How to Even
How to Even
A common complaint I’ve heard from the professional worker community is “I’m so booked up with meetings, I can’t even!” So I am rounding up…
A common complaint I’ve heard from the professional worker community is “I’m so booked up with meetings, I can’t even!” So I am rounding up some ideas on how to reduce the number of meetings you attend each week.
⛔️ Don’t go! When you get a meeting invite, ask the organizer if they feel your attendance is critical. There are a hundred reasons why meeting organizers require people who just aren’t. They’re not going to negotiate with every attendee in advance, but you can negotiate with the organizer!
😘 Leave! It’s pretty easy to sneak out of a Zoom meeting if it’s not a good use of your time. I trust you to make this decision — does your manager? Leaders who don’t want their people wasting their time should empower them to politely bail when it’s appropriate, starting by setting a strong example.
🔁 Asynch it! Respond to an invite with “Great topic! Can we get a jump on it before the meeting?” and create a Slack channel with the invitees. You could start something that might lead to a ✨meeting cancellation!✨
⛔️ Reduce the supply: Hold time in your calendar to keep to yourself. I know you feel guilty about this, but you shouldn’t! I care about you and I trust you to make choices that will keep you from going totally bananas. Because that would reduce your productivity and negatively impact shareholder value.
📆 Postpone it! Is there a forcing function for this meeting? Must it happen right now? If you’re not sure, ask the organizer. You’re not being a prima donna by asking for the information you need in order prioritize. And very often you will learn something useful by asking.
🤝 Quorum it! Check who has accepted the meeting. If it’s happening without all of the people who are essential for it to be productive, it probably shouldn’t even. Tip: Go to step #3 ↖️.
🙅🏻♂️ “Meeting-Free Fridays” According to internet, you either definitely should or absolutely must not schedule a meeting-free day each week, month or quarter. Everybody agrees that this is either awesome or horrible. TBH I’d have two meetings on Friday to get out of one on Monday, but that’s just me.
🗒 “No agenda, no attenda!” Thanks to the commenter who provided this on an earlier thread 🙌 Don’t go to a meeting if you can’t discern the purpose or foresee how you could contribute.
✍️ Ideally the meeting agenda identifies the role of each required contributor. If your name doesn’t appear in the agenda, your attendance should automatically be considered optional.
🍤 Shrink it! Culture should encode “disinvited by default” — we add each invitee to a meeting thoughtfully and with a purpose in mind. I show my respect for you by valuing your time over my fear of leaving somebody out.
Obviously not all of this will apply to every meeting, team, or workplace. My goal is to give you some tools you can use to make your calendar a little less bananas. I hope it helps!