Finding Time To Do The Work That Actually Matters
READ TIME - 5 MINUTES
“Did anyone else see the little green dots last night?” asked Rowan, dropping their bag and squinting at the screen. “I logged off at 9:45pm, and it looked like half the team was still online.”
Alisha yawned. “Yeah. Guilty. I was finishing the stakeholder map with my Sleepy Time tea at 10. Then I saw you pop back on at 6:02 this morning.”
Jared groaned. “That was me too. I woke up thinking about the comms pack, so just rolled over and opened the laptop. My calendar today is wall‑to‑wall. It’s the only time I had to do it. Pretty sure Sori was online first thing too…”
Sori tugged on her hoodie sleeve. “Yep, I got a head start on that new deck at 5:50am because it’s the only time I can focus without interruptions. By 8, it’s meetings, pings and calls nonstop. It’s exhausting… We’re doing all this work in the margins of our real job.”
If that sounds familiar, here’s the fix:
Introduce a meeting‑free day.
Ok look, we know it might sound impossible, but we promise it’s not mythical.
And it can work for you.
And no, you don't have to wait for “when things calm down.”
You can introduce a recurring day each week where you do the deep work that really matters - design, analysis, writing, prep, whatever - without interruption right now.
Impactful change work needs deep focus: synthesis, strategy, writing, design.
You don’t get that from ten-minute gaps between calls.
Meeting-free days reduce context switching, cut stress, and significantly lift output and cooperation.
According to MIT Sloan Management Review research:
One meeting-free day per week increased productivity by around 35% (yes, seriously, 35%!) and reduced micromanagement and stress.
Two meeting-free days per week boosted productivity by roughly 71%, with further gains in autonomy, cooperation, and satisfaction. A SEVENTY ONE PERCENT BOOST!!!
Teams reported fewer unnecessary meetings, higher-quality collaboration, and better decision speed, because thinking had time to happen.
This isn’t indulgence. It’s operationally smart.
How to do it (and make it stick)
1. Suggest it with your team and pick the day together
Bring the idea to your colleagues first. Ask, “Which day would genuinely work best for all of us for deep work, given our rhythms?”
Choose a day that typically avoids external must-haves.
Agree on it together so it’s owned, not imposed.
2. Clarify the rules. Keep them simple
Make three rules, max:
no internal meetings that day;
urgent true exceptions only;
Do Not Disturb status on, notifications pared back.
Simplicity keeps you honest.
3. Socialise it with stakeholders. Give them two weeks' notice
Position your weekly meeting free day schedule as a one‑month experiment.
That’s short enough not to alarm anyone, long enough to feel the benefits and build the habit.
Send a brief email to stakeholders: what you’re doing, why it helps them (better quality, faster turnaround on other days), when it starts, and how to reach you for urgent issues.
Also, add a friendly note in your email signature.
For example: “Wednesdays are my meeting‑free focus day, so I can deliver higher‑quality work. For anything time‑sensitive, I keep a placeholder in my calendar on Tue/Thu. Appreciate your support!"
4. Create a rhythm around it
The day before, post a quick note in your usual collaboration channels: “Focus day tomorrow - if you need anything time‑sensitive, hit me up before 3pm today.”
On the day, switch team statuses to something along the lines of “Heads down progressing our most impactful work.”
At the end of the day, keep accountability light: each person can post a simple one-line update, “What I moved forward today.”
5. Guard the edges
On the day, do everything in your power to avoid those “just a quick 15-min call” at 9:00am or 4:45pm.
Remember, this is your precious time to do the deep work that really matters. You can’t do it in 10 minutes here and there.
If an immovable must‑have lands on your focus day, you’ll have to wear it that week.
Let that sting motivate you to protect the day fiercely next time.
6. Make async your friend
On your meeting-free day, rather than hitting up your colleagues in real time, understand that they’re focusing on important work too.
Instead of calling or pinging them expecting an immediate response, convert status updates to a short written post or a 90‑second screen record.
If you need to, keep a living Now / Next / Later board so people can self‑serve context.
Use comments and tracked changes instead of meetings for reviews.
7. Offer a safety valve (without breaking the day)
Set up a 30-min placeholder in your calendar the day before and the day after for genuinely time‑sensitive items that might come up.
Most stakeholders relax when they know there’s a nearby option to connect with you live - without you sacrificing the focus day itself.
Here’s the big idea: You don’t have to earn the right to think. You just have to schedule it.
One meeting‑free day a week gives you the attention your craft requires. And your stakeholders will feel the difference in every deliverable and conversation.
Block a day.
Get your brain (and sanity!) back.
That’s it for this week.
Next Tuesday, we’ll dig into the rumour mill: how to calm speculation with a simple two‑step update rhythm that says exactly what we know now and what we’ll confirm next.
See you then,
Team EVER
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