Most meetings are 30 minutes because people default to 30 minutes. Not because the meeting actually needs 30 minutes.
What if you challenged that default?
The 10-Minute Meeting
The 10-minute meeting is exactly what it sounds like: a meeting that lasts 10 minutes. No more. You'd be surprised how much you can get done when time is that constrained.
How It Works
One topic per meeting. A 10-minute meeting can only cover one thing well. If you need to discuss two topics, schedule two meetings.
Three questions to answer:
- What is the decision we need to make?
- Who makes it?
- When do they decide by?
That's it. If you can't answer those three questions in 10 minutes, the meeting failed.
Why It Works
Forces preparation
When you have 10 minutes, you can't waste time on tangents. Everyone comes prepared.
Eliminates the status update trap
No time for updates. The meeting is for decisions, not information sharing.
Respects everyone's time
10 minutes is a rounding error. It's easy to protect. It's easy to fit into a busy calendar.
When to Use It
10-minute meetings work for:
- Quick decisions with clear options
- Single-topic discussions
- Unblocking someone
- Checking in on a specific action item
They don't work for:
- Complex decisions with many stakeholders
- Brainstorming sessions
- Performance reviews
- Any meeting that needs more than 10 minutes of real discussion
The Challenge
Try it for one week: every meeting that doesn't need to be an hour, cut it to 10 minutes. You'll find that most meetings don't need the full half hour. And the ones that do? Those are the ones that actually needed the time.
The best meetings are the shortest ones that get the job done.
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