June 17, 2024 • 11 mins
How often do you find yourself drowning in back-to-back meetings, with your Monday optimism crumbling by midweek? By Friday, it feels like the week has derailed, and you’re bracing yourself to catch up all weekend.
You’re not alone—over 70% of professionals feel they don’t have enough time to focus on their actual work due to constant meetings.
In this conversation, I’m going to reveal how implementing a meeting-free day can revolutionize your productivity. We’ll discuss how setting aside just one day each week for uninterrupted work can lead to increased focus, reduced stress, and a more satisfying work life.
By the end, you’ll have actionable tips on prioritizing deep work, making your weekends something to look forward to rather than another workday.
Don’t get stuck in the same exhausting cycle, working long hours, nights and weekend, missing the chance to reclaim your time and sanity. This one is a game-changer.
02:15 The Problem
03:52 Benefits of a Meeting-Free Day
04:57 Steps to Implement a Meeting-Free Day
08:45 Additional Resources
09:28 Closing Thoughts
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Do you under the workweek withdread because of back-to-back
meetings, any optimism youmight've had crumbles by
midweek.
Because you feel like you'vebeen derailed.
You're just knowing and bracingyourself that you're going to
catch up this weekend becauseyou've had no time to do any
meaningful work.
You're not alone.
Over 70% of professionals feellike they don't have enough time
(00:22):
to actually focus on the workdue to the constant meetings.
In today's conversation, I'mgoing to reveal how implementing
a meeting free day canrevolutionize your productivity.
We're going to discuss howsetting aside one day, each week
for uninterrupted work can leadto increase, focus, reduce
stress in a more satisfying worklife.
(00:44):
But at the end, you'll haveactionable tips on prioritizing
the deep whore.
Making your weekends, somethingto look forward to rather than
just another work.
Don't get stuck in the sameexhausting cycle, working long
hours and nights and weekends.
Missing your chance to claimyour time and sanity.
This one's game-changer.
As women, it's easy to feelover-scheduled over tired and
(01:08):
some days just over it.
It's time to ditch the guilt.
Still get things done and havetime left for ourselves and the
most important people in ourlives.
How do we do that?
You're about to find out.
Hey there, my name's Jenna Pashaand here you'll find the latest
biohacks mindset shifts andcalendar control strategies to
(01:30):
get you to the other side of thebusy.
I'll bring you insights on howto get more done during work
hours, so you can shut it offand prioritize what truly
matters.
In today's conversation, I'mgoing to share how implementing
a meeting free day can help youchange your productivity during
the workweek.
By the end, you'll haveactionable tips on prioritizing
(01:52):
the deep, meaningful focusedwork.
Making your weekends moreenjoyable and your Monday's less
scary and stressful.
Make sure you stick around tothe end though, where I'm going
to share with you a quick audit,you can do to free up more time
on your meeting field days.
So let's dive in.
What are the benefits of ameeting free day?
(02:13):
Well, like I mentioned, over 70%of professionals feel they don't
have enough time to focus ontheir actual work due to
constant meetings.
According to a 2023 survey froma Asana.
On global work.
We end up with this time,confetti.
15 minutes here between themeeting 30 minutes there.
Time to do little things, maybecheck an email, get back to
(02:35):
someone.
But nothing of deep meaningnothing of true focus.
That's moving our projectsforward, moving our businesses
forward.
We just don't have enough time.
We also can't concentrate on thetask at hand because we're
thinking about all the jobswe've left unfinished.
Have you felt this it's calledattention residue and it is
(02:58):
real.
It's the reason that you go tobed at night, still thinking
about all the things you've leftundone.
Even if you got 15 things donetoday, you'll still have the
ones that you didn't on yourmind.
And this can make us anxious andkeep us distracted from doing
meaningful work.
Or even focusing on the smallthings in front of us.
(03:20):
This time confetti in betweenmeetings also has us doing a lot
of context switching.
Checking this email here forfinancials, going over here to
do creative work, stepping overhere to check in with a client.
And that context switchingreally causes a lot of mental
fatigue.
