This meeting was avoidable
Today, we have more communication tools than ever - Google Meet, Zoom, shared docs, Looms, and even AI-generated summaries.
In theory, this should reduce meetings.
In practice, calendars are still packed.
In this newsletter article [This meeting was avoidable], author Matthew Fray explores why that might be the case - and highlights a simple but powerful shift:
“I experienced the greatest gain in my productivity after avoiding frequent catch-up phone calls without documents to review before the call.”
“Document” doesn’t have to mean a formal memo. It can be a voice note or short loom - essentially, sharing context before the call.
This saves time in three ways:
It forces the person raising the issue to clarify and sharpen their thinking.
If it’s a voice note or Loom, you can listen faster when it’s easy to process - or replay it if you need time to reflect.
It gives you space to think through the issue in advance, which can sometimes eliminate the need for the meeting entirely.
There’s an important balance. We don’t want people to hesitate to raise issues because of added friction. But at minimum, encouraging voice notes as a lightweight forcing function can significantly improve clarity and reduce meeting load.
Call to Action:
Experiment with requiring lightweight pre-work (even a quick voice note) before scheduling meetings - and share this approach within your teams.
