I’ve been working remotely for about a decade now, and if there’s one thing I’ve grown to deeply HATE — it’s meetings.
Back in my last corporate job, I used to sit through 15 meetings a week. FIFTEEN. WEEKLY. Now? I’ve probably had fewer than 15 total meetings in the last five years. Huge win 🙌
Of course, I get it, if you’re part of a big team or navigating complex org structures, meetings can be necessary. But they’ve never worked for me.
Meetings are the death of productivity
I’ve always aligned with Naval’s philosophy on this:
And honestly, I couldn’t be happier with the outcome.
I know saying “no” to meetings is a luxury — one I’ve worked damn hard for. So, yeah. Sorry, not sorry.
Let’s not hop on a quick call, shall we?
Just checked my “Message requests” on Twitter (it’ll always be Twitter, not X — let’s be clear), and it’s a parade of cold outreach.
Some want to “hop on a quick call” others are pitching something I’ll never use, and I’m sitting here thinking:
Bro, I don’t even know you. Why would I hop on a call or give feedback on something that hasn’t even earned my attention, let alone my time?
Not everything needs a call. Not everyone needs to “pick your brain.” Sometimes, no is just a complete sentence.
Async Communication is the Finest!
Email is a masterpiece. An elegant, open protocol that somehow survived the tech overlords — yeah, Gmail’s everywhere, but at least it’s not a monopoly (yet).
You send it when you want. They reply when they feel like it. No “seen” (f*ck your email trackers for sure) no typing bubbles, no awkward small talk. Just pure, asynchronous bliss.
Honestly, the world doesn’t need more meetings; it needs more emails. Long live the inbox.
My (Unofficial) Rules for Communication
- Use the right tool for the job: If it’s technical, use GitHub issues, WordPress.org forums, etc. Bonus: others can learn from it too. That’s the magic of open source.
- If it can be an email, send an email: I reply fast. Like weirdly fast. Try me.
- Use a tool to explain stuff: Loom, CleanShot X — whatever helps you explain without wasting anyone’s time. (CleanShot X is one of my favorite apps that deserves every single penny I’ve spent on it)
- In-person? Say hi. I’m totally open to spontaneous conversations IRL. Just not impromptu Zooms.
- Already know each other? Call anytime. You’ve got the golden ticket.
- Have we worked together before? Call is fine. We have history. You’re safe.
- When meetings are truly inevitable…
I get it — sometimes you just can’t avoid them. Especially in bigger projects, a quick call can save hours of back-and-forth. Fine. But:- Be prepared. Have a clear agenda or at least know what we’re trying to solve. “Just vibing” is for playlists, not meetings.
- Let me know if it‘s video or audio. Seriously. It’s super awkward when I turn on my camera, smiling like a human, and everyone else is blank avatars in silence. Give me a heads-up, so I can emotionally prepare to stare into a webcam.
- Don‘t reschedule last minute. Unless you’ve exploded or been abducted by aliens, stick to the time. I mentally commit to meetings way too early —tomorrow’s 2 PM call starts bothering me today at noon.
- Start and end on time. My tolerance for meetings is already hanging by a thread. Let’s not test the limits of it.
Why am I writing this?
First of all, it’s my blog — so why wouldn’t I?
People often reach out asking to “hop on a quick call” for things that could easily be solved with a decent email or a couple of async messages. And somehow, it ends up turning into a free mini-consultation I didn’t know I signed up for.
This isn’t me being rude or arrogant. I actually like helping people. But when you’re working solo and living in deep focus mode, unexpected calls aren’t just interruptions — they detonate your entire flow. And frankly, that’s expensive (mentally, not just hourly).
So yeah, I wrote this post for a reason: I needed a link to send next time someone drops a “got a minute?” message. 😅