“This meeting could have been by email.”
You’ve probably had this idea at least once. Effective meetings support employee engagement, coordination, and decision-making, but people are often forced to attend meetings that they feel are unnecessary. This can rob you of valuable time to get your work done.
Laura Vanderkam, author of several books on time management and productivity, says that ideal meetings “should involve decisions that require everyone to come together to make a conclusion.” Rather, for many people, “The whole reason the meeting is being held is because it’s Thursday at 10am.”
When attending a meeting, Vanderkam says everyone should know why it is needed, what needs to be accomplished, and what the agenda is. However, all too often it is unclear why meetings are being held or what purpose they are supposed to achieve.
One small change in the agenda can lead to more effective meetings and reduce unnecessary meetings, says Steven Rogelberg, UNC Charlotte’s Chancellor’s Professor of Organizational Science, Management, and Psychology, and author of two books on meeting science.
“Rather than framing your meeting agenda as a series of topics to discuss, consider framing it as a series of questions to answer,” he says.
“By framing the agenda as a question, you now really have to stop and think: Why are we having this meeting?” he added. “By structuring an agenda as a question, you can better understand who needs to attend because it’s relevant to the question. By structuring an agenda as a question, you’ll know if the meeting was successful and if the questions were answered.”
What if you can’t think of a question? “That probably means you don’t need a meeting,” Rogelberg says.
In addition to canceling or rejecting unnecessary meetings, improvements can often be made by shortening necessary meetings or reducing their size and frequency.
“It seems crazy that every business decision is made within exactly 30 or 60 minutes,” Vanderkam says.
Want to give your kids the ultimate advantage? Sign up for CNBC’s new online course, “How to Raise Financially Smart Kids.” Learn how to build healthy financial habits now to set your child up for greater success in the future. Use coupon code EARLYBIRD for 30% off. Offer valid from December 8th to December 22nd, 2025. Terms and conditions apply.
