8 Tips for Managing Your Meetings & Inbox

“I really want to get more organised.” If you’ve said this before, you’re in great company. Many of us are well-intended, full of ambition, and ready to transform our working habits, only to find ourselves swallowed by a calendar stacked with back‑to‑back calls and an inbox that grows faster than we can scroll. One moment you feel reasonably on top of things, and the next you are staring at an inbox full of thousands of unread messages while your Teams app won’t stop pinging.

This article is not here to judge. It is for anyone who wants better control over their meeting schedule, inbox, and overall workflow, so they can spend less time fighting admin and more time doing meaningful work and enjoying life outside the office.

Clearing your diary

1. What are the objectives of the meeting?

A meeting without a clear purpose is like wandering into a room and forgetting why you entered it. You sit there for an hour wondering what the point is, and before you know it, the conversation circles repeatedly with no real outcome. Before a meeting begins, make sure you know exactly what the goal is and why you are involved. This avoids drifting discussions and helps you stay focused.

When the call begins, restate the purpose so everyone is aligned. Before the meeting ends, check whether the group achieved what it set out to do. If there is uncertainty, clarify next steps verbally. This simple habit prevents confusion later. If writing a clear agenda feels difficult, AI tools can help you create structured objectives and time blocks so that your meeting runs more smoothly.

2. Reconsider your hour‑long calls

Just because the default system suggests 30 or 60 minutes for a call doesn’t mean your meeting must fill that entire space. Sometimes a quick catch‑up only needs 15 minutes. Other conversations might take 20, 25, or 40! Allow yourself the flexibility to choose a time that reflects the work that needs to be done.

When you automatically schedule an hour, you unintentionally allow the conversation to stretch. Shorter meetings encourage clearer thinking, faster problem solving, and fewer diversions. If you trim even a few of your meetings by 15 minutes each, you will be amazed at how much time you win back in a single week.

3. Be mindful of meeting guests

Most people have experienced attending a meeting and quietly wondering why they are there. It is tempting to add everyone who might eventually be involved in a project, but this often leads to a crowded call where the original purpose gets lost in the noise.

Before inviting someone, ask yourself whether they truly need to be present at this particular stage. Fewer guests usually lead to a more focused conversation and fewer conflicting opinions that slow down progress. People appreciate having their time protected, and you will notice that your meetings feel more manageable when the guest list is intentional.

4. Follow up quickly

Project kick‑off meetings often happen long before the actual work begins. By the time things start moving, half the team might have forgotten what was originally discussed.

If possible, record or transcribe your first meeting in the series and share the file soon after the call. If someone is taking notes, make sure these are circulated promptly. Clear documentation saves so much time later. When delays occur or projects pause, people can easily revisit earlier conversations.

5. Spot duplications in your diary

Overloading a meeting with too many people is rarely a good idea - but being intentional about who’s in the room can be a surprisingly effective way to cut down on the number of recurring check-ins.

Start by asking your team to map out all regular meetings, catch-ups and check-ins they attend over a week, fortnight or month. Seeing everything laid out often highlights unnecessary duplication.

For example, you might realise that both you and a colleague have separate catch-ups with the Web team - conversations that could easily be combined into a single, more focused call. Fewer meetings, clearer updates, and less time spent hopping between calendars.

Clearing your inbox

6. Create inbox folders

Once your meeting habits feel more under control, your inbox deserves some love. One way to reduce overwhelm is by creating folders that suit your working style. You might create categories like “Follow Up”, “Needs Review”, “Waiting for Response”, or “Save for a Rainy Day”.

Sorting emails into folders makes your workflow easier to manage and prevents important messages from hiding in a mountain of unread notifications. If you are a visual thinker, colour‑coding can help you instantly recognise priority areas. It also makes your inbox feel a little less intimidating and a little livelier!

7. Know when to send emails

Not every message needs to be an email. Quick questions or simple updates often work better on Teams, Slack, or another instant messaging tool. Longer messages that involve multiple stakeholders or require a clear written record are better suited to email.

Take a moment to consider the best channel before you hit send. This small habit reduces unnecessary back‑and‑forth, helps colleagues respond more effectively, and keeps your inbox cleaner.

8. The Inbox Zero mindset

Inbox Zero is an email‑management approach created by productivity expert Merlin Mann. Mann introduced the idea to reduce the amount of attention you give to your inbox, not as a strict rule about maintaining a perfectly empty one. The “zero” refers to the amount of time your mind spends stuck in email mode, rather than the number of messages sitting there.

Essentially, it’s about making quick, intentional decisions as each email arrives. That might mean deleting something you do not need, sorting it into a folder, replying straight away, or saving it for a specific follow‑up time. The method encourages you to keep your emails from becoming a constant mental drain by treating it as tasks you complete, rather than a place you live in.