Meetings ≠ Useful Work

One quick realization I had when I started working for a giant technology company was that my calendar filled up very quickly and consistently with things that were only marginally related to the work I was hired to do.

There were introductory 1:1s, training sessions, competitive readouts, happy hours, product reviews, town halls, fireside chats, etc etc.

Without a doubt, these types of events are valuable and shouldn’t be ignored off-hand.

But if I attended all of these meetings at least 50% of my week would be consumed by them. On top of the other meetings that were directly related to my work, that would leave very minimal time for truly valuable work.

This is why you hear so much about tech employees working 10–12 hour days. Not because we’re all heads down working in our flow states. We’re bouncing between low-value meetings and not prioritizing our time effectively.

I learned quickly to maximize my productivity in an 8-hour workday, with a goal of doing 5 hours of solid, focused work during that time period. It turns out that when you eliminate distractions and stop talking about work, 5 hours is a lot of time.

5-Hour Productivity

Here’s how I manage my calendar:

I block my calendar.

Every Friday afternoon, I look two weeks ahead and block 5 hours a day of focused work time. This is non-negotiable. I move and cancel meetings that are not directly related to my work output to ensure I have 25 hours each week of dedicated work time.

Within the 5 hours of work time, I do specific things to ensure work is completed:

I check and respond to emails two times.

For 30 minutes at the beginning and end of the time block. Yes, my email app is open for only 60 minutes a day.

I default to 25-minute meetings.

I promise it is enough time. It drives focus on the key things that need to be accomplished.

I remove all distractions.

I close all of my browsers and turn off all Slack, email, phone, and social. media notifications. My headphones go in, deep focus music goes on, and I enter my flow state.

If it’s not scheduled, it’s not real.

I don’t multitask, because it isn’t possible. I have 5, 10, 15, 30, and 60-minute batches of time blocked out to accomplish very specific things. Over time, I’ve learned how long certain tasks take, so I’ve gotten pretty good at scheduling my time.

I set expectations for how I manage my time

When I join a new company and/or team, I share everything I’ve written above. Here’s how I frame it: This is how I need to operate if you want the best work out of me.

I acknowledge I may need to be flexible at times, but I’m also clear that an extended period of time in which I deviate from my preferred ways of working will result in decreased output.

Want to Know Something?

Almost every person that I work with has been respectful of this. They appreciate the transparency and knowing how I work best but also how to best engage with me.

If you express your desires, most people will accommodate. Why? Because they hope that others will do the same for them.

The Other 3 Hours

I allow for a little more flexibility in the other 3 hours of my day, but it typically follows a similar pattern.

30 Minutes for lunch. 90 minutes for consuming industry news or internal documents. 60 minutes for ancillary meetings.

Working less is harder than working more

Don’t fall into the trap of glamorizing long work days. Be ruthless in your prioritization of the work that will deliver the most value to you, your goals, and your company.

Set boundaries, share them, stick to them, and see yourself become more productive.

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This post was previously published on MEDIUM.COM.

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