If the entire session consists of someone sharing updates, announcing changes or walking through documentation that already exists, you're wasting everyone's time. Real meetings mean some sort of interaction, debate or collaborative problem-solving.
In accessibility, this happens constantly. And I'm guilty of this as well. I've had to schedule hour-long sessions to share audit results that could easily be distributed in writing. And the irony is that these information-only meetings were often less accessible than a well-structured email would have been.
So here's the test I use to figure out if the meeting could just be an email.
If attendees will just be passive listeners with no meaningful input required, I kill the meeting and I send an email instead. I make sure to include clear action items, deadlines and persons responsible. Of course, I leave in the possibility to call a meeting on specific topics and with specific people for questions. Not an all-hands-on-deck.
Meetings are for when we actually need human brains working together in real time. For when we need to hash out complex solutions, resolve conflicts or make decisions that require immediate back-and-forth.
Here's the thing.
Your team's time is finite. Stop burning it on glorified announcements.