5 Strategies For Fewer Meetings & More Time

I’d like to spend more of my time in meetings…

Said no founder ever!

Deep work, time to strategize, and general brainstorming are critical for founders but it can feel impossible to find the time.

Here are 5 strategies to protect your time and be in fewer meetings.

5 Strategies For Fewer Meetings & More Deep Work

1. Designate a no-meeting day.

Guard it religiously. Call it something awesome like, Freestyle Friday or Yoursday Thursday (used by Pardot and Rigor, respectively).

Can’t do a full day?

Figure out your most productive time of day and block that off for 2-3 days per week.

2. Shorten meetings.

Do you need 30 minutes or could you get it done in 20? Challenge yourself to be more efficient.

I host 15 min founder calls. (Sign up here!) It may seem short but we have time for small talk, intros, a pitch, 1-2 strategic questions, and next steps.

Never underestimate the efficiency of motivated, busy folks!

3. Eliminate meetings.

Take a hard look at your meetings. Are they all truly necessary?

Can some be emails, Slack conversations, phone calls, or scrapped altogether?

Can you empower someone to decide without you or handle on their own?

4. Batch meetings.

Nothing is worse than a day with 30 minutes between every meeting! Keep your meetings back-to-back or with only 5-15 minutes in between.

Set up your Calendly to offer only certain hours of availability (in line with your no-meeting day, of course).

I also like the one-off meeting feature to schedule a high priority meeting with one email (at a time that works for you, of course).

5. Say no.

Avoid meetings in the first place.

Know when to say no → 10 frameworks
Know how to say no → 7 specific phrases

Now, stick to it!

Once you have your plan in place, the rubber hits the road on the follow through.

Your boundaries are only as firm as you make them. If you regularly break your no-meeting day, extend meetings, or say yes…you’ll be right back where you started!

On the flip side, once a routine becomes sacred, your team (and even customers) will plan around it.

You’ll hear things like:

“We can email you instead of a call because I know Friday is no-meetings.”
“We’ll pick a time after lunch because mornings are blocked.”
“I know we only have 20 minutes so let me jump in.”

You’ll have hours back for company growth and personal peace-of-mind!

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What other strategies decrease meetings and increase deep work??