates only when they were stated in the meeting, and you choose which become tasks with reminders. You can also say a task out loud, and it will ask about ambiguous dates before saving. See meeting action items and voice-to-tasks. More on the habit: how to track meeting action items.

A filled-in example

ACTION ITEMS - Website kickoff, 12 Oct 2026

| 1 | Send revised scope to Priya | Alex | Fri 16 Oct | High | Priya has the PDF | Open |
| 2 | Share three design options | Dev | Tue 20 Oct | Medium | Link emailed | Open |
| 3 | Confirm hosting access | Priya | Mon 19 Oct | High | Login received | Open |

Suggestions, not yet owned:
- Consider a blog after launch

Common mistakes

• Tracking only your own actions. Waiting on others deserves a row too.
• Letting "Blocked" sit. If an item is blocked, name who can unblock it and by when.
• Copying the whole list forward without review. Close or drop items that no longer matter and say why.
• No link to the source. Note which meeting or message the action came from, so you can check what was actually agreed.