The best days of the week to have a meeting and get work done

If you have ever sat in a meeting and wondered why it felt like a waste of time, you are not alone. And if you have ever started a Monday fired up to get things done, our data says you are onto something. Bad meetings and poorly planned working weeks are two of the biggest drains on workplace productivity. 

We analysed internal data across our entire customer base to find out exactly when people work best and when they collaborate best. The results are clear. Monday is the best day of the week to get work done. Tuesday is the best day to have a meeting.  

We are spending more time in meetings than ever before 

Meetings have taken over the working week. The average employee now spends 11.3 hours a week in meetings. That is nearly a third of the entire working week. Since the start of the pandemic, the number of meetings people attend has tripled. And for managers, it is even worse. Research from Asana found that managers now spend an average of 5.8 hours a week in unnecessary meetings alone. 

The cost of meetings  

Beyond the frustration, there is a serious financial price to pay for poorly scheduled or unproductive meetings.  

Here is what the numbers look like around the world: 

• UK: Unproductive meetings cost businesses an estimated £50 billion pounds every year. 

• USA: That figure is estimated at between $259 billion and $399 billion annually. 

• EU: The cost reaches approximately €73 billion euros per year. 

• Globally: An estimated 24 billion hours are lost to unproductive meetings every single year.  

The best day to have a meeting  

To find out which day gives meetings the best chance of success, we analysed our internal data across key metrics: how many meetings happened, how many were skipped, how many were scheduled, how long they ran, how satisfied people were, and how much conversation they sparked. Every weekday was ranked across all seven. One day came out on top every time. 

Tuesday is the best day to have a meeting, with 3,926 meetings taking place across the platform. It is also the day people are most likely to actually show up. Just 52% of Tuesday meetings are skipped, the lowest skip rate of any weekday. Compare that to Friday where a staggering 80% of meetings never happen.

The attendance is only half of the story. Tuesday is also the day when people are most engaged. More comments are posted on Tuesdays than any other day at 8,425, a sign that people are actively contributing to tasks and projects rather than just sitting in on calls. Headlines, the quick updates that keep teams informed and aligned, are also created more on Tuesdays than any other day at 11,775. 

 The best day to get work done 

For productivity, the team looked at seven task-based metrics: todos created, todos completed, issues resolved, rocks completed, milestones completed, scorecard entries, and user logins. 

Monday is the best day of the working week to get work done. 

On Mondays, 65,515 todos are completed across the platform. That is 142% more than Tuesday, which comes in second. Issues resolved on Mondays reach 61,565, more than double Tuesday's 27,640. Rocks, the big quarterly goals that drive business growth in the EOS framework, are completed at a rate of 5,355 on Mondays. And 166,598 scorecard entries are recorded on Mondays, 87% above the weekday average. 

Monday productivity breakdown 

• Todos completed: 65,515 on Monday, compared to a weekday average of 29,442 (+122% above average). 

• Todos created: 69,056 on Monday, compared to a weekday average of 31,791 (+117% above average). 

• Issues resolved: 61,565 on Monday, compared to a weekday average of 31,088 (+98% above average). 

• Rocks completed: 5,355 on Monday, compared to a weekday average of 3,018 (+77% above average). 

• Milestones completed: 8,866 on Monday, compared to a weekday average of 6,085 (+46% above average). 

• Scorecard entries: 166,598 on Monday, compared to a weekday average of 88,901 (+87% above average). 

• User logins: 2,062 on Monday, the highest of the week and 50% more than Tuesday. 

The psychology of the fresh start 

Mondays carry a natural sense of momentum. You feel like you are getting a fresh start. Behavioural research backs this up too. A phenomenon known as the fresh start effect, studied by researchers at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, shows that people are significantly more likely to tackle goals and take action at the start of new time periods, whether that is a new week, a new month, or a new year. 

What this means for your business 

This data gives businesses a practical framework for structuring the working week in a way that matches how people work best.  

Here is how to put it into action: 

• Protect Monday mornings for deep work. Given that Monday is the best day to get work done, it makes sense to protect that time carefully. Avoid scheduling meetings on Monday mornings where possible and give your team the space to hit the ground running. 

• Move your important meetings to Tuesday. The data shows that Tuesday is the day when people are most likely to show up, most engaged, and also satisfied with the meetings they attend. It is the natural home for your weekly team meeting, your one-to-ones, and any sessions that need good participation. 

• Don’t schedule meetings for Friday. Friday has an 80% meeting skip rate, and the data shows people spend the day tying up loose ends rather than doing their best work. It is not the day for big decisions or important sessions. Think of it as a wind-down day, not a get-things-done day. 

Success.co’s EOS traction software is built for exactly this. Every week, the Level 10 Meeting template gives your team a clear agenda and a set time to get aligned. The rocks system keeps everyone focused on the big priorities for the quarter. And the scorecard means no one ever loses sight of the numbers that matter. Get the right structure in place, meet on the right days, and watch what happens. 

Methodology 

To identify the best days of the week for meetings and productivity, we analysed internal data across our thousands-strong customer base.

Meeting performance was evaluated across metrics such as: total meetings held, skip rates, meetings scheduled, average duration, satisfaction scores, comments posted, and headlines created.Productivity was measured across task-based metrics such as: todos created, todos completed, issues resolved, rocks completed, milestones completed, scorecard entries, and user logins.

All data was collected from active users across the platform and averaged across weekdays to reveal how and when people work best.