0:00:00.936,0:00:02.626 So I'm going to talk about work; 0:00:02.650,0:00:06.436 specifically, why people can't[br]seem to get work done at work, 0:00:06.460,0:00:08.889 which is a problem we all kind of have. 0:00:08.913,0:00:11.076 But let's sort of start at the beginning. 0:00:11.100,0:00:14.706 So, we have companies[br]and non-profits and charities 0:00:14.730,0:00:19.674 and all these groups that have[br]employees or volunteers of some sort. 0:00:20.198,0:00:23.904 And they expect these people[br]who work for them 0:00:23.928,0:00:25.610 to do great work -- 0:00:25.634,0:00:26.976 I would hope, at least. 0:00:27.000,0:00:29.715 At least good work, hopefully,[br]at least it's good work -- 0:00:29.739,0:00:30.976 hopefully great work. 0:00:31.000,0:00:33.048 And so what they typically[br]do is they decide 0:00:33.072,0:00:36.976 that all these people need to come[br]together in one place to do that work. 0:00:37.000,0:00:39.975 So a company, or a charity,[br]or an organization of any kind, 0:00:39.999,0:00:44.163 unless you're working in Africa,[br]if you're really lucky to do that -- 0:00:44.187,0:00:46.420 most people have to go[br]to an office every day. 0:00:46.444,0:00:48.380 And so these companies, 0:00:48.404,0:00:50.129 they build offices. 0:00:50.153,0:00:53.049 They go out and they buy a building,[br]or they rent a building, 0:00:53.073,0:00:54.976 or they lease some space, 0:00:55.000,0:00:57.976 and they fill this space with stuff. 0:00:58.000,0:01:00.976 They fill it with tables, or desks, 0:01:01.000,0:01:03.875 chairs, computer equipment, 0:01:03.899,0:01:06.976 software, Internet access, 0:01:07.000,0:01:10.245 maybe a fridge, maybe a few other things, 0:01:10.269,0:01:12.850 and they expect their employees,[br]or their volunteers, 0:01:12.874,0:01:15.523 to come to that location[br]every day to do great work. 0:01:15.547,0:01:18.468 It seems like it's perfectly[br]reasonable to ask that. 0:01:18.492,0:01:20.825 However, if you actually talk to people 0:01:20.849,0:01:23.493 and even question yourself,[br]and you ask yourself, 0:01:23.517,0:01:27.031 where do you really want to go when you[br]really need to get something done? 0:01:27.055,0:01:30.781 You'll find out that people don't say[br]what businesses think they would say. 0:01:30.805,0:01:32.302 If you ask people the question: 0:01:32.326,0:01:35.142 Where do you need to go[br]when you need to get something done? 0:01:35.166,0:01:37.640 Typically, you get three different[br]kinds of answers. 0:01:37.664,0:01:40.527 One is kind of a place[br]or a location or a room. 0:01:40.551,0:01:42.495 Another one is a moving object, 0:01:42.519,0:01:44.186 and a third is a time. 0:01:44.210,0:01:46.222 So here are some examples. 0:01:46.246,0:01:49.477 I've been asking people this question[br]for about 10 years: 0:01:49.501,0:01:52.657 "Where do you go when you[br]really need to get something done?" 0:01:52.681,0:01:56.229 I'll hear things like, the porch,[br]the deck, the kitchen. 0:01:56.253,0:01:59.301 I'll hear things like[br]an extra room in the house, 0:01:59.325,0:02:00.602 the basement, 0:02:00.626,0:02:02.527 the coffee shop, the library. 0:02:03.547,0:02:06.102 And then you'll hear[br]things like the train, 0:02:06.126,0:02:09.226 a plane, a car -- so, the commute. 0:02:09.666,0:02:11.378 And then you'll hear people say, 0:02:11.402,0:02:13.404 "Well, it doesn't really[br]matter where I am, 0:02:13.428,0:02:16.940 as long as it's early in the morning[br]or late at night or on the weekends." 0:02:16.964,0:02:19.789 You almost never hear[br]someone say, "The office." 0:02:19.813,0:02:23.385 But businesses are spending all this money[br]on this place called the office, 0:02:23.409,0:02:25.663 and they're making people[br]go to it all the time, 0:02:25.687,0:02:27.722 yet people don't do work in the office. 