“Sync Overload”—And How to Avoid It  ## Metadata - Author: [[L. Jeffrey Zeldman]] - Full Title: “Sync Overload”—And How to Avoid It - Category: #articles - Document Note: --- tags: - #remote-work - #async-communication - #meeting-culture - #productivity - #open-source - #wordpress Author: L. Jeffrey Zeldman Source: Automattic website (article) Reference: https://automattic.com/2025/08/20/sync-overload-and-how-to-avoid-it/ date created: 2025-09-06 00:00 --- # Title: Sync Overload—and How to Avoid It ## Table of Contents: - [🧭 Overview](#-overview) - [⚙️ Automattic Operating System (AOS)](#-automattic-operating-system-aos) - [➖ Less Is More: The Case for Async](#-less-is-more-the-case-for-async) - [❓ Four Questions Before Any Meeting](#-four-questions-before-any-meeting) - [🌱 One Life to Live: Protecting Synchronous Time](#-one-life-to-live-protecting-synchronous-time) - [🔗 References](#-references) ### References: Include a list of sources consulted and cited in the article. - Automattic: Sync Overload—and How to Avoid It - Automattic 20-year timeline - P2 platform overview (internal context referenced) ## 📝 Summary: The article argues that Automattic’s “Automattic Operating System (AOS)”—a blend of work habits, patterns, and tools—is continually tuned to reduce unnecessary synchronous meetings and maximize creative, focused work. As a fully distributed company, Automattic emphasizes asynchronous written communication (Slack, Linear, P2) to minimize time-zone friction and meeting fatigue. It shares four guiding questions from CEO Matt Mullenweg to vet any meeting’s necessity and underscores that synchronous time is “precious—even sacred,” used generously for onboarding but kept minimal otherwise to preserve work/life balance and mental health. ## 📖 Main Content: Automattic treats process as product via its AOS, iterating work practices much like software updates. The central improvement: default to asynchronous, written comms over live meetings to eliminate time-zone constraints and reduce context switching. Tools like Slack, Linear, and P2 provide durable, searchable artifacts, enabling clarity and accountability without forcing people into Zoom marathons. When live time is requested, teams are urged to apply four questions: does this investment grow contribution, align with team goals, move the needle, and produce meetings you actually look forward to? Live time is reserved for high-leverage moments—such as onboarding—while preserving deep work, autonomy, and balance. Personal insight: This approach aligns with research on maker vs. manager schedules and the cognitive cost of interruptions. Async-first cultures turn communication into a written product, which supports transparency, onboarding, and auditing decisions over time. ### 🗒️ Notes - Automattic Operating System (AOS) - AOS = habits + patterns + tools; iterated like software. - Goal: Improve service to customers and support colleagues. - Case study lever: Avoiding needless meetings. - Less Is More: Async-first - As a remote-first org, Automattic chooses writing over Zoom. - Benefits: - Time-zone independence. - Faster resolution via concise posts vs. long calls. - More time to think and create; fewer camera-bound hours. - Core tools: Slack, Linear, P2. - Four meeting vetting questions (from Matt Mullenweg) - 1) Is this the best use of time for growth and contribution? - 2) Does it contribute to team goals and selecting the right ones? - 3) Is the work effective and communicable (excites a friend; bloggable)? - 4) Are meetings so effective you look forward to them? - One Life to Live: Treat sync time as scarce - Synchronous time is “precious—even sacred.” - Spend generously for onboarding new hires. - Keep inessential meetings minimal to protect balance and mental health. - Invitation to learn more about Automattic’s 20-year journey and open roles. ## 📖 References: - “Sync Overload—and How to Avoid It” by L. Jeffrey Zeldman: https://automattic.com/2025/08/20/sync-overload-and-how-to-avoid-it/ - Automattic 20-year timeline: https://automattic.com/20-years/ - P2 (background/product page reference): https://p2.wordpress.com/ ## 🗣️ Paraphrase: - Original idea: AOS is tuned like an operating system to enhance service and support; avoiding needless meetings is a key improvement. - Paraphrase: Automattic treats its work norms and tools as a living system that gets regular upgrades. One of its most effective updates is aggressively cutting back on meetings that don’t add value. - Original idea: Async communication via Slack, Linear, and P2 removes time-zone pain and overlong calls, freeing people to think and create. - Paraphrase: By defaulting to written updates across Slack, Linear, and P2, Automattic sidesteps time-zone hurdles and marathon Zooms, giving teams more uninterrupted, high-quality creative time. ## 📰 Newsletter: In this week’s Dev Dispatch: Learning Paths + Async Superpowers - Learn web development, the sustainable way: We’re updating our beginner-to-advanced tracks in HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, and Git/GitHub with hands-on projects you can ship. Start with a “one-feature” challenge and level up to WordPress block development and plugin architecture. - Async for the win: Inspired by Automattic’s async-first culture, try “write before you meet.” Post a short P2-style brief, gather comments in Slack/Issues, and only schedule a call if blockers remain. You’ll protect deep work and onboard contributors faster. - Community highlights: Big kudos to contributors shipping accessibility fixes across popular themes; join the discussion in Make/Core and Learn WordPress. - New