How to Get Out of a Meeting You Know Will Waste Your Time

You can often predict which meetings will be unproductive from the moment you receive the invitation. But how can you dodge them? One approach is to suggest a minimally invasive compromise. A meeting will almost certainly take an hour or more of your time, so see if the other party would be willing to update you over email, or if a short phone call to get your input might suffice. Another approach is to make the meeting requestor aware that your time is a zero-sum game. Sometimes, even well-meaning people forget that your time isn’t infinite, so a tactful reminder can snap them back to reality and help them understand the consequences of their wanton meeting invitations.