Reduce unnecessary meetings and empower your team to collaborate seamlessly, no matter where they work
Why Async Matters
Modern work is often scattered across time zones, offices, and home setups. We spend nearly half our workdays communicating—emails, group chats, calls, video meetings, and more. But not every conversation needs to happen in real time.
Asynchronous communication (think: emails, comments, document updates) lets people reply on their schedule. Synchronous communication (meetings, live chats) happens instantly—but can be draining and distracting, especially in distributed teams.
When Asynchronous Beats Synchronous
Teams often default to meetings, but async can be more effective for:
Brainstorming: People contribute on their own time, allowing for deeper reflection and more equitable idea sharing—especially for quieter team members.
Work planning: Team tasks, updates, and plans can be documented, tracked, and referenced easily, reducing the pressure for live check-ins.
Status updates: No need to gather everyone live—updates can be shared to keep everyone informed, saving time and energy.
When Real-Time Matters
True connection sometimes needs real-time interaction.
- Intentional togetherness: Occasional in-person gatherings or virtual hangouts help build trust and psychological safety. Real relationships thrive with face-to-face bonding—teams should plan for moments of genuine connection, not just workflow reviews.
7 Tips to Master Async Communication
Start slow: Transition just one meeting per week to asynchronous format—see if you gain more time.
Experiment: Try new async methods and tools; check what works best for your team.
Share best practices: Invite teammates to suggest and vote on async strategies—change is smoother when everyone’s involved.
Set working agreements: Decide together which tasks are async and which need meetings. Make expectations clear for channels and response times.
Prep for meetings asynchronously: Collect feedback, set agendas, or brainstorm before any live session.
Be intentional with tools: Block time for email/chat responses to avoid constant interruptions.
- Guard against burnout: Flexible schedules are beneficial but set boundaries. Clear message response agreements let everyone disconnect guilt-free.
