We still sit through way too many meetings that we know are a complete waste of our time. They don't have an agenda, they don't have a clear focus, they don't help us hit our #goals.
In Not Doing List, I show that when you skip just ONE low value meeting per week, you can produce up to $616,000 in additional profit each year. Yes, YOU! Find one meeting each week to cancel, dodge, or delete. Use that time instead to solve harder problems and unlock huge upside for your organization.
But how? How do we find out which meetings will be a waste? Some are obvious and we should just find a way to get out of those quickly.
When someone sends you a vague request for your time, it's harder. Don't just accept the invites your receive. We need to force the sender to make a business case for our time. It's the only way to know whether it's worth one of our precious #168hours.
We also can't just delete all of these requests for our time. One technique to see how serious someone is about using your time wisely is the “ridiculous reschedule.” Simply counter the meeting invite and suggest a new time about 30 to 60 days out. Add a line that says something like: “packed schedule right now, can this wait until next month?”
This move is a forcing mechanism. You're forcing the other person to be serious about using your time in the best way possible. You're essentially saying, "bring a business case for my time and we can meet sooner." Seven out of ten times, they will cancel the meeting and go bother someone else. If it is important enough, the sender will clearly outline why. They will lobby you. They will clarify what you will accomplish and how you will both move closer to your #goals. If the person has clear justification, and you see how it ties to your focus areas, then take the meeting sooner.