How do I know if my meeting should be an email?

A meeting should be an email when: you're only sharing information, no real-time discussion is needed, the topic is simple enough to explain in writing, or you have more than 8 attendees who mostly need to listen.

When is a meeting actually necessary?

Meetings are necessary when: you need to make a group decision, the topic requires real-time brainstorming, the subject is complex enough to need immediate back-and-forth, and you have a clear agenda with defined outcomes.

What are alternatives to meetings?

Common alternatives include: email for information sharing, Slack or Teams messages for quick questions, shared documents for collaborative editing, recorded video messages for complex explanations, and async comment threads for gathering feedback.

How many meetings per week is too many?

Research suggests knowledge workers spend an average of 31 hours per month in unproductive meetings. Most experts recommend keeping recurring meetings to 3-5 per week maximum. If more than 50% of your workday is spent in meetings, it's likely too many. The key isn't the number — it's whether each meeting has a clear purpose.

How can I make necessary meetings more productive?

Five proven strategies: 1) Share the agenda 24 hours in advance, 2) Start with the decision needed, not background, 3) Invite only essential participants, 4) Set a 25-minute default instead of 30 (or 50 instead of 60), 5) End every meeting with documented action items and owners. Using an AI meeting assistant like Convo can automate notes and action items.

What's the real cost of unnecessary meetings?

A single unnecessary 1-hour meeting with 8 people costs approximately $600 in salary alone. If held weekly, that's over $31,000 per year. U.S. businesses lose an estimated $37 billion annually to unproductive meetings.

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Should this be a meeting?

Answer 5 quick questions to find out if you actually need a meeting — or if an email would do.

Question 1 of 5

What's the main goal?

The meeting problem in numbers

Most professionals spend too much time in meetings that could have been an email. Here's what the research says.

71%

Of meetings are considered unproductive by senior managers (Harvard Business Review)

31 hours

Spent in unproductive meetings per employee each month (Atlassian)

$37B

Lost annually to unnecessary meetings in U.S. businesses (Harvard Business Review)

Five signs your meeting should be an email

There's no clear agenda

If you can't define what you'll discuss and decide, you're not ready for a meeting.

It's purely informational

Sharing updates doesn't require real-time presence. Write it up and save everyone 30 minutes.

Only 1–2 people will actually speak

If most attendees are just listening, they could read a summary instead.

It could be resolved in a Slack thread

Quick questions and coordination are better handled asynchronously.

You're meeting because it's "recurring"

Cancel standing meetings when there's nothing substantive to discuss.

Frequently asked questions

When you do meet, make it count

Convo's AI meeting assistant captures everything so you can focus on the conversation — not on taking notes.

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