As IT Specialist I was invited to relatively few meetings, which was great. I can’t stand meetings, especially ones that start late, run long, and have no agenda (so, most meetings). Unfortunately, in the days since my new title was made public I have been invited to nearly a dozen meetings and - I’m sorry to admit - created a few of my own.

This needs to stop. Meetings are toxic.

Below is an excerpt from a short essay from the 37Signals book Getting Real that hits the nail on the head:

There’s nothing more toxic to productivity than a meeting. Here’s a few reasons why:

• They break your work day into small, incoherent pieces that disrupt your natural workflow
• They’re usually about words and abstract concepts, not real things (like a piece of code or some interface design)
• They usually convey an abysmally small amount of information per minute
• They often contain at least one moron that inevitably gets his turn to waste everyone’s time with nonsense
• They drift off-subject easier than a Chicago cab in heavy snow
• They frequently have agendas so vague nobody is really sure what they are about
• They require thorough preparation that people rarely do anyway

Can you send an email instead of scheduling a meeting? Can you stop by someone’s office instead of scheduling a meeting? Can you do anything instead of scheduling a meeting. In most cases I bet you can.

Fewer meetings means higher productivity. Higher productivity means a better bottom line, and that’s something to get excited about.

If I decline your meeting request, don’t be offended. I just want to get some work done.