Do You Really Need Another Meeting?
Introduction
Meetings have become the default setting of the modern workday. They show up back-to-back in our calendars, stack up faster than the laundry, and now that most are online, we spend hours glued to our office chairs in a relentless cycle of calls.
But have you every stopped to ask: Do we actually need this meeting?
You know the ones. The “catch-up” with no context. The project meeting without an agenda. The one where no one’s quite sure if it’s a discussion or a presentation. The irony? Meetings are meant to improve communication, yet half the time no one’s sure what we’re even here to do.
And while we’re politely nodding along, another hour disappears. The to-do list grows. The actions pile up, but when are we supposed to do them, exactly?
For many of us, a calendar full of meetings doesn’t just feel busy, it’s mentally exhausting. It drains our focus, eats into our real work, and sidelines the kind of thinking and movement our brains and bodies actually need to function.
In the pre-Covid world, we at least had some built-in movement: dashes between meeting rooms, standing huddles, coffee machine debriefs. Now? Most days, we don’t even get that.
This article is your gentle nudge to pause before you hit “Send” To rethink whether that meeting is truly necessary, and what it’s costing you (and your team) if it’s not.
Why Do You Need a Meeting?
Before you block out another hour on everyone’s calendar, pause. Ask the most important question of all: Do we actually need a meeting for this?
Too many meetings are booked by default, not by design. The calendar says “catch-up” or “Project X” and no one really knows why they’re there, just that they should show up, smile politely, and try to look engaged. This is how meetings go from being a tool to a time trap.
Start with the basics: What are you trying to achieve?
If you need to make a decision, align on strategy, solve a problem, or genuinely connect as a team, then yes, a meeting might be the right tool. Dialogue matters. Live interaction helps. And sometimes, the quickest path forward is getting the right people in the (virtual) room to hash it out.
But if you’re simply sharing updates, status reports, or information that doesn’t require input or debate, ask yourself whether a meeting is the most respectful use of everyone’s time. A short, clear email, a shared document, or a recorded video update might achieve the same result, without consuming an hour and multiple people's attention.
If the only reason you’re meeting is because you always meet, that’s not strategy, that’s habit. And we need to be mindful of our habits, especially when they eat into the time you could spend on deep work, focused movement, or even just a moment to get up from your desk and move.
Before you hit “Send,” get clear. If there’s no clear reason, no decision to make, and no real value in real-time discussion, don’t meet. Communicate differently. Choose another tool.
The best meetings start with a clear intention of what the group needs to achieve.
Calendar Clutter: Meeting Red Flags
We all fall into meeting autopilot now and then. Someone suggests a chat, someone else says “Sure,” and before you know it, there’s a calendar invite and a vague “catch-up” scheduled. But not every conversation needs to be a meeting, and some really shouldn’t be.
A full calendar can feel productive. Even when it’s filled with loosely defined catch-ups, rolling update calls, or recurring meetings so old no one remembers who set them up or why they’re still happening.
It’s easy to slip into this cycle, especially when tools like Outlook and Google Calendar make it so frictionless. But every low-value meeting takes a toll. On your time. Your energy. Your ability to move, focus, or finish what actually matters to your work goals and objectives.
If you’ve ever stared at an invite and thought, Do I actually need to be here?, trust that instinct. It’s the first step to reclaiming your schedule.
This isn’t about cancelling everything. It’s about catching the signs that a meeting has become more of a habit than a choice.
Here are some of the clues your meeting might be doing more harm than good.
The Subject Line Is “Catch-Up” - A classic. It's friendly, vague, and utterly devoid of purpose. If you can’t explain what the meeting is for in a sentence, you’re not ready to book it.
You’re Inviting People “Just in Case” - If your invite list is padded with names because “they might want to be in the loop,” hit pause. If someone isn’t essential to the conversation, there’s a better way to update them, hint: it starts with an “e” and ends with “mail.”
It’s on the Calendar Because It’s Always Been There - Recurring meetings are useful, until they become zombie meetings: technically alive, but no one knows why. If your Tuesday 10am sync exists purely because it always has, it might be time to ask: what’s it actually for? Do we need to cancel it?
You Don’t Know What You Want from It - You’ve got a hunch that something should be discussed, but you haven’t defined what decision, outcome, or clarity you’re aiming for. That’s a conversation in search of a purpose, not a meeting waiting to happen.
You’re Using It to Force Action - Sometimes, we schedule meetings because it’s the only way to get people deliver decisions or data. But using meetings as a substitute for communication, clarity, or decision-making authority just clutters the calendar and erodes trust.
It’s a Status Update... That Could’ve Been an Email - The meeting is just a parade of people saying “Still working on it.” If no decisions or discussions are happening, it’s a broadcast, send it as an email or shared document.
You’ve Scheduled It Because You’re Avoiding Sending a Tricky Email - It feels safer to “talk it out” than risk misinterpretation in writing. But if the conversation isn’t urgent or complex, a carefully written message might be the better route.
