Do more work by doing four more meetings every week

This sounds completely counter-intuitive. But trust me, it works.

It’s been one year since we went into lockdown and remote work. The first few days had been a novelty. But the days turned into weeks and weeks into months. Work was getting done but I had doubts. Doubts that I wasn’t as productive at work. Surely it was the craziness in the world and video call fatigue. But as time passed, I realised that they were only part of the problem. I was not doing a few of the things that gave me energy. So, I stopped and made some micro adjustments. They worked for me. I hope they will do the same for you.

So, what were the energizers I missed?

1. I missed learning. With remote work, it was only work. I wasn’t spending time to learn and upskill.
2. Focus deep work time had vanished. Sometimes I locked myself up in a room to do deep thinking and working. When at home, I was always in my room and never could get myself to the same mindfulness. There was no change of scenery that got me into the zone.
3. I loved the outdoors. I would sneak away during the day to have a meeting outside or me chores. I had stopped getting my daily dose of sunshine. Even the commute to work had gone.
4. Water cooler conversations helped me learn about my co-workers. About their lives and what they had been up to. I made myself connect more to them and learn about their work. Now that completely stopped.

So, I decided on four micro adjustments to my work schedule. They cost me on average 4–5 hours a week, but I am much more productive and energised now. So, what did I do?

I sent four meeting invites to myself.

Invite 1: Learning time (1 hour a week). I spend this time learning about new topics or reading articles related to my work. Sometimes it’s going over a pre-recorded video by one of the leaders or conferences. Anything to improve my learning.

Invite 2: Deep work time (1 hour, 2 times a week). This is the minimum time I use every week to do deep work. Sometimes it’s working on a presentation, other times its giving feedback on a document. I shut off all notifications and chats and just focus. I begin it with 5 minutes of mindfulness (So it’s really 55 mins). This gets me in the zone.

Invite 3: Sun time (30 minutes a day, at least 3 times a week). Time to go spend time outdoors taking a call or doing chores or just a walk. Get some Vitamin Ds. To be honest, I sometimes cheat here when it rains. Those days I cancel this meeting and work.

Invite 4: Casual coffee time (15 minutes, 2 people a week). I make sure to spend time every week chatting to at least 2 co-workers. I am surprised how great it feels after I do this. I know my colleagues so much better and work with them more.

These are my four meeting simple hacks to a better work week during remote work. Let me know what have been yours?