Are your days consumed by endless academic meetings? That two-hour department meeting that could have been an email? The research group check-in that meanders through everyone’s weekend plans? We’ve normalised lengthy meetings in academia without questioning if they serve our purposes effectively.

While collaboration is essential in higher education, implementing shorter academic meetings can dramatically improve your productivity and create space for meaningful work. Here’s why most academic meetings should take 30 minutes or less, and how to make that happen.

Why shorter meetings matter

In corporate environments, time is money. This creates natural pressure to keep meetings focused and efficient. But in academia, where the “cost” of time is less visible, meetings expand to fill the time we allocate to them (see Parkinson’s Law), regardless of how long the meeting actually needs to be.

Consider these common scenarios:

• The weekly research group meeting scheduled for 90 minutes because “that’s just how long it takes”
• The monthly department meeting that blocks out entire afternoons
• The PhD supervision session that runs long because there’s no clear agenda

Making shorter academic meetings work

Here are some practical strategies for shorter meetings, with the understanding that shorter academic meetings starts with changing your default scheduling behaviour.

• Start with 30 minutes as your default. Schedule meetings for 30 minutes unless you have a compelling reason to make them longer. You’ll be surprised how much you can accomplish when there’s a clear time constraint.
• State the purpose in the invitation. Include a clear objective in every meeting invitation: “Decision needed on X” or “Updates on Y project – action items to be assigned.” This helps attendees prepare and stays focused.
• Send materials in advance. Share documents, data, or discussion points beforehand. Use meeting time for decisions and clarifications, not information sharing that could happen asynchronously.
• Start on time, regardless. Begin precisely at the scheduled time. Don’t recap for latecomers – this rewards punctuality and respects everyone’s time.
• Use an agenda timer. Allocate specific minutes to each agenda item and stick to it. For a 30-minute meeting, you might assign:
  • 5 minutes for updates
  • 15 minutes for core discussion
  • 10 minutes for decisions and action items

Remember, suggesting shorter meetings isn’t about diminishing the value of collaboration – it’s about respecting everyone’s need for focused work time. The transition to shorter academic meetings may feel challenging at first, but the benefits to your productivity are worth it.

By implementing these strategies, you can begin shifting your academic meetings from time-consuming obligations to focused, productive sessions. Start with one meeting this week – try cutting its usual time in half and see what happens.