Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg: 'I get really frustrated and in a bad mood if…'

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said that the key to managing his time effectively is not over-scheduling. Speaking at a recent fireside chat with Stripe co-founder John Collison, the Facebook-founder said he intentionally leaves large blocks of his calendar open to focus on daily priorities, warning that a packed schedule puts him in a “bad mood” and leads him to “explode.”

“I try to generally keep a bunch of time open,” Zuckerberg said, adding further that over-scheduling drives him "in a bad mood … I just like explode."

Zuckerberg has even scrapped recurring one-on-one meetings, arguing that his priorities shift daily and structured calendars can block time for more important, high-impact tasks. “I talk to all these people constantly, more than they want to talk to me,” he joked, adding that rigid schedules often prevent him from addressing urgent matters.

"I get really frustrated and in a bad mood if my whole day is scheduled and there's a thing that I know is really important and I don't get time to do it because I'm sitting in other things that are not the most important thing to be doing," he added.

What Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Jensen Huang and other CEOs say about meetings
It is notable that Zuckerberg is not the only top tech executive who is pushing back on meeting-heavy routines. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has urged employees to walk out of meetings that waste time, while Amazon founder Jeff Bezos promotes the “two-pizza rule” to limit meeting size.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang avoids fixed one-on-ones altogether, and Airbnb’s Brian Chesky bans meetings before 10 a.m. to support a healthier work culture.

Zuckerberg’s flexible approach also echoes Google’s “80 Percent Rule,” which encourages leaders to book only 80% of their day to make space for unexpected tasks.