This Meeting Could’ve Been an Email
- 6 days ago
- 3 min read
You accepted the invite, didn’t you?
That meeting you knew would be useless.
Still showed up.
Still took notes.
Maybe you even nodded along, pretending to care about the agenda that could’ve been summarized in a single sentence.
Sound familiar?
Welcome to the world of pointless meetings. We've all been there—we've all regretted it. It happened to me just last week.
Meetings as a Symptom
Meetings often aren’t the actual problem.
They’re a symptom of deeper issues lurking beneath the surface.
Lack of clarity
When no one knows what the meeting is really about, it drifts into endless chatter. Without a clear goal, people fill the silence with vague updates, side stories, and conversations that go nowhere.
Fear of decisions
Sometimes meetings exist because nobody wants to make the call. It feels safer to gather everyone together and talk in circles than risk being responsible for a decision.
Accountability avoidance
Meetings can also become a way to spread blame. If everyone is involved, no one is truly accountable. It’s easier to hide behind group consensus than stand alone.
These patterns create a loop where meetings multiply—but progress stalls.
Time Is the Real Cost
The obvious cost of meetings is time.
The real damage goes far beyond the clock.
Opportunity cost
Every hour spent in a pointless meeting is an hour not spent on actual work. That report won’t write itself, and that problem won’t solve itself.
Energy drain
Sitting through a dull meeting drains your energy. By the time it ends, you’re already mentally behind on the work you actually needed to do.
Context switching
Jumping between deep work and meetings destroys focus. And the worst part? It takes time to fully lock back in afterward.
That productivity loss adds up quickly.
Spend 10 hours a week in useless meetings and congratulations—you just lost an entire workday.
And the worst part? Most people already know it.
A University of North Carolina survey of 182 senior managers found:
71% said meetings are unproductive and inefficient
65% said meetings keep them from completing actual work
64% said meetings come at the expense of deep thinking
That’s not a small issue—that’s an organizational problem.
Yet somehow, meetings continue to dominate workplace culture because we’ve convinced ourselves they’re the best way to “get everyone on the same page.”
Except… most of the time, they aren’t.
Usually one person dominates the conversation, too many people are invited, and everyone leaves with varying interpretations of what was actually decided.
Instead of creating alignment, bad meetings create confusion, drain momentum, and give people the illusion of productivity.
A lot of meetings aren’t collaboration—they’re bad company habits disguised as work
Good Meetings Exist (Rarely)
Not all meetings deserve the hate they get.
When done correctly, they can actually be useful.
Clear purpose
Every meeting should have a defined goal. Make a decision. Solve a problem. Share critical updates. If nobody can explain why the meeting exists, it probably shouldn’t.
Prep work beforehand
Send materials ahead of time so people arrive prepared. Nobody wants to spend the first 20 minutes “getting everyone up to speed.”
Decisions get made
A good meeting ends with action items, ownership, and next steps. If everyone leaves confused, the meeting failed.
For example: a product team reviews customer feedback, aligns on next steps, assigns ownership, and leaves with a plan.
THAT is a meeting worth attending.
Why Bad Meetings Persist
If bad meetings are so obviously painful, why do they keep happening?
Status signaling
Some meetings exist purely to show who’s important or who’s “busy.” For some people, a packed calendar feels like proof of value.
Habit
Meetings become routine. People schedule them because “that’s what we do,” not because they actually need to happen.
“This is how we’ve always done it.”
There it is again—ugh!
The corporate phrase responsible for more wasted time than probably anything else in modern work culture.
Suggest canceling a recurring meeting and suddenly people act like you threatened the foundation of civilization.
Breaking these habits requires people willing to challenge the status quo—and most workplaces are uncomfortable with that.
Cancel One Thing Tomorrow
This isn’t a manifesto.
It’s a nudge.
Look at your calendar tomorrow. Find one meeting that can be an email. Cancel it. Send a clear summary instead.
Watch what happens.
Maybe people push back. Maybe someone gets confused because the meeting they’ve attended for three years suddenly disappeared.
But you’ll also reclaim time, energy, and focus.
Try it.
Cancel one thing tomorrow.
It won’t fix corporate meeting culture overnight—but it’s a start.
And honestly? Most companies desperately need one.
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