Can we stop meeting like this?

Happy Friday and big welcome to my new subscribers! To all subscribers, I'm so glad you're here.

How many meetings did you have this week? And how many of them did you actually need to have?

If you're working in an organisation, I'm sure you already know the answer to that. You're already familiar with getting to 5pm and realising you haven't actually done any work because you've been in back to back calls and catch ups since 9am, a Monday calendar that's beyond full before the week has even started.

Microsoft's annual Work Trend Index draws on trillions of data points from Microsoft 365 users across 31 markets backs you up. It paints a depressing picture of what they call the "infinite workday". The average worker now receives 117 emails and 153 Teams messages per day. They are interrupted every 2 minutes during a standard eight hour working day. That's 275 interruptions a day. 57% of meetings are ad hoc calls without calendar invites, meaning most meetings aren't even planned. They just happen to you.

Also, 50% of all meetings take place between 9 and 11am and 1 and 3pm, which is precisely when research shows most people have their natural productivity spike. So your best thinking hours are being ruled by someone else's agenda. No wonder 80% of employees say they haven't got enough time to do their work.

And the workday isn't just expanding sideways. It's bleeding into everything else. Meetings after 8pm have increased 16% year on year. 29% of workers are back in their inboxes by 10pm. 20% are actively working on weekends. As Microsoft puts it, "the modern workday for many has no clear start or finish." Too much energy is spent organising stuff before meaningful work can even begin.

Of course, Microsoft's main thrust is that the solution to not having enough time is AI, specifically their own tools. But if people don't even have time to use these tools thoughtfully and meaningfully, then everything is still going to be messy, probably more messy and certainly even more depleting of the human and non-human resources that are spinning around on our planet.

Two potential solutions for you to think about

Fewer meetings: There's strong evidence that meeting free days make a real difference. Research from MIT Sloan found that when organisations introduced even one meeting free day per week, autonomy, communication, engagement and satisfaction all improved, while micromanagement and stress decreased. Two meeting free days reduced unnecessary meetings by 40%. Imagine what you could do with that time back.

Better meetings: I've been reading Nancy Kline's Time to Think this week, which is all about creating the conditions for people to do their best thinking. Her argument is simple: the quality of everything we do depends on the quality of the thinking we do first. The quality of the thinking relies on being given space to think, while we're thinking. This means active, attentive listening. It doesn't mean simply waiting for your turn to speak, jumping in with solutions, finishing people's sentences for them. And it certainly doesn't mean checking your phone under the table.

This connects to something I've been noticing in my coaching conversations too. So often, the most revealing moment comes from the smallest throwaway remark. A half sentence said more quietly than everything else. A pause. Something said almost as an afterthought. But you will only hear it if you are fully, completely present. If you're in your seventh meeting of the day, running on fumes and anxious to get onto the next thing, you're going to miss it.

So here's my thought for you for next week. Look at your diary. Which meetings could be an email? Which ones could be ten minutes instead of an hour? Which ones could you decline altogether? And could you carve out even one meeting free morning where you actually get to stop and think?

Day of the Week 📆

In Finland, February 14th is not Valentine's Day? It's Friend Day. Ystävänpäivä. A day to celebrate friendship in all its forms.

Marvellous. Happy Friend Day to you all ❤️

What am I reading? 📚

Time to Think by Nancy Kline. There are some really useful tips about getting the best out of people in here.

What am I watching? 👀

I had a lovely conversation with Anna Gardet, Principal Consultant at recruitment consultancy, Prospectus, a few weeks ago about careers and navigating change, particularly in midlife. It was a great conversation and I hope it's helpful to people. Thank you again, Anna!

What am I listening to?👂

Lots to enjoy about Bad Bunny's Super Bowl half-time performance this week. Whatever you think of his music (and I'm a fan), that performance was a statement. A Puerto Rican artist, performing almost entirely in Spanish, on one of the biggest stages in the world. Representation matters.

Joy-giving things 😍

I haven't got a picture of them but our bullfinches are back! They're enjoying the buds in our beech hedge. Apparently Old English folklore tells us that seeing a bullfinch means love, happiness and good luck.

Well we've got two!

If your week has been wall to wall meetings and you're reading this feeling a bit wrung out, close the laptop. Make a cup of tea. Go outside for five minutes if you can. Maybe you can spot some bullfinches too.

Have a restful weekend, everyone.

Lucy x

ChangeOut is created by Lucy Caldicott. You can find more about my work at ChangeOut.org.

If you’re looking to have a 1:1 chat about culture, leadership, purpose, equity, or a facilitated team discussion about any of those things, get in touch. You can also find me on Instagram, and LinkedIn.

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