The Best Time Of Day To Take A Work Meeting, According To Science

No two people are the same, and no two circadian clocks are either, which is why Steven Lockley, Ph.D., a neuroscientist at Brigham & Women’s Hospital and associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, recommends businesses leave work calls and meetings for times of the day when morning birds, night owls, and everyone in between can show up feeling energized and ready to contribute.

“If you’re an evening type, you don’t want to meet at 8 a.m. And if you’re a morning type, you don’t want to meet at 6 p.m., so why not as a business say that you’re going to have your group meetings between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. or 4 p.m.?” the circadian rhythm specialist asks on a phone call that just so happened to fall within this time range.

That way, he says, “everyone can come without being disadvantaged.” Of course, this isn’t always possible, especially if your team works in different (literal) time zones. But whenever you do have the option to schedule meetings for the middle of a standard workday, do so and see if it affects what you and others are able to bring to the call, Zoom, or room.