…this should have been an email.
We’ve all played Calendar Tetris: 30 minutes becomes 60, four people become twelve, and the only decision made is which colour the next meeting invite should be. Meanwhile, your real work is at the gym - watching your focus do burpees. Let’s fix that.
When meetings should have been emails (add wink)
Status updates: If your “stand-up” is nine people reading bullet points out loud, congratulations - you’ve invented the audiobook of your inbox. Email it.
FYIs: If the goal is “just so everyone’s aware,” your calendar doesn’t need to attend. Email with a crisp TL;DR (aka too long; didn’t read).
Simple approvals: If the choice is effectively yes/no and the trade-offs are already known, an email with options and a deadline beats twelve squares on a grid of tired faces.
Document reviews: Reading a deck together, silently, on screen, is group dentistry. Send a pre-read, ask for comments by a due date, then meet only if there’s unresolved conflict.
When a meeting earns its keep
We need a decision with live trade-offs. Several stakeholders, competing priorities, real consequences: get in a (short) room - with an agenda.
We’re solving a new/ambiguous problem. Complex, novel, or emotionally charged? Synchronous thinking helps.
There’s misalignment or tension. Nuance and tone matter. Email can escalate; conversation can connect.
Coaching, feedback, or sensitive topics. Humans first, keyboards second.
A tiny decision tree (print this, stick it near your calendar)
Is there a single, clear outcome? If no → clarify before scheduling.
Can someone decide solo with input? If yes → collect input by email → decide → announce.
Is context shared and stable? If yes → email. If no → meeting (with a pre-read).
Is emotion or ambiguity high? If yes → meeting.
Is the ask time-critical (≤48h) with dependencies? If yes → meeting, 20 minutes, decision-maker present.
How to write emails people actually read (and act on)
Subject lines that work: [ACTION][Fri 3pm] Approve vendor A or B > Quick thing.
Lead with a TL;DR: One sentence: the ask + by when + why it matters.
Make it scannable: Short paragraphs, bullets, bold key facts.
One owner, one deadline: “@Asha to confirm by Thu 5pm.” Not “team, thoughts?”
Decisions > attachments: Summarise the options and your recommendation before the link.
Right channel, right mode: Non-urgent? Email. Urgent? Call/DM, then email for the record.
Close the loop: “If I don’t hear back by Fri, I’ll proceed with Option B.” (Permission to move beats inbox limbo.)
How to run meetings that are worth the coffee
Outcome-first invites: “Decide: Q4 campaign budget split.” If you can’t name the verb, you don’t have a meeting yet.
Pre-read or no meet: Send the doc 24 hours prior with three questions to answer. Start the session at page two, not page one.
Roles: Driver (runs the agenda), Decider (makes the call), Scribe (captures actions - or utilise an AI notetaker). Three hats; fewer spectators.
Default to 20 minutes: Parkinson’s Law is real. Short time, sharp minds.
End with a scoreboard: Decisions made, owners, deadlines. Share the two-sentence recap. Meeting without actions is performance art.
Common pitfalls (and how to jump them)
“No one reads emails.” They don’t read bad emails. Use TL;DRs, deadlines, and ownership tags. Track with a simple decision log.
Reply-all opera: Move debates to a doc with comments. Summarise back to the thread: “Here’s the decision with rationale.”
FOMO scheduling: Inviting twelve people doesn’t buy alignment; it rents silence. Invite the decider and the core team who will do the work.
Pre-read amnesia: People didn’t read? Cancel or reschedule. Protect the standard or you’ll train the opposite.
Meeting as management: Holding meetings to feel “in control” is a vibe, not a strategy. Inspect outcomes rather than attendance.
Asynchronous purgatory: If two nudges fail, escalate synchronously: make the call and then document it.
How to broach this with a colleague (the one that books a meeting at 4.15pm on a Friday)
Try “Kind | Clear | Commercial”:
Kind: “Hey, I want us both to get our time back and still land great outcomes. You can give me a quick call if you need support”
Clear: “The last three check-ins were status updates we could have closed by email. Could we trial a doc-first update with a 24-hour comment window, then only meet if there’s a decision or disagreement?”
Commercial: “That gives us back ~2 hours a week and speeds decisions. I’ll draft the template and own the first one.”
If they’re wary, propose a two-week experiment with metrics: number of meetings, time saved, decisions made, cycle time from ask to answer. Share the before/after. Results beat opinions.
Creative swaps for yet another meeting
Walk & talk: Fresh air + fresh ideas = faster thinking.
One-slide update: Everyone adds their notes to a single Google Slide instead of a 30-minute catch-up.
Emoji check-in: A 👍, 👀 or ✅ in Teams/Slack beats a status meeting.
Tea-break call: Pick up the phone while you both make a cuppa at home.
Quick glance: A nod or two-minute desk chat can replace a formal huddle.
Lighten the load, keep the connection, and save meeting time for when it really moves work forward.
The Maxme moves
Critical thinking: Ask “What is the minimum synchronous time to make this decision well?”
Communication: Write like you’re paying per word (because you are- with attention).
EQ & trust: Make it safe to decline invites and to say, “This can be async.” Praise the behaviour you want repeated.
Bias check: Are we meeting because it’s Monday, or because it’s necessary?
Some meetings could be emails. Some emails could be a single well-titled line. And occasionally, the bravest decision is a calendar invite… to delete a calendar invite.
Choose with intent. Your brain (and your to-do list) will thank you.
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