A company once asked me to help them improve operational efficiency. What I uncovered shocked everyone.
Over 40% of their salary budget was being spent on people sitting in meetings. Not building products. Not serving customers. Meetings. And most of those meetings didn't even need to happen.
The thing is, not all meeting costs are equal. Managers operate in one-hour blocks where meetings fit naturally. But makers (the people actually building, designing, creating) need long stretches of uninterrupted time to get into flow. When you pull a maker into a random meeting, you're not just taking that hour. You're derailing their entire day's productivity.
If you feel like you're drowning in meetings, here are five rules every organization should follow.
1. No Monday morning meetings
People come into Monday with one of two energies. Either they're ready to conquer the world and Monday morning is their highest productivity time, or they have the weekend hangover and need a few hours to ease in. Either way, shoving them into a conference room first thing wastes their best energy or catches them before their brain is even online.
2. No Friday afternoon meetings
Nobody wants to be there. They're staring at the clock. Their brain already left for the weekend. And honestly, they're going to resent you for scheduling it. If you're constantly scheduling last-minute Friday meetings, that's a sign you're not planning well and now your lack of planning is everyone else's Friday emergency.
3. Every meeting needs a clear agenda and desired outcome
"Let's discuss the project" is not an agenda. Before you schedule any meeting, you should be able to articulate exactly what outcome you need. Is there a decision to be made? Data you're looking for? A problem to solve? If you can't clearly state the purpose, you're not ready to have the meeting.
4. Stop inviting people who don't need to be there
Only decision makers need to be in the room. The people who just need to know the outcome? They're consumers of information and they don't need to sit through the entire discussion. But here's what happens: organizations don't have clear ways of communicating meeting outcomes, so people fight to get in the room because that's the only way they'll get the information. Fix your communication problem. Don't fix it by cramming 10 extra people into a meeting.
5. Establish meeting-free blocks
If you have makers in your organization, give them entire mornings or afternoons where no meetings are scheduled. Wednesday mornings. Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. Pick something. This gives everyone large pockets of time to actually do the job you hired them to do.
Time to get intentional
Before your next meeting, ask yourself: What's the specific outcome? Who actually needs to be there? And if you're constantly getting invited to meetings without clear agendas, start asking what the desired outcome is. You might find out you don't even need to be there.
The unintentional meetings where you're sitting there thinking "why am I even here?" are killing your productivity and your company's bottom line.
- Cozy Earth Cuddle Blankets
Struggling with night sweats or overheating while you sleep? Cozy Earth's bamboo sheets and pajamas might be exactly what you need. The bamboo fabric keeps you cozy without overheating, which means you can feel wrapped up and comfortable while actually sleeping cooler throughout the night. If you're tired of waking up too hot or drenched, this could be a game-changer for your sleep quality.
They also make cuddle blankets that are seriously comfortable for relaxing on the couch or adding an extra layer to your bed. Cozy Earth offers a 100-night sleep trial so you can try it risk-free, and you can use code HARMONY for up to 20% off your order. If better sleep sounds appealing right now, this is worth checking out.
- Clickup - The #1 Management Tool We Use at the Pink Bee!
Tired of juggling five different tools just to keep your projects organized? ClickUp brings task management, document sharing, goal tracking, and time tracking all into one place so you're not constantly switching between apps!
We use ClickUp to manage everything at The Pink Bee, and what I love about it is the customizable workspaces that let you tailor your workflows to match how you actually work instead of forcing you into a rigid system. Whether you're managing a small team or coordinating across multiple people, ClickUp centralizes everything so you always know where to find what you need and what the status is on every task. If scattered tools are stealing your time and sanity, ClickUp is worth checking out.
My 2 Rules Before Adding Any New App to My Business (Saves $8KYear)
Ever feel like you're drowning in apps and tools that were supposed to make your life easier but just added more chaos?
In this video, I'm breaking down the two simple rules I use before adding any new app or software to my business, and how this approach has saved me over $8,000 per year in software costs alone.
I run a seven-figure business and use fewer apps than most business owners I know because I've gotten really intentional about what actually earns a spot in my tech stack. You'll see real examples from my business of how we streamlined operations and cut costs, plus why fewer tools means less complexity, fewer integration headaches, and more time to actually grow your business instead of managing software.
|
Where should I store my list of projects without over-organizing?
Are you pulling up 15 different lists just to figure out what needs your attention when you sit down to plan?
This week's Weekly Buzz tackles why we accidentally over-organize ourselves with good intentions and how spreading information across too many places actually makes planning harder.
I'm breaking down the three categories that everything competing for your time falls into, plus how simplifying where you store things makes creating your weekly plan so much easier. If you've been struggling to figure out what's most important because you're looking at too many lists, this will change how you think about organizing.
Remember, this video is updated every Wednesday, so don’t miss it! Head to The Pink Bee app to watch now.
Friend, don’t forget—just 15 minutes of planning today can set the tone for your entire week. You’ve got the tools, you’ve got the tips, and now it’s time to take action. Let’s crush this week together!
Responses