Have you ever finished a full day of back-to-back meetings and realized you haven’t actually accomplished anything meaningful? You’re not alone. Even leaders at the very top struggle with this.
Recently, the head of one of America’s major airlines shared his plan to tackle this exact problem in a surprisingly straightforward way. Starting next year, he’s reserving three entire afternoons each week with zero meetings. No calls, no check-ins, nothing. Just open time to think, plan, and do the work that truly matters.
It’s a move that might sound simple, but it highlights something deeper about how we’ve all started confusing constant busyness with real progress.
Why Even CEOs Are Drowning in Meetings
In many organizations, meetings have become the default way to show you’re contributing. Early in a career, it can feel productive to have a packed calendar. But as responsibilities grow, that same habit starts to backfire.
Top executives often find their days fragmented into 30-minute slices, leaving no room for strategic thinking or handling complex issues that require sustained focus. The irony? The higher you climb, the more your role demands big-picture decisions—yet your schedule offers the least amount of uninterrupted time to make them.
One airline chief executive put it bluntly: when you’re constantly jumping from one meeting to the next, there’s simply no space left to work on the things only you can do for the company.
The Hidden Cost of Meeting Overload
Meeting fatigue isn’t just annoying—it’s expensive. Studies have shown that unnecessary meetings cost companies billions annually in lost productivity. More importantly, they rob people of the mental bandwidth needed for creative problem-solving.
When your day is chopped into small segments, deep thinking becomes nearly impossible. You end up handling surface-level tasks in the margins—late nights, weekends, early mornings—just to keep up with actual priorities.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect is how this pattern affects everyone, regardless of title. But leaders feel it acutely because their unique value often lies in vision and direction-setting, not operational firefighting.
There’s no time to ‘work’ and you confuse going to meetings with the work.
– Airline industry executive
That observation hits hard because it’s so relatable. How often do we leave a string of meetings feeling exhausted but not accomplished?
Learning from Mentors: The Power of Protected Time
Experienced leaders often share similar advice: block your calendar aggressively. Some former CEOs reportedly keep large chunks completely open for thinking and unplanned conversations.
The goal isn’t laziness—it’s intentional focus. By protecting specific periods, you create space to address emerging priorities, have spontaneous discussions with team members, or simply reflect on what’s most important right now.
I’ve found that when people intentionally carve out this kind of time, they often make better decisions and feel less burned out. It’s counterintuitive, but doing less scheduled activity sometimes leads to more meaningful output.
- Strategic planning that shapes company direction
- Deep analysis of complex challenges
- Mentoring key team members informally
- Responding thoughtfully to unexpected opportunities
- Simply thinking without interruption
These aren’t things that fit neatly into a 30-minute slot between other commitments.
A Bold Experiment for 2026
The plan to keep Wednesday through Friday afternoons completely clear might raise eyebrows. Three half-days every week with no meetings? In a fast-paced industry like aviation?
Yet that’s exactly the point. By choosing the latter part of the week, there’s built-in flexibility for urgent issues that typically arise earlier. It also creates a natural wind-down heading into the weekend, reducing the need to play catch-up outside normal hours.
This isn’t about working less—it’s about working smarter. The protected time allows for proactive leadership rather than reactive firefighting.
What Other Leaders Are Saying About Time Discipline
Interestingly, this approach aligns with practices from other tech and finance executives. One payment company CEO emphasized the importance of saying “no” frequently to protect focus on true priorities.
Every day brings tempting opportunities—employee conversations, customer meetings, partner discussions—that could easily consume all available time. The discipline comes in choosing ruthlessly what actually moves the needle.
I say no so often to try to stick to the rigor and the discipline of what is actually most important in the moment right now.
– Technology company CEO
Saying no isn’t rude—it’s necessary. Without it, calendars become democratic free-for-alls where urgency trumps importance.
The Science Behind Deep Work Blocks
Productivity researchers have long advocated for extended focus periods. Blocks of 60 to 90 minutes minimum allow the brain to move past surface thinking into real insight and creativity.
Data shows that peak cognitive performance often occurs during traditional “meeting heavy” hours—mid-morning and early afternoon. Yet these same windows are typically filled with calls and check-ins.
By reclaiming those periods for individual work, people report higher satisfaction and better results. Notifications off, distractions minimized, full attention on challenging tasks.
- Identify your most productive hours
- Block them consistently on your calendar
- Communicate the purpose clearly to colleagues
- Protect the time fiercely
- Review and adjust periodically
Simple in theory, challenging in practice—but worth the effort.
How to Start Small in Your Own Role
You don’t need to be a CEO to benefit from this thinking. Start by claiming one afternoon per week as sacred focus time. Mark it clearly on your calendar—something like “Deep Work Block” or “Strategic Thinking.”
Over time, expand as you see results. Train colleagues to respect these periods by being consistent. Use the time for your highest-leverage activities, not catching up on email.
In my experience, once people experience the difference between fragmented days and focused ones, they rarely go back. The clarity and progress become addictive.
| Common Calendar Trap | Better Alternative |
| Accepting every meeting invite | Requiring agenda and clear purpose |
| Default 60-minute meetings | Default 25 or 50 minutes |
| No protected focus time | Regular blocked periods |
| Open calendar policy | Intentional availability windows |
| Weekend/night catch-up | Proactive weekly planning |
Small shifts compound into major improvements in both output and well-being.
The Bigger Cultural Conversation
When prominent leaders publicly prioritize focus time, it sends a powerful message throughout their organizations. Suddenly, it’s acceptable—encouraged even—to protect thinking time.
This could spark broader changes in meeting culture. Fewer defaults to “let’s schedule a call.” More emphasis on asynchronous communication. Greater respect for individual contribution styles.
Maybe we’ll see more companies experimenting with meeting-free days or afternoons. Or implementing “no internal meetings” policies during certain hours. The possibilities for healthier work rhythms are exciting.
At its core, this is about recognizing that sustainable high performance requires both collaboration and solitude. Meetings have their place, but they shouldn’t dominate to the exclusion of everything else.
As we head into another new year, perhaps this example will inspire more of us to examine our own schedules critically. What if reclaiming just a few hours each week could transform how effective—and how human—we feel at work?
It’s worth considering. After all, real leadership isn’t measured by how busy you appear, but by the impact you create when you have space to think.