Everyone Brings Their Laptops - If half the room is multitasking, that’s not collaboration, it’s co-working with awkward eye contact.
It Was Scheduled Weeks Ago… and No One’s Updated the Agenda - The meeting might’ve had a purpose once, but if no one’s revised the plan or checked in, it’s likely out of date or irrelevant by now.
You’re Just Going Through the Motions - You’re holding the meeting because it’s on the calendar, not because there’s something pressing to discuss. It’s become a ritual, not a requirement.
It’s a Pre-Meeting About the Meeting - You’re gathering to prep for, debrief from, or reschedule… another meeting. This is the nesting doll of time-wasting.
The truth is, we don’t just need fewer meetings, we need better ones. Clearer purpose. Sharper focus. And space between them to actually do the work, reflect, reset, or move.
Every meeting you skip or streamline is a chance to protect your attention, your time, and your energy. Sometimes, the most productive thing you can do is… not meet.
So, before you hit “Send” pause. Ask yourself: Is this essential? Could it be shared another way? Will this help move us forward, or just fill the hour?
Let’s stop mistaking motion for momentum. The best meetings create space, not just take it.
How to Decline Meetings Without Guilt
There’s a certain anxiety that comes with saying no to a meeting, especially when the invite comes from someone senior, someone earnest, or someone who thinks "optional" means “I'll see you there.” But here's the truth: declining a meeting doesn't make you rude, lazy, or uncooperative. It makes you intentional.
Meetings consume attention, time, and energy, resources that are finite and already stretched thin. Protecting them isn’t selfish. It’s strategic. And if you want space for deep work, movement, and meaningful thinking, “no” has to be part of your vocabulary.
Let’s start with the real blocker: guilt.
We're conditioned to see presence as participation. That if you're not in the room (or on the call), you're not a team player. But attending every meeting doesn't make you valuable, it makes you unavailable for the work you were hired to do.
When to Say No To A Meeting Invite
Say no when:
You’re not essential to the discussion or decision.
There’s no clear agenda or purpose.
You’ve already provided input asynchronously.
Your role is to be “informed,” not involved (hello, email update).
The cost to your focus, recovery, or core priorities is too high.
You don’t need to justify every “no” with a 12-point rationale. You just need clarity on your priorities, and a way to express that with respect.
Graceful Ways to Say No
Here are some diplomatic, professional ways to decline a meeting while still offering value:
“Thanks for looping me in, I’m not able to attend but here are my thoughts on the subject.”
“I’m not able to join the live call, but feel free to share notes or recordings, I’ll follow up if I have questions.”
“I don’t think I’m the right person for this one. Is there a specific part you’d like my input on?”
“Appreciate the invite, but I have limited availability this week. If key decisions are made, I’d love to be kept in the loop.”
“At the moment, I’m protecting focus time to hit a key deadline, is there anything you need from me? can I stay in the loop another way?”
Saying no to a meeting doesn’t have to mean disappearing. In fact, some of the most helpful contributions happen outside the meeting room, because they’re more focused, more thoughtful, and don’t derail your day.
You can drop a few comments in the shared doc ahead of time, flagging key questions or offering clarity on your part of the project. If nuance matters, record a quick Loom or voice note so your tone and thinking come through clearly. Sometimes, a well-structured email laying out your position, questions, or concerns is not only sufficient, its’ exactly what the team needs to move forward without spiralling into real-time discussion.
If there’s someone better placed to represent your team or function, nominate them. And if you’re skipping the session but want to stay connected, a quick follow-up message, “Hope the meeting went well, let me know if anything new came up”, can signal support without burning an hour on a call.
The goal isn’t to disengage. It’s to contribute in ways that protect your time, preserve your focus, and respect the work you’re actually responsible for. Showing up with value doesn’t always mean showing up in person.
Cultural Shifts Start With You
If you're a leader, manager, or even just the person brave enough to question why yet another “quick catch-up” is on the calendar, your behaviour sets the tone. Every time you decline a meeting that doesn’t serve a clear purpose, or cancel one that no longer needs to happen, you quietly give others permission to do the same.
This isn’t about being difficult. It’s about being deliberate. When you role model smarter meeting habits, you create ripple effects that benefit the whole team. Try:
Blocking out “meeting-light” or “no-meeting” zones in your calendar.
Publicly celebrating meetings that end early, or that get replaced with a Slack thread, shared doc, or async video.
Modelling respectful ways to decline invites and inviting alternative contributions.
Encouraging team members to ask, “Do I need to be in this?”, without fear of looking uncommitted.
Every decision to protect your calendar isn’t just about saving time, it’s about creating room. Room to think, to move, to breathe. Room to do the deep work that gets pushed aside when your day is stacked edge-to-edge with calls. Room to follow through on the actions meetings often generate but rarely leave space to complete.
When you move beyond meeting-by-default, you don’t just reclaim your diary, you reclaim your focus, your energy, and your ability to do work that matters.
The real goal isn’t fewer meetings for the sake of it. It’s better meetings, on purpose, so there’s more space around them for everything else.
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