Stuck in Meetings All Day Every Day?
It doesn’t have to be like that. Here’s how to get rid of meeting overload.
When we ask clients “What’s holding you back from doing the best work of your life?” we hear one answer over and over again: “I have too many meetings.”
We get it. Your next meeting is coming up and you’re wondering if you even have time to finish this article. It feels like everyone could use just a little more…time. More time to do the work (and not just talk about the work). More time to think. More time to pause, reflect, and improve. More time without meetings. We can’t go on like this day in and day out — can we?
“If you don’t prioritize your life, someone else will” — Greg McKeown, Essentialism
So what factors are contributing to your meeting overload? It could be any number of things. Below, we walk through 9 common causes and what you can do about each.
1. Meetings never lead to clear decisions or next steps
When meetings are poorly structured or poorly facilitated, a team doesn’t get what it needs out of the time. That leads to — you guessed it — more follow-up meetings and in-between work. Get clear on a meeting’s purpose, design a structure to get work done in the meeting itself, and have one participant hold the role of facilitator to keep the group on track. Hosting a weekly team meeting? Try the action meeting structure. Hosting a session to make a decision? Try integrative decision making to find a path forward that’s “safe-to-try.”
2. Our meeting routine is non-existent
The best teams in the world run on a heartbeat — a well-designed operating rhythm that brings strategy to life. To get started, consider these questions: “For us to coordinate action, drive operations, innovate, and steer, what kinds of meetings will help? How often do those meetings need to happen to keep up with the pace of that work? Who needs to be present to do that specific kind of work?” Strive for “minimum viable structure” and continuously evaluate and improve. Plus, a good rhythm eliminates the need for most other meetings. When something unexpected comes up, just slot it into the next meeting already on the calendar.
3. It isn’t clear who has the authority to make decisions
Decision rights are agreements about who is allowed to make certain decisions — like, for example, who has the final say on what technology is used or how money is spent. When decision rights are unclear, meetings creep in to create feelings of security and cover bases with all individuals who may be relevant to a given topic. This is especially true in company cultures that value consensus. Instead of using meetings as a Band-Aid for ambiguity, clarify decision rights so everyone knows who needs to be involved and when. If you’re the one inviting (too many) others to make a decision, bring a proposal about how to make these decisions in the future.
4. The priorities are murky
When we don’t know what’s important, we don’t know what to say “No” to — and that includes what meetings to attend or decline. Two ways a team can gain more clarity:
- Draft a Strategic Intent by answering the question, “What is essential that we achieve in the next 1–3 years?” Then, think about what that means for the next 90 days and the meetings on your schedule.
- Draft even over statements to make explicit trade-offs. If you have a statement like, “Customer service even over new product features,” it’ll become clearer that you can skip the upcoming feature brainstorm.
Saying no to others = saying yes to yourself and the critical work you need to do.
5. We have meetings that could have been emails
When you find yourself in a meeting that’s mostly a “report out” or “status update,” consider proposing a working agreement to share these updates asynchronously. Meaning, send an email, Microsoft Teams, or Slack message containing the update. Or maybe you can try recording a short Loom video. The less time devoted to status updates, the more valuable time a team has together to do whatever needs to be done with the information.
6. There’s no protected time in your schedule
To get work done, we need time to think and do. Yet most people don’t protect any time for thinking, writing, reading, and creating. We put meetings on calendars to talk about what must be made rather than blocking time on calendars to actually make it. Look across your calendar and calculate the hours per week you’ve got blocked off. Are those blocks long enough for you to be able to concentrate and think deeply? Are those blocks scheduled at times when you are most productive?
7. You’re holding too many roles
It’s possible you’re simply holding too many roles in too many projects. Get clear on the roles you’re holding, the skills needed to do them well, and the time required to knock them out of the park. Then, decide which ones you can and should keep based on skills, interest, and strategic importance. Step out of the others and find people who have the capability and time to energize them.
8. The fear of missing out is too great
In many companies, leaders are expected to know all of the things about all of the things. This leads to attending a bunch of meetings to get “context” just in case somebody asks them about it. Getting comfortable with saying “I don’t know,” “I will find out,” or “Let’s include the person doing this work in this conversation,” will free you up to decline meetings where you’re just a passenger.
9. We’re still having meetings we no longer need
Look in a kitchen drawer and you’ll be reminded that humans are great at accumulating things — and terrible at removing stuff they no longer need. Recurring meetings that were once useful but are no longer fit-for-purpose are the worst kind of organizational debt. The next time you’re invited to one of those, propose the meeting be reconsidered, canceled, or simply stop going.
🥾 Bonus tip: No rule exists saying meetings must only be held inside sitting down. Instead, try to fit in at least one weeting — or “walk and talk” — per day. Even (and especially) if it’s a virtual meeting: Put on some shoes, slip on some headphones, and take the call while enjoying the environment. Research shows that increased blood flow to the brain can spark greater focus and creativity.
“The key is not in spending time, but investing it.” — Steven R. Covey
Even though it’s not visible on a balance sheet, the ballooning expense of a haphazard or non-existent meeting routine cannot be overstated. Without a conscious structure or design, unchecked meetings can end up costing significant financial and human resources — and even worse, prevent organizations from utilizing its employee’s collective skills and intelligence. But when done right, meetings lead to greater adaptivity, responsiveness, and well-being.
So the next time you shuffle off to a meeting that leaves you with more questions than answers, consider declining or proposing a small change to help make it better.
This article was co-authored by Jurriaan Kamer and edited by Zoe Donaldson.
The Ready is an organizational design and transformation partner that helps you discover a better way of working. We work with some of the world’s largest, oldest, and most inspiring organizations to help them remove bureaucracy and adapt to the complex world in which we all live. Learn more by subscribing to our Brave New Work podcast and Brave New Work Weekly newsletter, checking out our book, or reaching out to have a conversation about how we can help your organization evolve ways of working better suited to your current reality.
