Once a month, I audit every meeting on my calendar. It's uncomfortable. It's also the best way to keep meetings sharp.
Why Monthly Audits
Meetings have a tendency to accumulate. A meeting gets scheduled for a specific purpose, the purpose goes away, but the meeting keeps happening. Suddenly you have a weekly team meeting that nobody can remember why they started.
Monthly audits cut through this. They force you to question every recurring meeting: is this still serving a purpose?
How to Audit
For each recurring meeting, ask:
1. What was this meeting for?
If you can't answer this in one sentence, the meeting probably shouldn't exist.
2. What decisions has it produced in the last month?
If the answer is none, the meeting is a ritual, not a tool. Rituals can be valuable — but they're not producing decisions.
3. Who actually needs to be there?
If someone hasn't spoken in the last three meetings, they probably don't need to be there. They can get updates asynchronously.
4. Can we reduce frequency?
If it's a weekly meeting that could be biweekly, try biweekly. If it could be async, try async.
What to Cut
If a meeting fails the audit, you have options:
- Cancel it entirely
- Consolidate it with another meeting
- Reduce frequency
- Convert to async updates
Most meetings can be improved. Some should be eliminated.
The System Behind It
I use a Meeting Mastery System that includes a monthly audit template:
- Meeting audit checklist
- Decision tracking for recurring meetings
- Action item review
- Follow-up system that tracks what meetings produce
The audit isn't about having fewer meetings. It's about having meetings that justify their existence.
[Link to Meeting Mastery System in bio]
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