Do you ever open up your calendar in the morning and sadly realize that you’ll spend your whole day in back-to-back meetings, with zero time to create or think? This is one of my least favorite feelings — and if I feel it a few weeks in a row, it’s time to change something.
I really struggle with this. Especially as a manager where I feel like people add me to many meetings I don't need to be present at, but when asked about that or saying I can't join, they want to reschedule so i join.
I agree with nearly everything, Ami. Except that I believe that meetings can actually be the work. Sometimes, a meeting is necessary to get a message across or to align people. (At other times, there are better ways.) It all depends on your culture, people and most importantly, what you wish to achieve.
It’s important to take a step back and prioritize your weekly goals. Then you need to protect your deep work time by scheduling time blocks in your calendar. Some meetings should just be an email while others such as status updates can be easily moved asynchronous either via text or loom videos. Another option would be to avoid meetings where your absence would not make a difference or that have no clear agenda.
"Remind myself that meetings aren’t work — they're a cost of getting work done."
Wow -- this phrase should be in every Meeting Creation workflow to remind ourselves of the opportunity cost.
I really struggle with this. Especially as a manager where I feel like people add me to many meetings I don't need to be present at, but when asked about that or saying I can't join, they want to reschedule so i join.
I just need to get better at saying no.
There's two things we do at my company:
* daily 10 minute stand-ups - they are actually 10 minute long, quick overview and roadblocks, done.
* using loom videos, if I'm just explaining/troubleshooting, I can do it asynchronously
I agree with nearly everything, Ami. Except that I believe that meetings can actually be the work. Sometimes, a meeting is necessary to get a message across or to align people. (At other times, there are better ways.) It all depends on your culture, people and most importantly, what you wish to achieve.
It’s important to take a step back and prioritize your weekly goals. Then you need to protect your deep work time by scheduling time blocks in your calendar. Some meetings should just be an email while others such as status updates can be easily moved asynchronous either via text or loom videos. Another option would be to avoid meetings where your absence would not make a difference or that have no clear agenda.
Could relate to this from my team leading a team :)