How to Spend Only 5% Of Your Workweek in Meetings
Have you taken a moment to think about how much of your workweek is dedicated to meetings? Even though I juggle a Head of Product role for a software company while also running my own company on the side, I only spend about 5% of my workweek in meetings. But it wasn't always this way.
Early on, I spent 80% of my workweek in meetings. I defaulted to synchronous mode which left me in a constant reactive state. At the end of the day, I was always exhausted yet didn't feel like I had made any progress. Both my work and mental health were suffering.
This meetings by default approach wasn't working for me. To get out of this negative loop, I had to remember the primary goal of my role is to make informed decisions. I can't succeed at this if I'm allowing myself to constantly be interrupted leaving no room for deep work.
So, for the sake of doing great work and my mental health, I took a new approach. Now I spend way less time in meetings, yet I get more done, have a happier team, and feel much better. Here's what I changed:
IMPLEMENT BEST MEETING PRACTICES
If you don't have good meeting practices in place, there's no way not to spend all of your time in meetings. Best practices include:
Have clear meeting goals - Is there a point to the meeting? Make sure it is communicated before the call so everyone has time to prepare. If the objective isn't clear, cancel the meeting.
Start the meeting with the agenda - There needs to be a clear understanding of the purpose and the scope of the call. Have a moderator that keeps everyone on topic.
Don't feel the need to utilize the whole scheduled time - Just because a call is scheduled for 30 minutes, doesn't mean it needs to go on for 30 minutes. Stay focused, complete the objective of the call, and send everyone on their way.
End the call with a summary and follow-up steps - Make sure everyone is on the same page about what was decided on the call, what the next action steps are, and who is responsible for them.
Don't set recurring calls without an end date - Your calendar fills up fast when you avoid this. Have an end date so you can evaluate whether the meeting is still needed, whether switching to an async mode of communication might be more helpful, and if all invited participants are still required.
If you've jumped on a call without knowing why you were there, had a meeting where everyone was talking about different topics, or members get off the call without consensus around what was actually accomplished, then you need to work on these fundamental best practices.
FOLLOW A MEETING FRAMEWORK
Instead of accepting every single meeting invite, have a set of rules to define what to say yes to. Example: I will only accept x meetings per day, during y hours, and only after determining if it is in the best format. Here are some specifics you should detail in your framework:
Specific days you'll accept meetings
Criteria required to accept the invite (meeting agenda, required attendance, etc)
How many meetings you'll accept per day
Meeting length default for each type of meeting
Specific hours that get an instant no (lunch, off-hours, scheduled deep work time, etc)
Personally, my meetings are limited to 2 days with a 15-30 min default. I have a limited number that I will accept per day and (unless it's a relationship-building call) the meetings are voice-only.
Setting this framework prior to being in the moment of receiving an invite is important. Instead of leaving the decision up to later, make the rules now.
EMBRACE ASYNCHRONOUS COMMUNICATION
Constant synchronous communication is exhausting. You have 20 minutes between two meetings so you try to write a feature ticket, but then you get a ping and check Slack instead. Next thing you know, it's time for your next meeting. You're in this endless loop of reacting and responding. This leaves no time for thinking or being proactive.
But you don't need a meeting or to instantly reply to Slack messages for communication to happen. In fact, when it comes to brainstorming and creative problem solving, it's best if each person has the time and space to work in a way that's best for them. You'll end up hearing more from the quietest people on your team because they have a chance to think over options and don't have to interrupt someone to be heard.
I'll be dedicating a full issue on asynchronous communication soon, but in the meantime, you can start with these baby steps:
Next time someone asks a question you've heard more than once, don't just respond. Record your response using a tool like Loom. Then start a 'Commonly Asked Questions' doc and link to it there. Next time someone repeats the question, you'll only have to send a link.
Instead of fitting your deep work around your meeting schedule, try to reverse this. See deep work as a higher priority than always being available, block off recurring time on your calendar, and follow through with setting boundaries around this time.
Don't let your notifications drive what you do during your workday. Set synchronous work hours where you check on Slack, email, etc. Communicate these hours to the rest of your team. Mute your notifications during all other hours.
At first, these steps may feel uncomfortable. You've probably worked reactively for a long time. However, what's comfortable isn't always what's right. Consider whether your current methods are allowing you to do your best work. Having meetings only 5% of the workweek may be too little (or too much!) for you, and that's okay. This isn't about the specific value. This is about creating a calm work environment where you don't experience constant Zoom fatigue. Imagine what you could accomplish with a little space to think.
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