Taking Back Your Time: A Smarter Approach to Meetings

It’s time to rethink our approach to meetings because they can be unproductive and waste time and energy. 

In the shift to remote and hybrid work, this problem has only grown. Once an occasional necessity, video calls dominate the workday, contributing to widespread “Zoom fatigue.” 

So, it’s time to take a new approach. 

Many routine meetings can be replaced with asynchronous communication. Instead of gathering a group for a status update, consider sharing progress in a document or a project management tool. Quick decisions, feedback on documents, or brainstorming sessions can often happen through email or messaging platforms without disrupting everyone’s workflow.

Of course, some discussions require a live conversation—such as negotiations, high-stakes decisions, or performance reviews. The key is distinguishing between what truly benefits from real-time interaction and what can be handled through other channels.

Recurring meetings often start with good intentions but lose relevance over time. A meeting lacking a clear agenda or actionable outcomes may no longer serve a meaningful purpose. Shopify canceled all recurring meetings with more than three attendees, wiping thousands of unnecessary events from employee calendars. Other organizations encourage employees to regularly assess whether their meetings are still valuable and to eliminate those that aren’t.

Finally, being invited to a meeting doesn’t mean you have to attend. If a meeting’s agenda isn’t directly relevant to your work, politely decline or ask if you can review notes afterward instead. If only part of the discussion involves you, request to join for that segment and then leave. By limiting meeting attendance to those who genuinely need to be there, teams can avoid wasted time and allow employees to focus on their most important tasks.