⏱️Quick Win: Cut your meetings by 30% (with this framework)
Your method for determining if a meeting was actually worth the time
Hey there,
If there’s one thing I know is true… it’s that meetings are the silent killer of everyone’s productivity.
You finish a week feeling exhausted, wondering why you didn’t get anything meaningful done, and then you look at your calendar: 27 meetings.
Coffee chats. “Quick” intro calls. Advisor check-ins. Sales pitches disguised as “partnerships” (those one’s really do drive me mad). Meetings that could’ve been emails. Meetings that had no clear outcome.
As a founder, your time is your most valuable asset. But for a long time, I was giving it away to anyone who asked for 30 minutes.
Then I started calculating the actual ROI of my meetings — what I gained versus what I lost — and it completely changed how I spend my time.
Here’s the framework I use to decide if a meeting was worth it, and more importantly, which meetings to accept in the future.
The Problem I Was Solving
Before I had this framework, I was accepting meetings quite freely. Someone wanted to connect? Sure. An advisor wanted to catch up? Let’s do it. A potential partner wanted to chat? Why not.
But I wasn’t being strategic about:
Frequency: Some advisors I was speaking to too often when monthly would’ve been enough
Purpose: Many meetings had no clear outcome or next step
Energy: Some meetings drained me even when they seemed “productive” on paper
Opportunity cost: Every meeting meant I wasn’t working on something else
I needed a way to evaluate meetings objectively so I could say yes to the right ones and no to everything else.
The Meeting ROI Framework
After every meeting (or at the end of the week), I ask myself these questions:
1. What did I gain from this meeting?
Be specific. Did I:
Get actionable advice that I’ll implement?
Make a valuable connection or introduction?
Learn something new about my market, customers, or product?
Move a deal or partnership forward?
Get emotional support or validation I needed?
If you can’t name at least one concrete thing you gained, the meeting probably wasn’t worth it.
2. What did I lose?
Consider:
Time: Not just the meeting duration, but prep time, travel time, and context-switching time
Energy: Did this meeting drain you or energize you?
Opportunity cost: What else could you have achieved with that time?
A 30-minute meeting is never actually 30 minutes. It’s often 60+ minutes when you factor in prep, travel, and the time it takes to refocus afterward.
3. What else could I have done with that time?
This is the brutal question. Could you have:
Shipped a feature?
Had a customer call that moves the needle?
Done deep strategic work?
Completed a high-priority project?
If the answer is “yes, and that would’ve been more valuable,” the meeting failed the ROI test.
4. How often does this type of meeting happen?
Frequency matters. A monthly advisor call might be valuable, but weekly advisor calls might be overkill.
I realised I was meeting with some advisors too frequently. We’d have great conversations, but we were covering the same ground because not enough had changed week-to-week. Spacing those meetings out to monthly made them far more valuable.
5. What was the outcome?
Every meeting should have a clear next step or outcome:
A decision was made
An introduction was facilitated
A partnership was progressed
Clarity was gained on a problem
If the meeting ends with “let’s chat again soon” and no concrete next step, it wasn’t a good use of time.
Real Examples
Meeting That Was Worth It: Advisor Check-In (Monthly)
What I gained: Specific advice on marketing strategy, intro to two relevant investors, validation on a product decision
What I lost: 120 minutes (including prep)
Opportunity cost: Would’ve been working on event planning or content creation
Outcome: Two warm intros that turned into meetings, clear direction on marketing approach
ROI: High — the intros alone made this worth it
Meeting That Wasn’t Worth It: Advisor Check-In (Bi-Weekly)
What I gained: General encouragement, but no new actionable advice
What I lost: 90 minutes every other week (180 minutes/month)
Opportunity cost: Could’ve shipped a feature, written content, had customer calls
Outcome: No concrete next steps, same conversation we’d had the week before
ROI: Low — moved this to monthly and immediately felt the relief
Meeting I Now Automatically Decline: Sales Calls
What I gain: Someone pitching me their tool or service
What I lose: 30-60 minutes
Opportunity cost: Literally anything else
Outcome: They want me to buy something I didn’t ask for
ROI: Negative — I now decline all cold sales calls and only take meetings with tools I’m actively researching
How This Changed What Meetings I Accept
I now accept meetings freely when:
There’s clear alignment (we’re solving similar problems, in the same industry, or have complementary skills)
The person has something specific I need (advice, connection, expertise)
There’s a concrete outcome we’re working toward
I push back or decline when:
It’s a sales call disguised as a “partnership”
The meeting has no clear agenda or purpose
I’m overwhelmed and the meeting isn’t urgent
We could accomplish the same thing async (email, Loom, voice note)
I automatically decline:
Anything that’s clearly a sales pitch
“Pick your brain” requests with no specifics
Meetings with no agenda or stated purpose
When I’m looking for products or tools, I reach out myself when we’re ready. I don’t take inbound sales calls.
Your Quick Start
This week:
After every meeting, ask yourself the 5 ROI questions above
Track your answers in a simple doc or spreadsheet
At the end of the week, review which meetings were worth it and which weren’t
Your timeline:
Week 1: Track the ROI of every meeting you take
Week 2: Identify patterns — which types of meetings consistently have high/low ROI?
Week 3: Adjust frequency of recurring meetings (move some from weekly to monthly)
Week 4: Start declining low-ROI meeting requests
Pro tip: Block “meeting-free” time on your calendar (mornings work great) so you protect time for deep work no matter how many meeting requests come in.
The Real ROI
Since implementing this framework, I’ve:
Cut my weekly meetings by about 30%
Moved several advisor relationships from weekly to monthly/quarterly
Started saying no to all sales calls
Freed up 5-10 hours per week for strategic work
And honestly? The meetings I do take are way more valuable because I’m intentional about them.
Your time is your most valuable asset. Treat it that way.
Try the ROI calculator this week and let me know what you discover about your meeting habits!
Ciao for now,
— Jade