How can you manage your workload when you have a lot of meetings?

The best thing would be avoid the unnecessary meetings where my presence is not so much needed. Other than that I would attend meeting along with my laptop to respond on urgent emails only as regular work can be done desk too.

Anticipate your upcoming meetings and deadlines by reviewing your schedule in advance. Allocate time for both meetings and tasks accordingly, taking into account the time needed for preparation and follow-up. By planning ahead, you can proactively manage your workload and ensure that you have sufficient time to address your responsibilities.

Ask for an agenda ahead of time - many of the unnecessary meetings are booked without a plan or a purpose. Asking for an agenda ahead of time helps provide structure to the meeting, and helps others consider 1) whether the meeting is necessary, and 2) think ahead to streamline conversations

Identify your most critical tasks and assignments based on their importance and urgency. Prioritize tasks that align with your strategic objectives or have imminent deadlines. Consider using prioritization frameworks such as the Eisenhower Matrix or ABC method to categorize tasks by priority level. By focusing on high-priority tasks, you can maximize your productivity and impact despite a busy meeting schedule.

It might sound counterintuitive, but sometimes, accomplishing more means temporarily doing less. Try to double down on truly essential tasks that are guaranteed to drive results. Conduct an 80/20 audit to identify the highest-leverage projects and clients. Once you've audited the meetings, openly discuss redistributing workloads so colleagues back you offloading non-core work. Protect blocked time rigorously for these crucial drivers by disabling notifications, closing your door and rejecting tangential meetings. When meetings spike, doing less allows you to accomplish more by laser-focusing your energy on business-critical output.

Block off dedicated time slots in your calendar for focused work and task completion. Treat these time blocks as non-negotiable appointments with yourself and avoid scheduling meetings or other distractions during these periods. Use time-blocking techniques to allocate specific timeframes for different tasks or projects, ensuring that you allocate sufficient time for deep work and concentration.

Communicate your availability and boundaries effectively to colleagues, supervisors, and meeting organizers. Clearly communicate your workload and commitments to ensure that meeting requests are prioritized and scheduled appropriately. Be assertive in declining or rescheduling non-essential meetings that conflict with your critical work priorities. Setting clear expectations helps prevent overcommitment and allows you to manage your workload more effectively.

Regularly review your schedule and workload to identify any potential bottlenecks or areas for improvement. Assess your progress towards meeting deadlines and achieving goals, and make adjustments as needed to stay on track. Be flexible and willing to adapt your approach based on changing priorities or unexpected developments. Continuous review and adjustment are essential for maintaining productivity and effectiveness in a dynamic work environment.

Excessive meetings are currently the biggest time thief! The first recommendation is to adopt the practice of the work team having a focal point for each area of activity/theme, so this member must attend the meeting, freeing the others.

On my experience, I realised that you can also save time during the meeting if you come prepared with a plan of what you want to discuss. Meanwhile, booking 30-40 minutes slots in your calendar is helpful for concentrated work when you need to focus like making strategies or doing researches. And, sometimes you need to decline meetings if you feel that your input there is less significant than your current tasks, if it's possible.