Managers think engineers can stay productive in short bursts, but meetings turn deep work into shallow tasks, killing flow and increasing errors-especially as AI tools tempt constant context switching.
Engineers need uninterrupted blocks of deep work to produce high-impact code, but meeting overload has turned many of those hours into shallow multitasking. Managers assume AI coding tools let engineers work in tiny chunks, yet each meeting fragments focus, resets the 15-minute ramp-up to flow, and forces engineers to juggle context switches. The result is more mistakes, slower skill growth, and lower morale.
Since COVID the average meetings per employee rose 13.5%, with remote meetings up 60% and 92% of participants admitting to multitask. Studies show engineers now get only two 1-hour deep sessions per week, and every distraction can cost 15-45 minutes of productive time. Reviewing pull requests or writing design docs during meetings creates a feedback loop of shallow work, more bugs, and even more meetings.
The fix is simple but disciplined: enforce clear agendas, limit invites, and carve out fixed no-meeting windows each day. Teams like Pylon keep senior engineers' calendars empty, allowing focus blocks at 09:00-11:00 and 14:00-16:00 when productivity peaks. Rethink code-review practices by trusting skilled engineers to merge their own work and request reviews only when needed. Leaders must model deep-work habits themselves-turn off Slack, wear headphones, and protect focus time-so the whole team can sustain flow and deliver better outcomes.
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