How to Create a “Meeting-Free” Schedule

Do you have “no meeting” days?

I see a lot of posts on LinkedIn about how important this is for productivity, but...

Many of us struggle to implement meeting-free days simply due to the nature of our work (project management is largely communication).

It may not be a great idea to tell our clients/stakeholders "I just don't talk to people on Fridays or Mondays."

If this is you, I see you and I understand your struggle.

Here are a few tips that can help:

✅ Have a conversation with  your manager about what a regular “no meeting” schedule would look like for you. Communicate to them how you expect that would help with your productivity, and develop a strategy together to make it happen.

BONUS: If you are a manager, initiate these conversations with your team!

✅ Set expectations for your stakeholders up front. When developing the communication plan for your project, be sure to make it clear when meetings will be scheduled and when you are/aren’t available. This goes both ways, so make sure you understand your stakeholders’ schedules as well. 

✅ If you are expected to be available to your external clients everyday, work with your team to develop a plan to cover each other’s no meeting days.

✅ If weekly no meeting days are not an option, try every other week.

✅ Block your day! Seems obvious, but I promise this is the one single thing that will make the biggest impact on the success of your “no meeting” strategy.

And finally, understand that even the best no meeting day strategy will not stop people from requesting meetings on your no meeting days. It just happens.

Ultimately you will  have to decide if and when “emergency” meetings are warranted and you want to make exceptions for your policy.

Do you have no meeting days? How do you enforce that policy for yourself?

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