At the beginning of this year, I started going to Timeleft meetings. The idea is simple: several strangers (usually about six) sign up for a dinner and, a day before it happens, receive the location. By that moment, they know almost nothing about each other — which means there’s no filtering like in dating apps. As a result, by letting go of control, you can create a new kind of social format and let into your life people who otherwise would never have entered it.
My first Timeleft dinner went great, but the following ones started to feel repetitive. My friend once put it perfectly: “We came here to socialize and meet people — no matter what.”
And that’s where I realized: most people simply don’t know how to have a proper conversation. Because going around the table answering a list of preset questions — like at an AA meeting — isn’t an interesting way to get to know someone.
— I work as a product manager in mobile games.
— Oh, cool!
— Yeah, I like it. I enjoy digging into data.
— Always wondered how games are made. I’m a massage therapist myself.
— Wow! You must have a lot of work these days. Everyone’s sitting in offices and getting back pain.
— Haha, yes! I love when people leave my room completely different from how they entered.
— Oh, you’re doing such important work!
I’ve never met anyone who does unimportant or uninteresting work. Everyone’s job is always “so cool,” whether they’re a product manager, a massage therapist, a financial analyst, an archaeologist, or unemployed! So why waste twenty minutes of your three-hour dinner on this meaningless ritual?
And that’s not even mentioning the icebreaker game suggested by the service itself. How about going around the table answering “What’s one thing that’s always in your fridge?”
Let your conversation flow the way it would with real friends, without moderation. Let someone stay quiet while someone else naturally takes the spotlight — you’re not here to build communism or attend a language class where everyone gets 42 minutes of speaking time.
In the end, the very idea that makes Timeleft dinners so different from dating — letting go of control — completely disappears when people actually start the meeting. Believe me, the next big thing will sell you the chance to just sit at a bar and talk to strangers.