I ran a survey recently with my engineers about their pain points. The number one pain point was too many meetings. This is a common complaint with teams that do Scrum, but our Scrum is pretty lightweight, so I started to dig a bit further – “go see.”

I sat down with a few of my engineers and, after confirming they agreed that they have too many meetings, I bluntly said to them, “Show me your calendar.” As I suspected, in all cases, it was pretty sparse, except for one of my tech leads, which I understood. What I did notice, though, is that they had meetings mid-morning and mid-afternoon consistently.

So my hypothesis was: it’s not that they have too many meetings; it’s that they get interrupted and don’t have long periods of focus to work. Working as an engineer before, I understand this. You need a good few uninterrupted hours every day to get into your zone and get stuff done.

I’ve had to deal with this before (as I said, it’s a common complaint in Scrum) and also have colleagues that have as well. Based on past experience, I was able to put together something that we tried. It starts off a bit draconian, but I think you have to because people always bend the rules. So here’s the guidance we came up with:

Practices around Meetings

Please observe the following practices around meetings to enhance productivity and maintain focus.

No Meetings after Lunch

Engineers need at least 2-3 uninterrupted hours straight each day, more if possible. This uninterrupted time is crucial for deep work and maintaining a flow state, which becomes essential for problem-solving and creativity in engineering tasks. According to Cal Newport, author of “Deep Work,” uninterrupted work periods significantly enhance productivity and job satisfaction.

While this may be challenging on sprint planning days, consider making one day per sprint an exception to this rule for sprint ceremonies. Getting other teams into this habit might also be difficult, but targeting one director area at a time can make it more manageable. Here are some tips to deal with it.

Alternative: If morning meetings are challenging, consider scheduling additional meetings at 5 pm to ensure uninterrupted work periods during the day until at least 5 pm.

Default Meeting Time is 30 Minutes

Avoid scheduling 1+ hour meetings at all costs, unless absolutely necessary. Shorter meetings encourage people to arrive on time and be efficient. It also pushes attendees to get to the point quickly and wrap up discussions promptly. Parkinson’s Law states that work expands to fill the time available for its completion. Therefore, shorter meetings can help in focusing discussions and give more time back to attendees.

Tip: If a meeting finishes early, LEAVE, rather than extending discussions unnecessarily.

Review the Purpose of Each Meeting

Assess the necessity of every meeting. If the meeting’s purpose can be achieved via an email or a Slack chat, do this instead. This helps reduce the number of unnecessary meetings and allows more time for focused work.

Tip: Establish clear agendas and goals for meetings to determine if they are truly necessary.

Combine Meetings with the Same Attendees

If you have two meetings that require the same people, schedule them back-to-back in the same room. This approach not only ensures everyone is on time for the second meeting, but if the first meeting ends early, you can start the second one earlier, and potentially give people back more free time.

Supporting Information and Citations
Newport, C. (2016). Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World. Grand Central Publishing.
Parkinson, C. N. (1955). Parkinson’s Law. The Economist.
Harvard Business Review. (2017). Stop the Meeting Madness. Retrieved from Harvard Business Review.

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Conclusion

Implementing these meeting practices can significantly improve team productivity and engineer satisfaction. By prioritizing uninterrupted work time, keeping meetings focused and efficient, and critically evaluating the necessity of each meeting, we can create an environment that fosters deep work and creativity.

Remember, the goal is not to eliminate meetings entirely, but to make them more purposeful and less disruptive to the flow of work. As we adopt these practices, we should:

1. Regularly check in with the team to assess the impact of these changes
2. Be flexible and willing to adjust the practices as needed
3. Lead by example, adhering to these guidelines ourselves

It’s important to recognize that changing ingrained habits takes time and persistence. There may be initial resistance or challenges, especially when coordinating with other teams or departments. However, the potential benefits – increased productivity, improved job satisfaction, and higher quality work – make this effort worthwhile.

By fostering a culture that values focused work time and efficient communication, we can help our engineers thrive and deliver their best work. Let’s view this as an ongoing process of optimization, always seeking ways to improve our work environment and practices.