8 things startups can do early on to optimize for focus & productivity:
1. Synchronous meetings only for p0 and p1 items
All meetings should be 25 minutes by default with the ability to extend by 15 minutes if necessary.
Each meeting should have a clear agenda that outlines its context, asks, action items, etc.
Meetings should be brief & impactful
2. Asynchronous for everything else
- Stand ups
- Project demos / updates
- Design / Eng handoffs
- Documentation walkthrough
A simple flowchart for meetings:
3. Strive for 90% focused work / 10% meeting & sync time
- No meetings on Tues & Thurs
- Encourage turning off Slack & distracting notifications
- Track your time to better understand your distractions
- Buy your team a copy of Deep Work & Getting Things Done
4. No recurring meetings
Recurring meetings are a productivity killer. Try to avoid them when possible.
Instead, assess whether a follow-up meeting is needed at the end of each meeting.
