Dear Satyam,

You’ve highlighted a challenge nearly every manager faces: the relentless cycle of meetings that leaves little room for actual work. The frustration is real, and while changing your company’s meeting culture might seem like the ultimate solution, it’s not a quick fix. What you can do, however, is reclaim control of your own schedule and push for smarter practices within your sphere of influence.

Step 1: Reassess and Streamline

Start by taking a hard look at your meeting calendar:

Consolidate or Eliminate: Identify meetings you own or influence. Can any be combined, shortened, or shifted to biweekly?
Adopt a “No-Meeting Day”: Propose a day—perhaps Fridays—for your team to go meeting-free. Many organizations find this approach transformative.
Time Discipline: Limit meetings to 30 minutes where possible. The Parkinson’s Law principle applies: work expands to fill the time allotted. A shorter window can force sharper focus.

Patrick Lencioni’s framework in Death by Meeting might also be helpful:

Daily check-ins: 10 minutes max.
Weekly tactical meetings: 45–90 minutes.
Monthly strategic meetings: 2–4 hours.
Quarterly off-site reviews: 1–2 days.

While you don’t need to adopt this wholesale, it’s worth examining your meetings through this lens to see if adjustments could help.

Step 2: Delegate and Decline

Not every meeting requires you. Consider:

Delegating Attendance: If a meeting generates tasks for others, why not send those individuals instead? Have them provide a concise recap.
Declining Without Guilt: Request agendas in advance. If there’s no clear reason for your attendance, politely decline. Your time is valuable—protect it.

Step 3: Protect Your Focus

It’s time to block focused work time on your calendar. This isn’t a luxury; it’s a necessity. Treat these blocks as non-negotiable appointments with yourself, and don’t allow meetings to encroach. If you consistently set this boundary, people will adapt.

Step 4: Leverage Technology

Technology can often eliminate the need for meetings altogether:

Use tools like task managers or collaborative platforms (Slack, Asana, etc.) for updates and delegation.
Take advantage of transcription tools for meetings you can’t attend, like Zoom’s transcript feature.

Step 5: Start a Conversation

If you’re overwhelmed, your colleagues probably are too. Consider opening a dialogue about improving meeting efficiency within your team. Propose a pilot period for streamlined practices like shorter meetings or designated no-meeting times. These small changes might eventually inspire broader cultural shifts.

Be Bold and Take Back Your Time

This situation likely developed gradually, and it will take time to reverse. But remember, your calendar is yours. With some courage, determination, and a bit of boundary-setting, you can carve out the time you need to focus on your real work—and yourself.

Best Regards,

Yogesh

Challenge with Daily Back-to-Back Meetings

Dear Satyam,

Step 1: Reassess and Streamline

Start by taking a hard look at your meeting calendar:

Consolidate or Eliminate: Identify meetings you own or influence. Can any be combined, shortened, or shifted to biweekly?

Adopt a “No-Meeting Day”: Propose a day—perhaps Fridays—for your team to go meeting-free. Many organizations find this approach transformative.

Time Discipline: Limit meetings to 30 minutes where possible. The Parkinson’s Law principle applies: work expands to fill the time allotted. A shorter window can force sharper focus.

Patrick Lencioni’s framework in Death by Meeting might also be helpful:

Daily check-ins: 10 minutes max.

Weekly tactical meetings: 45–90 minutes.

Monthly strategic meetings: 2–4 hours.

Quarterly off-site reviews: 1–2 days.

While you don’t need to adopt this wholesale, it’s worth examining your meetings through this lens to see if adjustments could help.

Step 2: Delegate and Decline

Not every meeting requires you. Consider:

Delegating Attendance: If a meeting generates tasks for others, why not send those individuals instead? Have them provide a concise recap.

Declining Without Guilt: Request agendas in advance. If there’s no clear reason for your attendance, politely decline. Your time is valuable—protect it.

Step 3: Protect Your Focus

It’s time to block focused work time on your calendar. This isn’t a luxury; it’s a necessity. Treat these blocks as non-negotiable appointments with yourself, and don’t allow meetings to encroach. If you consistently set this boundary, people will adapt.

Step 4: Leverage Technology

Technology can often eliminate the need for meetings altogether:

Use tools like task managers or collaborative platforms (Slack, Asana, etc.) for updates and delegation.

Take advantage of transcription tools for meetings you can’t attend, like Zoom’s transcript feature.

Step 5: Start a Conversation

Be Bold and Take Back Your Time

This situation likely developed gradually, and it will take time to reverse. But remember, your calendar is yours. With some courage, determination, and a bit of boundary-setting, you can carve out the time you need to focus on your real work—and yourself.

Best Regards,

For more details, visit our website: https://byldgroup.com/

Or call at: 1800-102-1345