Because we have to switch todifferent areas of our brain.
(03:41):
To accomplish the thing.
Leaving us exhausted.
The end of a Workday.
It's also super hard to find acreative rhythm when you only
have small pockets of time.
Deep work can be hard to get towith the interruptions of a
regular Workday and all of themeetings.
A meeting free day.
Reduces the chance ofinterruption and meetings, which
(04:04):
equals higher productivity.
Bieber focus.
More creative rhythm.
Right.
It's a better use of time andresources because people can
really dive into the work.
That's truly moving themforward.
The work that is moving thebusiness forward and paying
dividends.
It also results in happieremployees.
(04:25):
And happy are you.
This is because when we get theheads down time to actually
catch up on the work, it leavesus with a more positive work
environment.
Making people feel moreaccomplished.
And less stressed.
When you're less stressed.
You improve your satisfaction atwork, you improve your ability
to grow and to actually besatisfied in that business for
(04:47):
many more years..
So hopefully now you're excitedfor a meeting free day, but
wondering how in the world do Iget this into my schedule?
I have four steps to help youimplement one.
Step one is to evaluate when youhave the most energy and brain
power during your week.
Is this Monday's when you'refresh off of weekend
rejuvenation, or you will befresh out of a weekend
(05:10):
rejuvenation.
Once you have a meeting freeday.
Or maybe it's Wednesdays afteryou've had two days of work.
And then you want to catch up onall of those things before you
move into Thursday and Friday.
Whatever it is.
Choose a day now.
And here's the thing.
You can change it.
This isn't set in stone.
It's an experiment.
So try it out for three monthsand see how it works for you.
(05:32):
If you're on a team.
I highly encourage you to getconsensus on which day of the
week works best for the wholeteam to block calendars.
This will help you all planahead.
Honor each other's boundaries.
And really knock items offeveryone's to do list it will
boost productivity and givetasks, their complete attention
(05:55):
and focus.
Step two to implementing yourmeeting free day is to keep the
commitment.
So once you choose your day, Iwant you to go block it out.
Even if you have to start a fewweeks in advance.
Maybe you start by blackingMonday is, but the next few
Mondays, you already havemeetings in the afternoon.
That's a fine then just black.
What you can take Mondayafternoon to do the deep work
(06:18):
and start stepping into themeeting free day over the next
few weeks.
If someone asks you for ameeting on Mondays, you can just
simply say, have anothercommitment.
Will Tuesday work instead?
I have another commitment.
Is a complete sentence.
We don't need to explainourselves and you do truly have
another commitment to yourself.
(06:39):
Which is just as, or moreimportant than the commitments
that we make to others.
To do the deep work.
Step three to implementing yourmeeting free day is to create
boundaries and a space for thatdeep work.
That might look like getting outof the office if you work in the
office, so you can't beinterrupted and you truly can
get to the work.
Maybe it's going to a coffeeshop or just finding.
(07:02):
Uh, another space in your home.
Space in the park, outsidesomewhere where you can truly
focus and get into the work andfeel like you can't be
distracted.
So you can really honor thisboundary that you've created.
And step four is to choose highleverage work for your meeting
free days on the right.
Maybe in the first few weeks,you're going to play catch up on
(07:23):
all these onesy twosy littlethings that need to get done.
But as you step into havingmeeting free days more often,
it's really important that wemake the most of it.
So choosing high leverage workare those things that you really
need time to get into, maybeit's writing or creative
thinking.
Maybe it's analytical work orcoding or design.
(07:43):
Or some other project withcomplexity that you really need
to sit down and focus in, get inthe right frame of brain to do
that deep work.
Don't go into a meeting free daywithout a plan, or you'll end up
doing the onesy twosy work orcatching up on the emails.
And that's not the purpose ofthis.
It's to move your most importantwork forward.
Move your goals forward, moveyour business forward so you can
(08:05):
truly see a difference.
In ninety, a hundred and eightythree hundred sixty five days.
And again, ignore those routinetasks and email.
Focusing on the deep work,that's truly gonna move you
forward.
