Hacker News Reader

As hard as I try to say no to meetings, a lot more than one per month gets through. The toughest ones are from people who may have helped you/supported you in the past or when you are trying to build a relationship with someone and they introduce your to someone. These are meetings where there is some kind of social obligation. Very hard.

View on HN

Totally get this. This is where the email screen can be a lifesaver. You fill the social obligation, maybe even lend a hand or get done what you need to get done, and you can prioritize it -- meet now, meet later, meet never.

When you're an entrepreneur, you can easily get up to 50% of your time meeting people outside of your company -- sales, hires, partners, help, funding. It can get tricky real quick. My basic guideline has always been no more than 1 a week unless I'm doing something that specifically requires me to meet external people.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com