This Could Have Been An Email

Summary

The website content presents a humorous and critical take on the inefficiency of meetings through a poem proposing a stamp that declares "this could have been an email," and invites contributions to a collaborative writing project.

Abstract

The author of the web content expresses frustration with the inefficiency of meetings, particularly those that could be replaced with emails. They propose creating a stamp that succinctly communicates this sentiment, suggesting that meetings often involve unnecessary time spent in discussion, pressure to make decisions, and delegation of tasks to overworked individuals. The piece also serves as a call to action, inviting other writers to engage with the idea and contribute their own thoughts on the subject, with no specific deadline. The author, Lucy Dan, emphasizes that the desire for such a stamp is genuine and not merely a joke.

Opinions

Meetings are seen as a less efficient alternative to emails for decision-making, especially when they involve circling around the same points without resolution.
The author believes that meetings are used to exert pressure on individuals to take on tasks, particularly those who find it difficult to say no in person.
There is a critique of the tendency to delegate tasks at the last minute during meetings, rather than planning and budgeting appropriately.
The author humorously suggests that the proposed stamp would be a practical tool to express dissatisfaction with unnecessary meetings.
The invitation to other writers to engage with the prompt indicates a community-driven approach to discussing and satirizing workplace communication inefficiencies.

A poem and an idea for stamp makers

I need a stamp that simply says this could have been an email instead of a 75-minute video chat in which we spend 62 of the minutes rounding in circles until you finally pressure someone in the final few minutes to take on something they did not want to which is the sole reason you like the idea of meetings over emails —

it solves issues quicker because it’s easy to pressure people who have trouble saying no in person than over email and you easily delegate things you should have planned for much earlier and budgeted actual resources to support to people already overworked and ready to snap.

Hi I’m Lucy Dan 蛋小姐 (she/her/她) and I’m not joking when I say I want to have this as a stamp. Not a single bit. 😅🤣

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