So I hope you use these steps toidentify and schedule a meeting
free day and see yourproductivity soar.
If you have other things thatare working for you or ways that
(08:27):
you've adjusted your meetingfree days, maybe you have more
than one now because it's workedso well for you.
Will you send me a note I'd loveto hear from you.
I'm at Jenna dot Piche.
on Instagram.
In a moment.
I'm going to share with you aquick audit.
You can use to free up more timeon your meeting field days, but
first.
If you're ready to choose andimplement your meeting free day.
(08:47):
Amazing.
I can't wait to hear about allyou accomplish.
But most people, I talk to needa little extra help rearranging
their schedules and prioritizingthe important work.
So I've put together somethingreally valuable for you.
It's a free resource called fivestrategies to calm the calendar
chaos.
In it, I'll share a way you cansimplify the work you plan to do
(09:07):
each day.
So you can skip from the, whatam I going to do to getting
right into the most importantthings that are going to move
you forward and help you makeprogress.
You can sign up forthat@theothersideofbusy.com
slash chaos or click the link inthe show notes.
All right.
Want to know a quick audit youcan use to free up more time and
your meeting filled days.
(09:28):
Perform a meeting.
audit.
First look at your recurringmeetings and ask, are these the
right attendees?
Are we getting the results wewant?
Are we leaving these meetingswith the desired goal or action
accomplished?
Create a list of where that istrue.
And the list of where it isn't.
The ones where it isn't ask, canyou scrap that and start over?
(09:50):
The ones where the meetingstruly are working.
Then ask yourself.
Can this meeting happen lessfrequently, maybe biweekly or
monthly rather than every week.
If not going to be shorter.
Can it be 15 or 25 minutesrather than 30, 50, rather than
60.
If this is an update meeting,could it be a short video routed
to those who need it or abi-weekly brief rather than an
(10:12):
actual meeting, saving everyonetime and allowing them to read
it on their own schedule.
And then update accordingly.
As new meeting requests, comein, ask yourself.
Is there a clear agenda for thismeeting and is my role clearly
defined along with the desiredoutcome?
Do I really need to attend this?
Could someone else.
(10:32):
By releasing what isn't workingand optimizing the meetings that
are necessary, we can free upspace for a meeting free day to
do the deep work that moves ourcareers and our businesses
forward.
That allows us to prioritizelife outside of work.
I hope you found somethingvaluable in this episode, if you
do, will you please share it?
And until next time may the workthat you do create the meaning
(10:55):
and the life that you trulydeserve.
I'm rooting for you.
Do you under the workweek withdread because of back-to-back
meetings, any optimism youmight've had crumbles by
midweek.
Because you feel like you'vebeen derailed.
You're just knowing and bracingyourself that you're going to
catch up this weekend becauseyou've had no time to do any
meaningful work.
You're not alone.
Over 70% of professionals feellike they don't have enough time
(00:22):
to actually focus on the workdue to the constant meetings.
In today's conversation, I'mgoing to reveal how implementing
a meeting free day canrevolutionize your productivity.
We're going to discuss howsetting aside one day, each week
for uninterrupted work can leadto increase, focus, reduce
stress in a more satisfying worklife.
(00:44):
But at the end, you'll haveactionable tips on prioritizing
the deep whore.
Making your weekends, somethingto look forward to rather than
just another work.
Don't get stuck in the sameexhausting cycle, working long
hours and nights and weekends.
Missing your chance to claimyour time and sanity.
This one's game-changer.
As women, it's easy to feelover-scheduled over tired and
(01:08):
some days just over it.
It's time to ditch the guilt.
Still get things done and havetime left for ourselves and the
most important people in ourlives.
How do we do that?
You're about to find out.
Hey there, my name's Jenna Pashaand here you'll find the latest
biohacks mindset shifts andcalendar control strategies to
(01:30):
get you to the other side of thebusy.
I'll bring you insights on howto get more done during work
hours, so you can shut it offand prioritize what truly
matters.
In today's conversation, I'mgoing to share how implementing
a meeting free day can help youchange your productivity during
the workweek.
