Code by Tom

As software engineers, our most valuable currency isn’t lines of code, it’s focus.

We all know the flow state: holding a complex mental model in your head, connecting the dots between systems. Then, a calendar notification pops up.

Synchronous video meetings are often the unintended enemy of this flow. They require three rigid things: a specific time, a specific place, and an immediate shift in mindset. You have to drop what you’re building, enter a new context, and contribute instantly.

There are certainly circumstances where video calls are necessary sometimes you need high-bandwidth communication to resolve ambiguity. But every meeting effectively taxes the team’s ability to do work.

The cost of context switching

The cost of a meeting isn’t just the 30 minutes blocked on the calendar. It’s the “ramp down” before and the “ramp up” after.

Research has shown it can take around 23 minutes to fully regain focus after an interruption. If you have back-to-back meetings, or even just scattered “quick syncs” throughout the day, that recovery time evaporates. You’re left with a fragmented day where tangible work struggles to happen.

Flipping the default to async

My preference has always been to treat synchronous meetings as a luxury, not a default. By turning updates, questions, and discussions into internal posts, we respect everyone’s time and cognitive load.

Here is why async wins for engineering teams:

• Respect for flow: I can read a post during my low-energy gaps, saving my high-energy blocks for coding.
• High-fidelity scanning: It is much faster to scan a written document for the relevant points than to sit through a video call waiting for them.
• Permanent knowledge: Video calls vanish when the window closes. Written posts become searchable, reusable documentation for the future.
• Richer context: You can embed screen recordings, logs, and code snippets directly where they are needed.
• Better thinking: Real-time demands immediate answers. Async allows contributors time to think, resulting in deeper questions and more considered solutions.

Making space for real connection

Paradoxically, removing scheduled meetings can lead to better collaboration.

When your calendar isn’t fragmented by status updates and broad meetings, you find the time to actually sit down with your immediate team. It frees up space to jump on a call to pair on a hard problem.

It is in these private, intimate settings, solving code together rather than staring at a grid of muted faces—where you really get to know your colleagues. That is where trust is built.

Raising the bar for sync

This isn’t about eliminating human connection or banning Zoom. It’s about being intentional.

If we are going to ask for everyone’s synchronous attention, the bar should be high. Every meeting requires a clear agenda and a tangible goal.

For everything else, write it down. It gives your team the freedom to read in their own time, think deeply, and keep their focus where it belongs.