How to Run Effective Standup Meetings

Why Standups Drag On

Standups are supposed to be under 15 minutes. In reality, they often balloon to 30 minutes or more. The most common culprit: updates turn into detailed explanations and tangential discussions.

A standup's purpose is to give everyone a quick status snapshot, not to solve problems on the spot. Teams that blur this boundary are the ones with the longest standups.

Stick to Three Questions

Each participant should cover exactly three things: what they did yesterday, what they're doing today, and what's blocking them. One to two sentences each is enough.

If someone has a blocker, they should name it briefly — "I'm stuck on X" — and move on. The actual problem-solving happens in a separate conversation with only the people involved.

• Yesterday's completed work (1-2 sentences)
• Today's plan (1-2 sentences)
• Blockers or help needed (briefly, if any)
• Extended discussions: "Let's take it offline"

Standups for Remote Teams

When team members span multiple timezones, a synchronous standup may not be practical. Async standups are a strong alternative.

Each morning, team members post their three-question update in a dedicated Slack channel. Live standups drop to once or twice a week, while the rest are async. This works well even with 8+ hours of timezone spread.

Rethink Standup Frequency

Does your team really need a standup every day? During calm project phases, three or even two per week might suffice.

What matters is that team status stays visible. If you reduce frequency, strengthen your async reporting to compensate.

Keep Standups Fun

The same reporting format every day gets stale. Once a week, spend the first two minutes on a quick ice-breaker. "What did you do this weekend?" or "What are you into lately?" keeps the energy up.

Remote teams especially lack informal social moments. Using the standup opening for low-key chitchat builds team cohesion naturally.