The 40 minute meeting that wasted my entire Tuesday

My boss scheduled a 15 minute check-in that went 40 minutes over because she kept asking me to recap emails she could have read herself. Has anyone else had a manager who treats your calendar like it's optional?

3 comments

3 Comments

jordant691mo ago

40 minutes is annoying but is it really that big of a deal? I've had bosses who take up my whole afternoon with pointless rambling. A 15 minute meeting going 40 over is just a Tuesday in most offices. Maybe she was just trying to connect with you, not be a total jerk about it. If you're really that upset, just block off your calendar for 15 minutes after the meeting next time. People act like their time is holy water or something.

singh.jessica23d agoTop Commenter

People act like their time is holy water or something" haha that line got me. But honestly it's not about one meeting being a pain, it's more like this whole thing where nobody respects the little boundaries we set. Like if you let one person take 40 minutes, then the next person sees that and thinks it's fine too, and then you're just living in their schedule instead of your own. @jordant69 I think it just adds up over time into this bigger feeling of not having control over your own day.

cora_ramirez1mo ago

What worked for me was starting to send a quick email recap right before the meeting? Like 5 minutes before the check-in, I'd shoot over a bullet list of what I did, what I'm working on, and any questions I have. That way when my old boss started asking me to explain stuff I already wrote down, I could just say "oh it's all in that email I just sent, want me to pull it up?" It didn't stop all the overtime but it cut down a lot because she'd glance at her inbox and realize she didn't need to grill me. Also started putting a hard stop on my calendar 5 minutes after the meeting end time and physically getting up when it hit. Felt rude at first but she got the hint after a few times of me saying "gotta run to another one.