By the end, you'll haveactionable tips on prioritizing
(01:52):
the deep, meaningful focusedwork.
Making your weekends moreenjoyable and your Monday's less
scary and stressful.
Make sure you stick around tothe end though, where I'm going
to share with you a quick audit,you can do to free up more time
on your meeting field days.
So let's dive in.
What are the benefits of ameeting free day?
(02:13):
Well, like I mentioned, over 70%of professionals feel they don't
have enough time to focus ontheir actual work due to
constant meetings.
According to a 2023 survey froma Asana.
On global work.
We end up with this time,confetti.
15 minutes here between themeeting 30 minutes there.
Time to do little things, maybecheck an email, get back to
(02:35):
someone.
But nothing of deep meaningnothing of true focus.
That's moving our projectsforward, moving our businesses
forward.
We just don't have enough time.
We also can't concentrate on thetask at hand because we're
thinking about all the jobswe've left unfinished.
Have you felt this it's calledattention residue and it is
(02:58):
real.
It's the reason that you go tobed at night, still thinking
about all the things you've leftundone.
Even if you got 15 things donetoday, you'll still have the
ones that you didn't on yourmind.
And this can make us anxious andkeep us distracted from doing
meaningful work.
Or even focusing on the smallthings in front of us.
(03:20):
This time confetti in betweenmeetings also has us doing a lot
of context switching.
Checking this email here forfinancials, going over here to
do creative work, stepping overhere to check in with a client.
And that context switchingreally causes a lot of mental
fatigue.
Because we have to switch todifferent areas of our brain.
(03:41):
To accomplish the thing.
Leaving us exhausted.
The end of a Workday.
It's also super hard to find acreative rhythm when you only
have small pockets of time.
Deep work can be hard to get towith the interruptions of a
regular Workday and all of themeetings.
A meeting free day.
Reduces the chance ofinterruption and meetings, which
(04:04):
equals higher productivity.
Bieber focus.
More creative rhythm.
Right.
It's a better use of time andresources because people can
really dive into the work.
That's truly moving themforward.
The work that is moving thebusiness forward and paying
dividends.
It also results in happieremployees.
(04:25):
And happy are you.
This is because when we get theheads down time to actually
catch up on the work, it leavesus with a more positive work
environment.
Making people feel moreaccomplished.
And less stressed.
When you're less stressed.
You improve your satisfaction atwork, you improve your ability
to grow and to actually besatisfied in that business for
(04:47):
many more years..
So hopefully now you're excitedfor a meeting free day, but
wondering how in the world do Iget this into my schedule?
I have four steps to help youimplement one.
Step one is to evaluate when youhave the most energy and brain
power during your week.
Is this Monday's when you'refresh off of weekend
rejuvenation, or you will befresh out of a weekend
(05:10):
rejuvenation.
Once you have a meeting freeday.
Or maybe it's Wednesdays afteryou've had two days of work.
And then you want to catch up onall of those things before you
move into Thursday and Friday.
Whatever it is.
Choose a day now.
And here's the thing.
You can change it.
This isn't set in stone.
It's an experiment.
So try it out for three monthsand see how it works for you.
(05:32):
If you're on a team.
I highly encourage you to getconsensus on which day of the
week works best for the wholeteam to block calendars.
This will help you all planahead.
Honor each other's boundaries.
And really knock items offeveryone's to do list it will
boost productivity and givetasks, their complete attention
(05:55):
and focus.
Step two to implementing yourmeeting free day is to keep the
commitment.
So once you choose your day, Iwant you to go block it out.
Even if you have to start a fewweeks in advance.
Maybe you start by blackingMonday is, but the next few
Mondays, you already havemeetings in the afternoon.
That's a fine then just black.
What you can take Mondayafternoon to do the deep work
(06:18):
and start stepping into themeeting free day over the next
few weeks.
If someone asks you for ameeting on Mondays, you can just
simply say, have anothercommitment.
Will Tuesday work instead?
I have another commitment.
Is a complete sentence.
We don't need to explainourselves and you do truly have
another commitment to yourself.
