Start your meetings at 5 minutes past - Vallified

Engineers often suffer from back-to-back meetings that run over their allotted time. By scheduling every meeting to begin at five minutes past the hour or half hour, you create a small buffer that forces a clean break. The social pressure of an official end-time makes participants more likely to wrap up on time, preventing the cascade of delays that erodes productivity.

When people arrive at 1:05 pm they are settled, not rushing, and the minute or two between events lets them reset their mental state. The habit also changes expectations: teams stop trying to finish early and instead respect the official start, which paradoxically improves punctuality. In practice, attendees arrive on time and use the brief pause to clear their heads.

The change spread organically across the whole organization without being mandated, showing that a simple timing tweak can become a cultural norm when it solves a real pain point. Engineers report fewer rushed handovers and a smoother flow through their day, and managers notice fewer complaints about meeting fatigue.

If you're looking for a low-effort win, shift your calendar invites to start at five minutes past. The buffer costs only a few minutes per meeting but delivers a noticeable lift in focus and morale across the team.