The feeling of being over-scheduled is a symptom of running ineffective meetings with no clear purpose. These bad meetings create new problems that then spawn more meetings to fix them, creating a vicious cycle of wasted time. The solution is better meetings, not fewer.

Scheduled, recurring meetings can lead to teams inventing topics to discuss simply because the time is blocked. This creates busywork that isn't impactful. It's better to meet when necessary rather than defaulting to a fixed cadence without a clear, persistent need.

Typical marketing meetings devolve into a list of completed tasks and vanity metrics. A "Momentum Meeting" is fundamentally different: it’s structured around scorecards and goals. The focus shifts from "what did we do?" to "did we move the needle, and if not, why?" This fosters accountability and strategic problem-solving.

Instead of focusing on status updates, the best leaders use meetings to ask what team members are stuck on. This simple question normalizes challenges and turns the meeting into a collaborative problem-solving forum, making it far more effective and valuable for everyone involved.

Before attending a meeting, ask two questions: 1) "What specific decision or alignment will this create?" and 2) "What happens if we don't have this meeting?" If you can't provide clear, impactful answers, the meeting is a waste of time and should be canceled or handled asynchronously.

Instead of listing vague topics like "team discussion," structure each agenda item with a verb and a noun (e.g., "Decide Q4 budget," "Align on launch strategy"). This simple framing forces clarity on the desired outcome for each item and helps determine if it even requires a synchronous meeting.

Instead of seeking consensus, your primary role in a group meeting is to surface disagreements. This brings out the real challenges and priorities that are usually discussed behind closed doors, giving you the full picture of the problem before you ever present a solution.

The first step to better meetings is asking "should we have this meeting at all?" By eliminating purely informational meetings, you prevent the formation of norms like disengagement and silence. This makes it more likely that when a collaborative meeting is necessary, team members will actively participate.

Dysfunctional meetings are often a symptom, not the root problem. When clear communication channels are lacking, employees default to meetings because they are highly visible, creating a performance of productivity, and they effectively hijack others' attention, making them a blunt tool for getting noticed.