Why you should schedule one meeting-free day per week Viewpoint careers advice blog

Why you should schedule one meeting-free day per week According to the research conducted by  Atlassian, most employees attend an average of 62 meetings per month. That’s a huge number. So, in the perpetual quest to limit time spent in meetings, many companies and businesses are coming up with more and more unique ways to change the status quo.   One such tactic that seems to be particularly fashionable right now, is freeing at least one day a week from meetings â€" such as “no meeting Wednesdays.” In fact,  Rory Vaden, co-founder of Southwestern Consulting, has taken this a step further and decided to only have meetings one day a week. That’s right, they only have meetings on Mondays. This is a bold move and one which fits their circumstances. Whilst this may or may not be feasible for your business, it is certainly an avenue worth exploring. I personally believe that it is all about balance and doing what’s right for your business. We all need to raise our awareness and be more critical in choosing which meetings we attend, with the aim of reducing the amount of time spent in them. Why schedule meeting-free days? There are some key benefits to establishing some off-limit times for meetings. For example: To signal to the entire organisation that meetings need to be scheduled deliberately and for good reason To protect important times during the week such as Monday mornings when people are getting back up to speed, or Friday afternoons, when you typically want people to wrap up their week and prepare for the next To allow everyone focus on important projects and realise what can be done with a few hours of concentration Now, let’s talk about how you might make the idea of a meeting-free day a reality for your organisation and for yourself. Communicate your meeting-free plan As you tell those who report into you about your plan, be sure to communicate the following:  Why you think this a good idea: Highlight the above benefits surrounding productivity levels and increased output What your expectations are:  Depending on your organisation and the work of the group, what can you reasonably expect people to honour? Is it a full day? Is it organisation wide? Can each part of the organisation decide how best to implement it? When this decision will be revisited:  It’s easier for people to try new things when they know it’s not forever. What would be long enough to get good experience with the change? Let people know that there will be exceptions and you expect them to exercise good judgement. This is not about a rule that can’t be broken. This is a guideline to create permission and freedom to do things differently for the sake of productivity. Making this a reality for yourself So, how can you set a good example for your team and put meeting-free days into practice yourself? Start by mapping out all the regularly scheduled meetings that you are either expected to or want to attend, then, assess which of the remaining days you could potentially keep meeting-free. Now, think about which projects you could complete on these meeting-free days. You are more likely to stick to these days if you know what you could achieve during this time. Manage people’s expectations and give your colleagues a heads up, offering alternative times to meet if they do try and book you in on these days. If necessary, find a place where you can isolate yourself to focus deeply, maybe even switch your ‘out of office’ message on. Whose support would you appreciate in protecting this time, for instance, your PA or direct reports? Lastly, once you get into the swing of having meeting-free days, track each week how many hours you are able to safeguard and what you accomplished in those hours. Perhaps use this as a case study when trying to get other people in your team to follow suit. Reflecting back on how much you have accomplished in your newly freed-up time will also allow you to review and amend your approach if necessary. It may be a work in progress, but rest assured, if you follow my advice, you will get closer to making that meeting free day a reality. Hopefully, you found this blog valuable. Here are some other related blogs that you will also enjoy: Why its okay to decline that meeting invite Four things you should be doing to restore proactivity in your team Seven ways to keep your team motivated when times get tough Leaders â€" you need to raise your game on social media Young leaders here’s how to conquer your self-doubts Is it possible to unite a remote workforce?