Your Meetings Are Killing Productivity and Here's Why

Lead In 30 Podcast

The science shows we're doing it all wrong! New research about virtual and offsite meetings shows they're leading to burnout and lack of engagement. We're doing it all wrong. In this episode Lone Rock Leadership cofounder Russ Hill shares three new scientific research studies that shows how we need to adjust our virtual meetings and our offsite schedules to boost engagement and drive results.
• Virtual meetings should ideally last 30 minutes, never exceeding 2 hours
• Limit meetings to 3-4 per day with substantial breaks between them
• For offsites, start later (9-10am) or at noon, not 8am
• End meetings around 2:30-3pm when brains naturally disengage
• Block your calendar to prevent back-to-back scheduling
• Leave people "wanting more" rather than completely depleted
• Microsoft's brain activity research shows significant stress during back-to-back meetings
• Long meetings create both mental underload (boredom) and overload (information saturation)
• Shorter meetings lead to more engagement and better outcomes
• Allow time for networking, individual work, and natural connections
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About the podcast:
The Lead In 30 Podcast with Russ Hill is for leaders of teams who want to grow and accelerate their results. In each episode, Russ Hill shares what he's learned consulting executives. Subscribe to get two new episodes every week. To connect with Russ message him on LinkedIn!

Chapters

1. The Problem with Long Meetings (00:00:00)

2. Learning from Corporate Offsite Experiences (00:05:45)

3. Effectiveness of Shorter Meetings (00:10:04)

4. Optimal Offsite Meeting Structure (00:13:52)

5. Virtual Meeting Best Practices (00:18:56)

6. Brain Science Research Findings (00:24:18)

7. Key Takeaways for Better Meetings (00:28:11)