The ‘weekly catch-up’ likely should be deleted from your calendar
Iwobbly boomerang: It comes back, That's why so many meetings but not to me. The meeting should morph into mindless rituals that we have a hard time saying no to still exist, but someone else could sleepwalk through, but whose conpeople at work. They're pasadd as much value as me, so I'm tinued existence we accept as a fait sionate about their projects going to tap out and delegate the accompli. and the passion is contagious. meeting to someone else. Some types of meetings are legit, Plus, I want to be helpful. The third option was to consider others aren't. Meetings should never A a result, my calendar eventually the meeting a stick. (Because sticks be held for the sole purpose of shargets so packed with meetings that don't come back when you throw ing information. That's what email, the mere act of looking at it makes them. Unless you have a dog.) These chat, and company intranets are for. me feel overwhelmed. are meetings that shouldn't exist In the best case scenario, a meet
The worst are zombie meetings — anymore but still do just because ing's purpose is to make a decision the ones that no longer do anything we're really bad at killing meetings. or create something collaboratively other than destroy your productivity We're only good at adding them. (a project plan, goals, customer but continue to live because nobody More than one-third of the meetjourney maps, etc.). has figured out how to kill them. ings never came back. People's At the very least, a meeting (There's a good chance any “weekly emails to me contained versions of should center on a discussion that catch-ups” on your calendar are this message: “Hey, thanks for chalwill be more effective in real time zombie meetings.) lenging me on this meeting. I'm than asynchronously via emails or
Not long ago, I went through my happy to let it die.” comment threads: team or project re-focusing ritual during which I Of the meetings that did come retrospectives, brainstorming and identify what I love, loathe, long for back to me, those in which my role 1-on-1 meetings between managers and learn from my work. No surprise was clarified reduced my cognitive and their direct reports, etc. that the “loathe” category was all load. In most of them, I had been Before calling or accepting a about the sheer number of meetings turning up and performing a differmeeting, get curious and ask some I attend. ent role than what was intended questions:
I was drowning in forums, com(mostly because I was on auto-pilot). —What is the purpose of this mittees, catch-ups, councils, groups, Now I don't have to guess anymeeting? squads, and drives. Everyone was more, and my contributions to those —What is my role in it? carving out a little piece of me. My meetings are far more valuable. —What can we do beforehand to poor discipline was coming home to Best of all, I liberated several make the best use of our time? Is roost. hours each week that can be spent there data to gather up? Pre-read
Before I had a chanceing?totalkmy-oncoachingandmentoring,whichis self out of it, I deleted all the recurwhat I love most and will unapolo—What do we need in order to ring meetings on my calendar. Each getically do more of. We spend too close it out? meeting I threw out was accompamuch time at work not to love what Make a habit of challenging the nied by a note to the organizer, conwe're doing. recurring meetings on your calentaining three options. Calling a meeting is our knee-jerk dar. Questioning whether you need
First, is this meeting a boomerang? reaction when we need other people to attend isn't rude. It's smart. And If so, send it back to me, but when to help us solve a problem or get questioning whether a meeting is you do, clarify the purpose of the work done. It's amazing how rarely needed in the first place is even meeting and what my role is. Am I we stop to think through whether a better. there to be a provocateur? Do I own meeting is really the best option — this? What will I add that nobody and, how rarely we think carefully else can? about whether to accept a meeting
The second option was like a invitation.
| Dom Price is the head of R&D and resident work futurist at Atlassian Software.