Callum Laing Advocates for Shorter Meetings to Boost Productivity

In a recent LinkedIn post, Callum Laing discusses the pervasive issue of inefficient meetings and proposes a simple yet powerful solution: reducing their duration. Laing shares his personal experience transitioning from default one-hour meetings to shorter, more focused sessions, a change that significantly impacted his productivity during a critical period in his career.

The Challenge of Time and Meetings

Laing begins by highlighting a common workplace phenomenon: “Work expands to fill the time you give it, and nowhere is that truer than in meetings.” He illustrates this point with his experience taking his first company public. The sudden influx of valuable opportunities, such as investor updates, partnership inquiries, and media attention, created an overwhelming volume of work. This hectic period necessitated a re-evaluation of his time management, particularly his meeting schedule.

“Up until then, my default was to book one-hour meetings. But during that period, we simply didn’t have the luxury. My PA cut all my meetings down to 20 minutes so I could fit three into the time I’d normally spend on one.”

This forced adjustment, as Laing explains, had a profound effect. It compelled him and likely those he met with to be more concise, focused, and direct. The outcome was not a decline in effectiveness but an improvement in efficiency.

The Lasting Impact of Shorter Meetings

Even after the initial intense period subsided, Laing did not revert to his previous meeting habits. He states that his default meeting length is now 30 minutes. Furthermore, he uses shorter, 15-20 minute slots as an indicator that a situation is particularly demanding and requires immediate, to-the-point discussions.

“It’s a great exercise to challenge yourself with: do you really need an hour for that meeting, or could it be done in 20 minutes? Or less?”

Laing frames this as a valuable self-challenge for professionals. He encourages readers to question the necessity of lengthy meetings and consider whether a shorter duration would suffice, potentially leading to increased productivity for all involved. This approach, he suggests, is not just about personal time management but about fostering a more efficient work environment.

Call to Action and Reader Engagement

The post concludes with a direct question to his audience, inviting them to share their own experiences:

“What’s the one meeting you cut (or cut down) that made everyone more productive?”

This engagement prompt underscores Laing’s belief in the power of shared learning and practical application of productivity strategies. By sharing his insights and soliciting feedback, Callum Laing positions himself as a thought leader in time management and operational efficiency, offering actionable advice derived from his own business experiences.