Why You Should Have A Meeting-Free Week

Unnecessary obligations and distractions have huge costs and having a “busy” week is often a false economy. Have you ever felt like you have so many meetings, you don’t know when you’ll actually do your work?

I recently spoke with someone who works for a prominent car manufacturer. He told me he had up to six virtual meetings per day. I asked him how he got any work done and he shrugged and laughed. He’s not the problem. He wants to do his work. The problem is shared calendars that anyone can access and book. The problem is middle managers, whose sole jobs are to hold meetings. It’s madness.

Is communication inefficient?

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos hates communication. It’s not that he hates people, it’s that he sees communication as a form of inefficiency. If everything is running smoothly, no one should need to communicate. The system should be built with synergy in mind. It should work by default, not only after several lengthy discussions over coffee. For Amazon, this extends to customer service. The goal is to have as few support tickets as possible, because it’s a sign that the site is doing its job.

In the sport of powerlifting, athletes follow training programmes. Programmes might be four to six week blocks, where intensity and volume of lifting reps is increased throughout the block. At the end of the block, athletes might take a “de-load” week. It’s a time where their bodies get chance to recover from the block and recharge ready for the next one to start.

Take a de-load week from meetings to access the same benefits in your work.

The power of blank space

Having blank space in your calendar for a whole week means that you can get on with deep work and big projects. You won’t have to plan each day around meetings, you can plan it around output. It gives space to think and plan and actually do what you’re here to do. I do not believe that anyone was put on this planet to hold meeting after meeting until they die.

Do less, but do it better. Find the uninterrupted focus normally only accessed before 9 or after 5. Turn your phone off and be at one with your art. Set yourself up a better future by spending the time well.

Spend the week coming up with new ideas and implementing them. Learning. Analysing the numbers. Improving processes. Making a plan and implementing it. Being the most productive version of yourself whilst letting others get on with their work too. Zoom out (pun intended) and look bigger picture at where you are best utilised. Emerge from your meeting-free week with tonnes to show for it and make the case for fewer going forward. It might be something to implement long term.

Don’t make a to-do list, make a “done” list. Write down everything you did after you did it and be amazed at how much you progressed your role when you didn’t have to operate by someone else’s agenda.

Just say no to meetings

Holding a meeting-free week gives you an easy way to say “no”. You could make an email signature. “Apologies, I’m not having any meetings that week. Is there a way I could help move this along without one?” Be firm and stand your ground. Decline any invitations that are popped carelessly in your calendar. Everything can wait. Empower those around you to progress without your input and watch them think for themselves and do amazingly. You do not have to be part of every decision. If the bottleneck is you, growth is stifled before it’s been started.

If you’ve been looking for an excuse to do this, put it in place and see what happens. The caveat is that you have to spend the time being exceptional. Train those around you to associate you not being present for a meeting with you doing amazing work. It’s the only way to set it up for the long term. Spend the time badly and you’ll be called into more than ever.

Calling a meeting is the easy option. It defers talking about something until sometime in the future. It’s an easy way to look busy. It makes a lengthy discussion of something that could be decided over email. There’s rarely a need. Work out when a meeting is pointless and micromanaging and when it’s warranted and steer clear of the former.