The Meeting Revolution: Why You Need a Calendar Detox
Let’s face it—meetings have become the junk food of modern work. Easy to schedule, hard to digest, and too many of them leave us drained and wondering when we’ll actually get real work done.
In the debut episode of The Midweek Mindshift, host Bill McMenamin tackles this head-on with a practical mindset reset: The Calendar Detox Challenge.
Here’s the core issue—we’ve started confusing being busy with being valuable. Just showing up to meetings has become a weird form of performance. But as Bill puts it, “If your presence is the only thing adding value to the meeting, it’s probably not your meeting.”
The episode lays out a dead-simple, three-step detox:
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Audit your upcoming meetings.
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Cut the ones that don’t truly need you.
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Offer smarter alternatives—like a quick update instead of a 30-minute call.
And it’s not about ghosting your team. A simple ask like “Would it save us some time if I shared this as a quick note?”flips the script without burning bridges.
Bonus tip: Bill shares an AI hack for emotionally loaded emails. Draft your raw thoughts, then ask ChatGPT to “make this sound polite but still firm.” You stay honest—AI cleans it up.
The real takeaway? Protecting your time isn’t slacking—it’s smart leadership. When you stop defaulting to meetings, you make space for deep focus, better work, and more meaningful conversations when they actually matter.
The Calendar Detox isn’t just about managing your schedule—it’s about reclaiming control of your workday.
Bill McMenamin
I’m a longtime HR leader, seasoned communicator, and someone who’s sat through enough workplace meetings to know exactly when a calendar invite is a cry for help.
The Midweek Mindshift was born from a simple idea: professionals need a smarter kind of break. One that’s short, sharp, and actually helps reset your brain without demanding another productivity app download or a motivational quote on a coffee mug.
Each episode is designed to:
• Deliver a bite of insight (with a side of sarcasm)
• Share a real-world habit or mindset shift you can use today
• Introduce tools and tech — like AI — in ways that don’t require a computer science degree
• The podcast is for people balancing big goals, tight deadlines, and the occasional existential crisis in a Zoom window.
A Few Fast Facts:
• Based in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic Region
• Voice-first storyteller and early-stage voiceover artist
• Passionate about helping professionals find focus, purpose, and a little breathing room
• Fuel source of choice: Extra Strength 5-Hour Energy and stronger one-liners.
If this podcast helps you shift your mindset, sharpen your edge, or just laugh a little harder at the chaos of corporate life — I’m glad you’re here.
