8 Meeting Tweaks That Give Your Team an Hour Back Every Week

Most workplaces aren’t burned out simply because people are working too hard. They’re burned out because of meaningless tasks and meetings.

Meetings aren’t the enemy, but the way we run them often is. Inefficient meetings drain energy, delay decisions, and communicate (even unintentionally) that time is optional and attention is unlimited.

Here are eight practical ways to give your team back at least an hour every week—without adding another program, app, or consultant.

1. Default to 25- or 50-Minute Meetings

The calendar invites are a problem. When everything is set for 30 or 60 minutes, we fill the time just because it’s there. Shorten by five or ten minutes—people use the time better, and they get a breath before the next call.

2. Don’t Start with Updates—Send Them Ahead of Time

If information can be read, it shouldn’t be spoken live. Email or post updates before the meeting. Use the meeting for decisions, obstacles, and input. This small change can cut 20 minutes instantly. Now, coworkers come to the meeting on the same page and the first question is—”What do we need to discuss before we make a decision?”

3. Assign a “Decision Owner,” Not Just a Facilitator

Someone should be responsible for making sure every topic ends with: What did we decide? Who’s doing it? By when?
You can rotate the role weekly or by topic. Accountability and accomplishment are burnout reducers.

4. Call On People to Contribute

You can sense when someone needs to participate, but hasn’t raised their hand yet. Call on them and ask if they have anything to add. This will save you time later because their input matters.

5. Set a Clear Agenda

Do not, I repeat, DO NOT, meet simply to meet. Come together with a set number of topics that need decisions. If you don’t have anything for today’s meeting, do everyone a favor and cancel it!

6. Start with Clarity: Purpose + Success Sentence

Open with:

• “The purpose of this meeting is…”

• “By the end of this meeting, success looks like…”
  It sounds simple, but most meetings begin with “So… let’s get started.”

7. End with a Two-Sentence Debrief

Ask: “Was this meeting a good use of your time? What would make it better next week?”
It keeps you honest. It also tells your team you care about time as much as output.

8. Make One Meeting a “Quiet Meeting”

This works especially well in healthcare and education settings. Give people the agenda and five minutes of silent reading or thinking at the beginning. Reflection creates better decisions than rapid-fire reactions.

Not Sure How Burned Out Your Team Really Is?

You can't improve what you don’t measure. Take (or share) a quick burnout assessment at MyBurnoutTest.com to see where you’re starting in 2026.

Want More Than Meeting Tweaks?

These are the kinds of practical strategies I teach in leadership workshops—how to reduce burnout by fixing systems instead of fixing people.

If your organization is ready for a deeper conversation, you can explore my speaking and training options here:
https://patrickriecke.com/live-presentations

Or, for ongoing tools, scripts, reflection guides, and burnout recovery pathways, visit The Burnout Hub:
https://www.myburnouthub.com/learn-more