Take Back Your Workday

T

Meetings are an integral part of a leader’s workday, yet many of us feel like they dominate our schedules entirely. Often, the most productive hours of the week don’t occur during working hours, but rather in the quiet evenings or weekends—times that should ideally be reserved for rest or personal time. How did we reach the point where finding a free half-hour in the calendar seems impossible for weeks ahead? And what can we do to create a more balanced meeting schedule?

One of the most striking aspects of modern leadership is the abundance of meetings. From weekly status updates to planning sessions and brainstorming, our calendars are often so packed that it’s hard to catch a breath between commitments. It can feel nearly impossible to gather a group of middle managers during normal working hours without combing through schedules weeks and months in advance. This paradoxically results in meetings that are meant to facilitate planning and collaboration actually stealing away the time we need to carry out the work being discussed.

How Did It Get This Way?

One major reason is perhaps that, as leaders, we are constantly available through numerous communication channels. In a world where a mix of physical and virtual meetings is the norm, it’s easy to end up participating in more forums than we can realistically handle. Additionally, the explosion of virtual meetings during the pandemic has overshadowed other important tasks. Whereas we used to have natural limitations on physical meetings, virtual meetings are almost entirely without boundaries. We can jump from one meeting to another without a break, leading to decision fatigue and a lack of productive time for actual work.

The Challenge of Virtual Meetings

Virtual meetings have their advantages, but they have also amplified the challenges of a hectic meeting schedule. First and foremost, they eliminate the natural breaks that travel time or room changes used to provide. Instead of spending five to ten minutes to refocus and mentally prepare for the next meeting, we now jump from one screen to another. This relentless pace results in poorer overall performance, as we don’t get the necessary break to process information from one meeting before having to be «on» again for the next.

Another significant challenge is that most virtual meetings are more formalized than the ad hoc conversations we could previously have in the office. We have to organize and facilitate digital meetings to a greater extent, which often results in even more meetings just to «tie up loose ends.» This fills our working hours with activities necessary for collaboration but simultaneously displaces time for strategic or deeper work.

What Can We as Leaders Do?

To break free from this meeting regime and free up time for productive work, there are several approaches we can explore.

Reduce the Number of Meetings
The first and most obvious strategy is to reduce the number of meetings. This requires raising awareness within the organization about which meetings are necessary and which can be consolidated or replaced with asynchronous communication tools such as emails, messaging platforms, or shared documents. Instead of holding weekly update meetings, a shared status update document can save a lot of time.

Establish «Meeting-Free» Zones
We should set clear boundaries for when meetings can take place and when time should be reserved for focused work. By introducing «meeting-free» zones in the calendar (e.g., a whole day without meetings each week or blocks of time on a daily basis), we create space for deeper work. This requires actively protecting this time from meetings and making it a priority for both ourselves and our team.

Optimize Meeting Formats
The meetings we do hold can be made more efficient. Shorter meetings with a clearly defined objective are generally far more productive than long, unstructured ones. For instance, using a checklist for each meeting can help keep the focus on decisions that need to be made, allowing us to wrap up as soon as the goal is achieved rather than filling the entire allotted time.

Delegate and Build Trust
Many leaders feel the need to be involved in absolutely everything, but this often results in being pulled in all directions. By delegating more responsibilities to our teams and trusting their competencies, we can reduce the number of meetings we need to attend ourselves. At the same time, this strengthens the team as they gain more ownership of the decisions being made.

Breaking Free from Meeting Overload

By reducing the number of meetings, optimizing the ones we hold, and setting aside fixed periods entirely free from meetings, we can free up time for what truly matters: strategic thinking, focused work, and reflection. However, this requires discipline both for ourselves and our teams. We must dare to say no to meetings that don’t add value and prioritize the time that energizes us rather than drains us. Tackling the challenges of the modern meeting culture demands that we make conscious choices about how we use our time.

TL;DR

Meetings dominate our workdays, often forcing us to work during evenings and weekends. Virtual meetings have worsened the situation by eliminating natural breaks. We can reduce the burden by cutting down the number of meetings, establishing «meeting-free» periods, optimizing meeting formats, and delegating more responsibilities to our teams.

About the author

Erlend Tiller

I’ve worked as a leader for nearly half a lifetime, specializing in strategy, communication, marketing, and branding. My experience includes roles as a communications manager/CCO, marketing manager/CMO, strategic advisor, journalist, and ad agency professional.

By Erlend Tiller

Articles about