(06:39):
Which is just as, or moreimportant than the commitments
that we make to others.
To do the deep work.
Step three to implementing yourmeeting free day is to create
boundaries and a space for thatdeep work.
That might look like getting outof the office if you work in the
office, so you can't beinterrupted and you truly can
get to the work.
Maybe it's going to a coffeeshop or just finding.
(07:02):
Uh, another space in your home.
Space in the park, outsidesomewhere where you can truly
focus and get into the work andfeel like you can't be
distracted.
So you can really honor thisboundary that you've created.
And step four is to choose highleverage work for your meeting
free days on the right.
Maybe in the first few weeks,you're going to play catch up on
(07:23):
all these onesy twosy littlethings that need to get done.
But as you step into havingmeeting free days more often,
it's really important that wemake the most of it.
So choosing high leverage workare those things that you really
need time to get into, maybeit's writing or creative
thinking.
Maybe it's analytical work orcoding or design.
(07:43):
Or some other project withcomplexity that you really need
to sit down and focus in, get inthe right frame of brain to do
that deep work.
Don't go into a meeting free daywithout a plan, or you'll end up
doing the onesy twosy work orcatching up on the emails.
And that's not the purpose ofthis.
It's to move your most importantwork forward.
Move your goals forward, moveyour business forward so you can
(08:05):
truly see a difference.
In ninety, a hundred and eightythree hundred sixty five days.
And again, ignore those routinetasks and email.
Focusing on the deep work,that's truly gonna move you
forward.
So I hope you use these steps toidentify and schedule a meeting
free day and see yourproductivity soar.
If you have other things thatare working for you or ways that
(08:27):
you've adjusted your meetingfree days, maybe you have more
than one now because it's workedso well for you.
Will you send me a note I'd loveto hear from you.
I'm at Jenna dot Piche.
on Instagram.
In a moment.
I'm going to share with you aquick audit.
You can use to free up more timeon your meeting field days, but
first.
If you're ready to choose andimplement your meeting free day.
(08:47):
Amazing.
I can't wait to hear about allyou accomplish.
But most people, I talk to needa little extra help rearranging
their schedules and prioritizingthe important work.
So I've put together somethingreally valuable for you.
It's a free resource called fivestrategies to calm the calendar
chaos.
In it, I'll share a way you cansimplify the work you plan to do
(09:07):
each day.
So you can skip from the, whatam I going to do to getting
right into the most importantthings that are going to move
you forward and help you makeprogress.
You can sign up forthat@theothersideofbusy.com
slash chaos or click the link inthe show notes.
All right.
Want to know a quick audit youcan use to free up more time and
your meeting filled days.
(09:28):
Perform a meeting.
audit.
First look at your recurringmeetings and ask, are these the
right attendees?
Are we getting the results wewant?
Are we leaving these meetingswith the desired goal or action
accomplished?
Create a list of where that istrue.
And the list of where it isn't.
The ones where it isn't ask, canyou scrap that and start over?
(09:50):
The ones where the meetingstruly are working.
Then ask yourself.
Can this meeting happen lessfrequently, maybe biweekly or
monthly rather than every week.
If not going to be shorter.
Can it be 15 or 25 minutesrather than 30, 50, rather than
60.
If this is an update meeting,could it be a short video routed
to those who need it or abi-weekly brief rather than an
(10:12):
actual meeting, saving everyonetime and allowing them to read
it on their own schedule.
And then update accordingly.
As new meeting requests, comein, ask yourself.
Is there a clear agenda for thismeeting and is my role clearly
defined along with the desiredoutcome?
Do I really need to attend this?
Could someone else.
(10:32):
By releasing what isn't workingand optimizing the meetings that
are necessary, we can free upspace for a meeting free day to
do the deep work that moves ourcareers and our businesses
forward.
That allows us to prioritizelife outside of work.
I hope you found somethingvaluable in this episode, if you
do, will you please share it?
And until next time may the workthat you do create the meaning
(10:55):
and the life that you trulydeserve.
I'm rooting for you.
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