How to have more productive meetings (6 Actions)

First, big thanks to today’s sponsor — Fyxer AI:

Emails and meetings are the biggest time sinks in organizations.

Using Fyxer AI allowed me to reclaim 5 hours of that time every week. I honestly was blown away by how well it works. Here’s how:

• Fyxer AI automates daily email and meeting tasks, saving users up to 60 minutes a day.

• It functions like a real personal assistant, organizing inboxes, drafting emails in your tone, and summarizing meetings.

• Fyxer also learns from team members' communication styles and enhances productivity across the board, making it ideal for both individuals and teams.

Last but not least, setting it up is easy. It takes just 30 seconds to get started with Gmail or Outlook, no learning curve or training needed.

Start your free 14-day trial (no credit card required) at https://www.fyxer.ai/.

“Excessive meetings are the blight of big companies.” – Elon Musk

Why it works

In an email to Tesla employees during the COVID-19 pandemic, Elon Musk (pictured) expressed this strong stance on meetings in large firms, adding that they “almost always get worse over time”. Research supports his claim: one study revealed that professionals spent an average of 14.2 hours per week in meetings as of February 2020. By November 2021, this figure had soared by 50% to 21.5 hours weekly. Even more alarming was the explosion in the number of meetings: weekly averages climbed from 15.1 to 25.6, a staggering 70% increase.

If you think this trend has reversed since the pandemic subsided, think again. A 2023 Microsoft study revealed a staggering statistic: time spent in Microsoft Teams meetings and calls had skyrocketed by 192% compared to 2020 — nearly tripling in just three years. Colette Stallbaumer, Microsoft’s general manager for Microsoft 365 and the “future of work,” offers a more nuanced view. She asserts that the issue isn’t meetings themselves but rather “when meetings are long, poorly run, and don’t have a clear purpose that they become a source of stress for employees and their managers”. 

As it turns out, Microsoft’s research identified inefficient meetings as one of the top workplace distractions undermining productivity in 2023. But it doesn’t have to be that way. When run effectively, meetings can accelerate decision-making, help achieve goals faster, improve communication, solve problems efficiently, and ensure action items are being noted and taken care of. Here are 6 actions to take today to have more productive meetings.

How to do it

1) Require an agenda
Start every meeting with a clear agenda that outlines the purpose, topics, and expected outcomes. This helps keep the discussion focused. It also ensures everyone comes prepared and prevents the meeting from derailing into unrelated issues.

2) Set specific goals
Structure meetings around clear and tangible objectives. It helps avoid unnecessary side topics. Specific goals give everyone a sense of accomplishment when the meeting is over and make it easier to measure its success.

3) Limit meeting duration
Restrict meetings to 30 minutes (or less) whenever possible. Shorter meetings force participants to focus on what’s truly important. This policy respects everyone’s time, creates a culture of efficiency, and reduces the risk of meeting fatigue.

4) End meetings with action items
Conclude every meeting with a quick summary of the next steps and who is responsible. This ensures that meetings lead to concrete outcomes instead of more meetings. It also creates accountability, clarity and a healthy sense of urgency for everyone involved.

5) Encourage declining
Empower your team to decline meetings if they don’t see a clear value in attending. This helps keep meetings efficient and purposeful. It also encourages better time management and creates a culture that values intentionality over attendance.

6) Rotate meeting leaders
Give different team members the responsibility of leading meetings. It helps keep meetings fresh and everyone engaged. It also lets everyone develop their leadership and ownership and introduces diverse perspectives on how meetings are conducted.

Effective meetings empower your team. Unnecessary ones drain their energy.

Respect your team's time – and watch their productivity soar.

And if you want to reclaim 5 hours per week lost to meetings and email, try Fyxer AI.

Also, please share this post with one person who might benefit from doing the same.

Until next week,
Christian

2 more ways I can help you

1) Becoming Ultraproductive 1:1 Coaching Program
Are you struggling to focus on the important work being busy with urgent stuff? Are you feeling tired throughout the day despite sleeping for 7 or 8 hours at night? Are you having trouble dealing with high stress at work – and “switching it off” at home?

If so, check out our new Becoming Ultraproductive 1:1 coaching program. In it, I help executives, entrepreneurs and CEOs increase their productivity by up to 10x — by building rock-solid habits for deep focus, deep sleep, and mastering stress.

That way, I’ve coached 70+ executives, entrepreneurs and CEOs on Becoming Ultraproductive since 2023. The program includes:

• 6 individualized one-on-one coaching sessions with me over 12 weeks

• Tailor-made habit systems to optimize your focus, sleep and stress

• A guaranteed 100% increase in productivity (not kidding)

Interested? Learn more and book a free discovery call here while you can. I’m only taking on 10 clients at a time and seats are booking fast.

2) Becoming Ultracreative 1:1 Coaching Call
There are 800 million users on LinkedIn, and 99% of them aren't creators. Translation? There has never been a better time to become a thought leader on LinkedIn.

The platform is ready for you to quickly build your distribution, monetization and recognition – thus becoming Ultracreative. My co-author Eric Partaker and I noticed this while coaching hundreds of entrepreneurs, executives, and CEOs. We were able to achieve the following in just 12 months:

• A 1+ million audience

• A 7-figure business around it

• A book deal with Portfolio Penguin

Most importantly, we’ve deconstructed what it takes to help you become Ultracreative, too. Learn more and book your call here.

PS: Interested in sponsorships for my newsletter and LinkedIn post?

Get in touch with me here.