[lostcolony]

Question for you - are meetings others initiate/are in charge of, but which nevertheless serve a clear point that necessitates your presence as draining?

Because that's the differentiator for me. If I have a goal I'm trying to achieve there, and the meeting is focused on that goal, it doesn't matter if I'm just a participant or not. If their isn't a clear goal, or I'm expected to be there despite not being involved in that goal (if it's an informational meeting I don't care about the information; if it's a decisional meeting I don't care or can't influence the decision; if it's a brainstorming meeting it's about something that doesn't affect me or a problem I'm not responsible to solve), it's massively draining.

[napsy]

Yes, some meetings don't really require my presence. Many times, for me it's more like: "hey, anything to add here?".