Decline: What Happened When I Stopped Taking Day-Of Meetings

We’ve become a culture of emails and meetings. Meetings about emails. Emails about meetings. And meetings to prep for other meetings. When are we supposed to get any work done?

About a year ago my calendar looked like this:

About 15-20-% work time (with a few lunch breaks built in) which was usually consumed with answering emails. I had no time to actually do my job. This was creating stress and anxiety for me and everyone around me. I knew something had to change. 

In May 2018, I was chatting with a seasoned executive assistant who said, “why does everyone need a day-of meeting? Does no one plan? With travel, clients, managing people and personal lives, it’s almost impossible to not mess up an entire day when one meeting pops up that has to happen.” This got me thinking… why can’t I try to do that? No day-of meetings. Is it possible?

With summer usually being a little slower, I figured it would be the best time to try this out and see if having no day-of meetings is even possible. So, I dove in head first.

At first there was a lot of feedback like, “What do you mean I can’t have a meeting with you today?” I would respond with “Is this a fire or fire drill? Does this really need to happen today or can we fit it in tomorrow or even later in the week?” At least 85% of the replies were “Oh. Yeah, this can wait. Will grab us some time tomorrow/later, etc.”

How I Made It Work:

After some trial and error, I landed on structuring my day in work blocks for meetings to work around. I’m blocked out from 9-10am to read emails and prep for any meetings or calls I have that day (I usually get in the office between 8-8:30am which gives me some extra time as well). I block out 12-1pm every day for lunch. From there I try to block out at least 90 minutes between 1-6pm to work. 2-3 times a week I block out after 5:30pm and head to the gym or do something social. On Fridays I usually block out 2-4 hours of work and often schedule an offsite lunch with the media, a colleague or a team member.

My calendar now looks like this (seriously, this is an actual week of work):

I now have 4+ work hours a day to get actual work done! By declining day-of meetings, people have also discovered the hard facts… a lot of the time you don’t actually need a meeting. An email or a quick IRL conversation usually gets it done in far less time.

Just because I have this rule, doesn’t mean I don’t have days where I’m back-to-back in 30-minute increments. It still happens. As do very common industry PR fires. But now with these built-in work blocks, a fire or two doesn’t ruin everyone's week.   

How You Can Do This Too:

1.  Accessibility: Make your calendar accessible to those wanting meetings with you (one of the reasons I love Google Calendar). You can put settings in place so people don’t have to see that you’re going to a doctor’s appointment or your kid’s play, but they will see that you’re busy and unavailable.

2.  Block Out Work Time: I block out what works for me. Do the same for you, but try to block out at least 3 hours of work/non-meeting time a day to be productive. And don't forget self care time! These can increase as you become more comfortable hitting that decline button.

3.    Stand Firm and Keep Saying No: They will try to break you down. Just say no!

4.   Let Go of the FOMO: Be ok with not being part of everything all the time. When I first starting declining meetings I struggled with feeling like I wasn’t being a team player and in the mix of everything. Once I came to terms that this was not only better for me, but better for the teams involved, I felt free and the people around me felt empowered.

5.   Start Now: You can do it.