5-Back Methodology

Why is this necessary?

Back-to-back meetings are a hidden bandwidth drain on executives. The standard half-hour and one-hour blocks leave zero space for context switching, no time to scan the briefing doc for the next call, and no buffer when something runs long. What looks like a full calendar is actually a stress engine.

How did I settle on this solution?

Agenda discipline — Parkinson's Law works both ways, and shorter blocks force participants to arrive prepared and get to the point.

The simple mechanic: Schedule every meeting at least 5 minutes shorter than the block. :25 instead of :30, :55 instead of :60. That single change gives every day intentional gaps between calls without touching meeting count or content.

Also seen at Google and Shopify — I didn't invent this, I standardized how I apply it.