Meetings Cost Us More Than Time
Meetings are supposed to move work forward. But when calendars are stacked back-to-back, they often do the opposite. The research is clear. Too many meetings drain employees, stall productivity, and cost companies’ real money. It’s time we rethink the default of filling our days with them.
The Stats That Tell the Story
A HBR study found that roughly 70% of meetings stop employees from completing their own work. 92% of employees consider meetings costly and unproductive. I thought this quote from the report was very telling:
Across the 76 companies we surveyed, we found that employee productivity was 71% higher when meetings were reduced by 40%. This is largely because employees felt more empowered and autonomous. Rather than a schedule being the boss, they owned their to-do lists and held themselves accountable, which consequently increased their satisfaction by 52%. – HBR
Why It Matters
A calendar packed with meetings leaves no time for deep work. Employees leave drained, unsure of next steps, and often with more follow-up meetings. The ripple effects are costly: slower projects, less creativity, higher burnout, and lower engagement. Instead of feeling empowered, employees feel micromanaged and exhausted. Meetings are a challenge for employees and the business.
Ideas to Protect Your Calendar
Here are a few ways to reclaim your time and energy:
- Block deep work time. Protect at least two hours a day for focused, distraction-free work.
- Question every invite. Does this need a meeting, or could it be an email or shared doc?
- Resist FOMO. Do you need to attend the meeting? What is your role?
- Push for clarity. Ask for agendas framed as questions so everyone knows the purpose.
- Keep it short. Suggest 25- or 50-minute meetings instead of defaulting to 30 or 60.
- Embrace meeting-free days. Even one day a week can restore focus and momentum.
These small shifts add up. They help you protect your time, preserve your energy, and make meetings work for you instead of against you.
“Work doesn’t happen in meetings. Work happens in the focus time between them. If we want healthier teams and stronger businesses, we need to design our calendars with people in mind, not meetings. Less is more.” – Lori Sullivan
Posts This Week
Be the Author, Not the Editor. Many times, in our lives, we are following the path others have set for us. This post suggests we step out of editing our life and begin authoring.
Ladders, Leaps, and Learning. Our careers take many twists and turns. This post was inspired by a “Squiggly Careers” TED talk. I encourage you to read and create your own squiggly map.
3 Lessons from Jay Shetty. This post links to an older Jay Shetty podcast focused on productivity. In the podcast, he shares 10 techniques. This blog post focuses on 3 that resonated with me.
Strategic Giving. This is another post that ladders off a podcast. The focus is on developing relationships that continue to bear fruit throughout your career.
What Truth Are You Creating? The final post of the week covers a four-part cycle that determines our personal “self-fulfilling prophesy”.
Podcasts That Caught My Attention
How to Discover the Gift That’s Uniquely Yours. 15 minutes. The Midlife Chrysalis. Chip Conley and Derek Gehl discuss how to uncover the unique gift that can guide your work, choices, and life.
The Fingerprints Are the Work. 37 minutes. Daily Creative with Todd Henry. This podcast highlights an interview with Maggie Fost, VP of Design at Shopify, to discuss leaving a genuine imprint on our work. I loved how this tied to my philosophy (and Fingerprints Marketing brand) that suggest we need to move from tracking our footprints to paying more attention to our fingerprints (post here).
How to Build Wellbeing That Lasts. 31 minutes. The Next Big Idea Daily. This episode reviews two books. First, Lasting Wellbeing: Science-Based Practices for Tranquility, Authenticity, Meaning, and Joy by Matt Bloom. Then, Rise and Shine: How to Transform Your Life, Morning by Morning by Kate Oliver and Toby Oliver.
How People without Formal Power Gain Influence. 21 minutes. HBR Ideacast. The title of this episode tells it all. There are 5 paths to indirect influence that are explained. The paths include influence spotters, backchannelers, precision movers, connectors, and pulse readers.
Little Happier: Why People Don’t Ride Horses if They Can Take the Bus. 5 minutes. Happier Podcast. An observation by George Orwell that is relevant to today’s discussions of AI.
What Do You Think?
Do you feel like you are the author of your life?
Who are the key relationships that have spanned your entire career?
What ideas did the posts & podcasts spark that you could implement in the week ahead?
Marketing Newsletter
This week, the Fingerprints Marketing Newsletter highlighted how each generation has impacted the scope of loyalty programs and what we can expect in the future. The “Motivation Bite” covered how each motivation in the Motivation Matrix has an associated feeling that is generated.