It is 9:00 am. One is already behind on their packed calendar—meetings, check-ins, a “quick” sync that inevitably overruns, lunch (if they’re lucky), and scattered work squeezed between bouts of Zoom fatigue. By 6:00 pm, they’re wondering where the day evaporated and why none of the “important” tasks were completed. Sound familiar?
People routinely blame poor planning, insufficient time or the ubiquitous culprit—too many meetings. Yet what if the root cause runs deeper than mere logistics? What if calendar chaos stems less from inadequate tools and more from unconscious habits, cultural norms and invisible drivers like perfectionism, people-pleasing or an inability to decline requests?
The obvious calendar villains are easily identified: back-to-back meetings, poor prioritisation, double-bookings. However, beneath the surface lurk more insidious forces: purposeless gatherings, excessive deliberation, unstructured agendas and the pervasive belief that working hours are infinitely elastic.
Satyajit Mohanty, VP-HR, Dabur India, points to a cultural tendency, particularly in South Asia, where meetings serve not as decision-making forums but as review sessions—often without defined objectives. “Most meetings here don’t have a specific end objective,” he notes. “Either it becomes a monologue by an autocratic leader or a free-for-all without an agenda.” The consequence? Meandering discussions that drain time and rarely yield actionable outcomes.
“Most meetings here don’t have a specific end objective. Either it becomes a monologue by an autocratic leader or a free-for-all without an agenda.”
Satyajit Mohanty, VP-HR, Dabur India
Unlike structured meetings common in Europe or America, where outcome orientation takes precedence, Indian workplace culture often operates under the assumption that “working hours are not limited.” This mindset leads to chronically overflowing schedules and, ultimately, exhaustion.
Beyond these surface inefficiencies lies a subtler stratum: the unconscious behaviours people have normalised. Being perpetually “available” might feel like good teamwork, but it systematically erodes focus time. Accepting every meeting invitation by default becomes a silent productivity assassin. As Atul Mathur, head of learning and development, Aditya Birla Capital, observes, “Very often, people don’t prioritise what they need to work on… they may not be playing a critical role in certain meetings, yet they attend anyway.”
“Very often, people don’t prioritise what they need to work on… they may not be playing a critical role in certain meetings, yet they attend anyway.”
Atul Mathur, head-learning & development, Aditya Birla Capital
People-pleasing, perfectionism and conflict avoidance silently sculpt schedules. Agreeing to every request—even when capacity screams “no”—is frequently less about availability and more about identity and workplace personas.
Mohanty explains that in many Indian organisations, there’s a hesitancy to make difficult choices: “We don’t say ‘no.’ We want to do everything. We end up overcommitting and then doing everything at a sub-par level.” This compulsion to appear available, competent and agreeable manifests in bloated calendars, neglected priorities and persistent overwhelm.
These habits prove challenging to confront because they’re deeply embedded in social conditioning. Defaulting to others’ expectations feels easier than renegotiating boundaries. But that path leads inexorably to burnout.
Conventional wisdom offers an arsenal of productivity techniques: time-blocking, Pomodoro methods, priority matrices. While useful, these tools often address symptoms rather than underlying causes because they don’t resolve the fundamental misalignment between calendars and values. Reserving focus time accomplishes little if one hasn’t determined what truly deserves their attention. Professionals frequently organise their week reactively—responding to requests, meetings and deadlines—without pausing to consider whether these activities reflect their actual goals and responsibilities.
What’s required is a paradigm shift: from managing time to managing energy, from doing more to doing what matters. This begins by recognising what Mohanty terms the “margin of error” in decisions. “If the difference between debating a decision for 10 minutes versus 10 hours is minimal, why waste the time?” he asks. Not all tasks warrant equal attention—learning to distinguish between them is a professional superpower.
One of the most effective strategies for reclaiming control over one’s schedule is conducting a calendar audit. One begins by colour-coding their calendar into categories: strategic work, operational tasks, meetings, deep focus, learning and personal time. Then they should reflect: Where does most of their time go? Does it align with their core responsibilities and long-term objectives? If 70 per cent of their hours are consumed by meetings that could be handled by colleagues, it’s time to delegate.
Mathur recommends weekly planning: “Look at a weekly kind of a schedule—what are the things you’re going to work on—and allocate time accordingly, instead of accepting all meeting invites that come your way.” Such auditing renders visible what was previously invisible, creating the conditions for meaningful change.
This exercise often reveals how much time is devoted to “ghost priorities”—tasks that feel urgent but deliver minimal strategic value. These include formless check-ins, endless iterations on low-impact work or hours spent “just being available”.
Once inefficiencies and behavioural patterns are identified, recalibration becomes possible. This doesn’t entail rejecting every meeting or becoming uncooperative—it means becoming intentional. Professionals can renegotiate meeting roles, shorten default meeting durations or create “focus blocks” clearly marked on shared calendars.
Setting boundaries might involve declining more invitations or offering alternative contributions (such as providing written updates instead of attending calls). Leaders particularly must model this behaviour—empowering teams to make decisions and handle discussions independently. “If you have teams, you need to be clear on what they can handle, and let them take that on,” advises Mathur.
Finally, one should protect their mental energy by scheduling white space. Mohanty’s approach? Start early. “I reach office by 8:30 am,” he shares. “It gives me an hour and a half before the calendar chaos begins.” This deliberate buffer creates space for strategic thinking and concentrated work before daily distractions take hold.
Mastering one’s calendar isn’t about cramming in more activities. It’s about creating space—for thinking, creating, leading and living. It demands the courage to question ingrained habits, the discipline to establish new norms and compassion for oneself when old patterns resurface. The reward? A workday aligned with purpose rather than pressure. A calendar serving one’s priorities, not others’ agendas. And ultimately, a life that feels fulfilling—not merely busy.
