Async vs Sync: When to Schedule Meetings vs Send Messages

In a distributed team, knowing when to meet synchronously versus communicating asynchronously can dramatically impact productivity and team wellbeing.

The True Cost of Meetings

Every meeting has hidden costs:

• Preparation time: Reading agendas, gathering materials
• Transition time: Context switching before and after
• Recovery time: Getting back into deep work mode
• Opportunity cost: What could have been accomplished instead

For team members in challenging time zones, add the cost of attending outside normal hours.

When Synchronous Meetings Make Sense

Real-time meetings are valuable for:

1. Complex Discussions

When a topic requires back-and-forth dialogue, real-time conversation is more efficient than lengthy email threads. Examples:

• Architectural decisions with multiple trade-offs
• Strategic planning sessions
• Resolving conflicts or misunderstandings

2. Relationship Building

Some things can't be replicated asynchronously:

• Team bonding and casual conversation
• Building trust with new team members
• Celebrating achievements together

3. Urgent Matters

When time is critical:

• Production incidents
• Time-sensitive decisions
• Crisis management

4. Brainstorming Sessions

Creative ideation often benefits from the energy of real-time collaboration.

When Async Communication Wins

Asynchronous communication excels for:

1. Status Updates

Don't hold meetings for status updates. Use:

• Slack/Teams channels
• Async standup tools
• Shared documents

2. Information Sharing

One-way information transfer doesn't need everyone online:

• Announcements
• Documentation
• Recorded presentations

3. Deep Thinking Topics

Complex topics benefit from async because people can:

• Take time to consider their response
• Research before responding
• Respond when they're at their best

4. Reference Material

Anything people need to refer back to should be written down, not just spoken.

The Hybrid Approach

The best teams use both strategically:

1. Async pre-work: Share context and materials before meetings
2. Focused sync time: Use meetings for discussion, not information sharing
3. Async follow-up: Document decisions and action items after

This respects everyone's time while preserving the benefits of real-time interaction.

Making Async Work

For async communication to be effective:

• Be explicit: Write clearly, assume no context
• Set expectations: Define response time norms
• Use the right channels: Different urgency levels need different channels
• Over-communicate: Better to share too much than too little

Finding Your Balance

Every team is different. Consider:

• How many time zones do you span?
• What's your team's communication style?
• What type of work do you do?

Use the meeting planner or the overlap finder to maximize the value of synchronous time by ensuring meetings happen at reasonable hours for all participants. Check out our guide on finding overlap hours to identify the best times for your team.

Conclusion

The goal isn't to eliminate meetings—it's to make every meeting count. Reserve synchronous time for what truly requires it, and embrace async for everything else.

Need to schedule a meeting? Use the meeting planner to find the perfect time for your global team. For more tips on respecting colleagues in different time zones, read our article on time zone etiquette.