Got three “Quick chat?” holds on my calendar this week with zero context, including one slapped at 12:05 right over lunch. If you need 30 minutes, give me one line on what it’s about so I can prep or decline — anyone else dealing with this constantly?
I cut this down by adding a Google Calendar auto-reply (via Calendly) that asks for Decision/Attendees/Prep and auto-bounces anything that hits 12:00–1:00; it’s reduced vague holds by about 70%. > “request: goal/prep; I decline 12:00–1:00 holds. Fair?” Totally fair — @OP would a light “no agenda, no attendance” rule (Stop the Meeting Madness) fly with your team?
I use a reply macro: if the subject is just ‘Quick chat?’ (esp. those 12:05 lunch landings), I send ‘what decision do you need from me, and can we do it async?’ and only accept once they answer. Small caveat: I skip the gate for incidents or exec pings; @OP, would a short prompt like that nudge people to add context?