When I left my full-time job at Mass General Hospital a few years ago, I knew I'd miss my colleagues and having ready access to the IT department. But there was something I knew I would NOT miss - spending endless hours each week in meetings. It was liberating to have all of that time back to invest purposefully on whatever I determined were my priorities.

It seems this problem is epidemic. It turns out that many of my executive coaching clients grapple not only with having too many meetings,...