Is your calendar bursting with meetings, while your to-do list is left gathering digital dust?

When meetings dominate your workday, it can be tough to get anything done

And it can leave you feeling pretty deflated 😅

Here are my quick tips to address this challenge:

1️⃣ Before opening your emails or calendar, start by documenting your to-do list. Rank your tasks by importance and deadline and make a commitment to what will be completed today.

2️⃣ Book meetings with yourself. Reserve dedicated chunks of time on your calendar for focused, uninterrupted work, and pop in a meeting room or go offline to ensure it remains that way. Treat this time as set in stone like you would any other important meeting.

3️⃣ Review how you meet: Encourage concise, purposeful meetings. Set agendas, time limits, and stick to them. Consider using “standing” or “walking” meetings to encourage quicker discussions. If you book an hour, you will likely fill the hour (whether you needed to or not).

4️⃣ Reevaluate Your Meetings: Periodically review your meeting schedule and watch out for any meetings that seem to inflate your calendar unnecessarily. Can some be combined? Can you come in just for the last half that is relevant to you? Be ruthless in eliminating unnecessary ones.

5️⃣ Get comfortable pushing back. This one might not be in your nature, but there is a ‘decline’ and ‘propose new time’ feature for a reason! If you don’t, your schedule will balloon out of control.

Your turn; how do you navigate the meeting maze and stay productive? 👇

PS: Can you find all the balloon puns in this post? 😜