Categorize last two weeks of calendar
Bucket every meeting: 1:1s, team ops, strategy, hiring, IC work, admin, external. Highlighter or spreadsheet — either works.
Compare to the target mix
Sketch what the mix should be for your role and level. A director spending 40% on IC work is a signal, not just a fact.
Energy signal
- Meetings that give you energy — do more, or reshape
- Meetings that drain you — restructure, delegate, or kill
- Meetings you skipped — usually the honest signal
One change
Pick one meeting or block to change this month. Not five — one, done, then the next.
Common pitfalls
- — Doing the audit and changing nothing. That's diagnosis without treatment.
- — Cutting only the small stuff. Go after a recurring hour, not a 15-minute sync.
- — Assuming everyone else's expectations are fixed. Renegotiate one.