Over the first two years of my career, I spent approximately 5 hours on average weekly in meetings. Most of them running around 40 minutes. Looking back at my notes, most of those meetings could have been condensed to a 15 minute meeting or an email.
According to Harvard Business Review, companies spend a total of $37 billion per year on meetings. An organization employing 5,000 people waste around $100 million annually and an organization with 100 employees would save approximately $2.5 million per year by eliminating only the unnecessary meetings.
I know meetings can be important spaces, and that not every meeting is a waste of time. BUT understand that every meeting has the potential to waste time if it is not done right.
If you are a meeting organizer, of .. let's say 20 people. Shaving 30 minutes off your minutes will save a cumulative 10 working hours in that one meeting.
Let that sink in.
Aim to do less meetings, but do them really well. A meeting done well can create real impact. Done poorly, they are a drain on time, energy and resources.