plugins and updates: Keep an eye on performance-focused plugins and block best practices. Also check out the latest on the Interactivity API and wp-scripts improvements. - Want more? Read Zeldman’s take on avoiding “sync overload,” and try the four-question meeting test in your next sprint planning. Links: - Async culture insights from Automattic: “Sync Overload—and How to Avoid It” - Learn WordPress workshops: https://learn.wordpress.org/ - Make WordPress Core: https://make.wordpress.org/core/ ## ✅ Action Items: Alignment prompt for a GoDaddy Developer Advocate (WordPress/open source) and aspiring OSPO director: - Open-source advocacy: - Map async-first practices to contributor accessibility across time zones, reducing meeting barriers for global volunteers. - Document decisions in writing (P2/issues) to create transparent governance artifacts. - Contributor engagement: - Pilot a “meeting minimalism” policy for contributor onboarding: written playbooks, async office hours, and escalation-only calls. - Track contributor retention and time-to-first-PR before/after async adoption. - Education and inclusivity: - Convert onboarding content to asynchronous modules (self-paced lessons, short Looms with transcripts, issue templates). - Use the four-question test to prune recurring meetings in mentorship programs. - OSPO strategy: - Codify an “Open Source Operating System” inspired by AOS: standards for async comms, decision logs, and responsible sync usage. - Include DEIB guardrails: time-zone fairness, accessibility-first documentation, and transparent roadmaps. - Transparency: - Publish monthly “decision digests” summarizing proposals, outcomes, and rationales. - Career objective fit: - Demonstrates operational leadership, scalable contributor systems, and evidence-based policy—key OSPO competencies. Prompt to apply on each article: “Analyze how the article’s recommendations can: - Lower barriers to global open-source participation via async practices. - Improve contributor onboarding, retention, and psychological safety. - Translate into OSPO policies (documentation standards, decision logs, meeting thresholds). - Support educational programming (self-paced modules, written briefs). - Advance transparency and inclusivity in the WordPress ecosystem. Provide measurable KPIs, a rollout plan, and risks/mitigations.” ## 🧪 Hypotheses: - H1: Replacing 30% of recurring meetings with written briefs will increase developer deep-work hours by 10–20% within one quarter. - H2: Async-first onboarding reduces time-to-first-meaningful-contribution by 25% across ≥3 time zones. - H3: Applying the four-question m - Summary: More creative time, fewer meetings. That’s what keeps the Automattic Operating System going strong. - URL: https://automattic.com/2025/08/20/sync-overload-and-how-to-avoid-it/ At [Automattic](https://automattic.com/), we think of our work habits and patterns, together with the software we make and use, as the “Automattic Operating System (AOS).” And, just as with a *non-*virtual operating system, our AOS is continually being fine-tuned and updated. We iterate frequently, not to make shiny new things for their own sake, but to continuously improve how we serve our customers and support each other. Case in point: **Avoiding needless meetings**. #### Less is more You might imagine that as a fully [distributed](https://distributed.blog/), remote-first, remote-last, remote-always company, Automattic must keep its people constantly stuck in Zoom meetings, but the truth is the *opposite*. Relying instead on asynchronous, written communication—via Slack, Linear, and our own [P2](https://wordpress.com/p2/) platform—enables us to work with best-in-class partners wherever in the world they choose to be located. No worries about time zone differences. No hours spent on discussions we can take care of in a few minutes of writing. More time to think and create, less time spent blinking into computer cameras. Sounds good, right? Here, care of our CEO [Matt Mullenweg](https://ma.tt/), are the questions we ask ourselves before agreeing to *any* synchronous meeting: 1. Am I investing time toward the things that are doing the most to help me grow and improve my ability to contribute? 2. How much of my time is contributing to my team’s goals, and choosing the right ones? 3. Is the work effective? Is it moving the needle? Can I describe it to a friend over dinner in a way that gets them excited? *Can I blog about it?* 4. Are all my meetings so effective that I look forward to them? (Don’t laugh. It is possible.) #### One life to live Synchronous time in a distributed organization is precious—even sacred. And while we spend it generously when onboarding new employees, we maintain a better work/life balance—and healthier, more productive mental attitudes—by **keeping inessential meetings to a minimum**. If you’d rather work than sit through endless conversations, we may just be the place for you. For more [about Automattic](https://automattic.com/about/), visit our website. (Hint: You’re soaking in it.) And while you’re here, check out our [20 year timeline](https://timeline.automattic.com/). If you like what you see, consider [working with us](https://automattic.com/work-with-us/). Our [open jobs](https://automattic.com/jobs/) are some of the most exciting in open source and tech, and our [benefits and pay](https://automattic.com/benefits/) are pretty sweet, too. [](https://automattic.com/2025/06/20/automattic-20-years/)[Inside Automattic](https://automattic.com/category/inside-automattic/), “Sync Overload”—And How to Avoid It, L. Jeffrey Zeldman, 01k4fk76peb2v1f9txdmkw3he1.