It could have been an email
2025
Do you sometimes feel like you spend your day in meetings?
I organised the workshop/data experience 'It could have been an email' at a previous job I had where I often heard rumblings about the large number of meetings we had each week. "When am I actually going to do some work?", my colleagues sighed. "It could have been an email", they grumbled.
So I wanted to see 1) if this was felt across the workplace and 2) how many meeting could actually be classed as superfluous.
The results were unexpected.
1. What did we do?
Participants were asked to fill in a template by recording the number of meetings they had in any week of their choosing, and marking whether they were internal/external, group/1-1 and whether it could have been a meeting. If you want a copy of the template, I’m happy to share and discuss how I can facilitate this session for your team.
The template was low-tech, but it worked so well. By using colours and markers to fill in little boxes, participants were able to slow down and really look at their meeting calendar. It prompted a lot of reflection.
2. What did we find?
We tallied 1) the total number of meetings and 2) the total number of meetings which could have been an email. The results were consistent across all participants: very, very few of the meetings were deemed replaceable by an email. This was followed by a discussion, where people got really engaged, offering explanations for what we were observing and sharing tips based on what works in their teams.
3. What’s data got to do with it?
This was a fun and engaging way of looking at some very dry data (meetings…). The time it took participants to fill in the template helped them slow down and really look at their meeting calendar. It prompted a lot of reflection. The group setting allowed us to learn from each other.
Get in touch!
Want to recreate this session or look at other ways of working in your team? Get in touch on hello@thedataknitters.com. I’d be happy to help.