0:02:27.746,0:02:28.909 What is that about? 0:02:28.933,0:02:30.393 (Laughter) 0:02:30.417,0:02:33.670 Why is that? Why is that happening? 0:02:34.093,0:02:35.363 And what you find out is, 0:02:35.387,0:02:38.775 if you dig a little bit deeper,[br]you find out that people -- 0:02:38.799,0:02:40.449 this is what happens: 0:02:40.473,0:02:42.202 People go to work, 0:02:42.226,0:02:44.536 and they're basically[br]trading in their work day 0:02:44.560,0:02:48.052 for a series of "work moments" --[br]that's what happens at the office. 0:02:48.076,0:02:50.759 You don't have a work day anymore.[br]You have work moments. 0:02:50.783,0:02:53.561 It's like the front door[br]of the office is like a Cuisinart, 0:02:53.585,0:02:55.887 and you walk in and your day[br]is shredded to bits, 0:02:55.911,0:02:58.459 because you have 15 minutes here,[br]30 minutes there, 0:02:58.483,0:03:01.206 and something else happens,[br]you're pulled off your work, 0:03:01.230,0:03:05.119 then you have 20 minutes, then it's lunch,[br]then you have something else to do ... 0:03:05.143,0:03:08.953 Then you've got 15 minutes, and someone[br]pulls you aside and asks you a question, 0:03:08.977,0:03:11.173 and before you know it, it's 5 p.m., 0:03:11.197,0:03:12.769 and you look back on the day, 0:03:12.793,0:03:15.824 and you realize that you[br]didn't get anything done. 0:03:15.848,0:03:17.205 We've all been through this. 0:03:17.229,0:03:21.032 We probably went through it yesterday[br]or the day before, or the day before that. 0:03:21.056,0:03:22.470 You look back on your day, 0:03:22.494,0:03:24.510 and you're like,[br]"I got nothing done today. 0:03:24.534,0:03:29.124 I was at work. I sat at my desk.[br]I used my expensive computer. 0:03:29.148,0:03:31.385 I used the software they told me to use. 0:03:31.409,0:03:33.862 I went to these meetings[br]I was asked to go to. 0:03:33.886,0:03:36.583 I did these conference calls.[br]I did all this stuff. 0:03:36.607,0:03:38.976 But I didn't actually do anything. 0:03:39.432,0:03:40.584 I just did tasks. 0:03:40.608,0:03:43.048 I didn't actually get[br]meaningful work done." 0:03:43.447,0:03:46.383 And what you find is that,[br]especially with creative people -- 0:03:46.407,0:03:51.976 designers, programmers,[br]writers, engineers, thinkers -- 0:03:52.000,0:03:55.888 that people really need long stretches[br]of uninterrupted time 0:03:55.912,0:03:57.234 to get something done. 0:03:57.258,0:04:00.686 You cannot ask somebody[br]to be creative in 15 minutes 0:04:00.710,0:04:02.329 and really think about a problem. 0:04:02.353,0:04:03.719 You might have a quick idea, 0:04:03.743,0:04:07.702 but to be in deep thought about a problem[br]and really consider a problem carefully, 0:04:07.726,0:04:10.114 you need long stretches[br]of uninterrupted time. 0:04:10.611,0:04:13.313 And even though the work day[br]is typically eight hours, 0:04:13.337,0:04:16.892 how many people here have ever had[br]eight hours to themselves at the office? 0:04:16.916,0:04:18.083 How about seven hours? 0:04:18.107,0:04:21.315 Six? Five? Four? 0:04:21.339,0:04:24.491 When's the last time you had[br]three hours to yourself at the office? 0:04:24.515,0:04:26.537 Two hours? One, maybe? 0:04:26.561,0:04:28.276 Very, very few people actually have 0:04:28.300,0:04:30.974 long stretches of uninterrupted[br]time at an office. 0:04:30.998,0:04:34.528 And this is why people[br]choose to do work at home, 0:04:34.552,0:04:36.131 or they might go to the office, 0:04:36.155,0:04:38.790 but they might go to the office[br]really early in the day, 0:04:38.814,0:04:40.640 or late at night when no one's around, 0:04:40.664,0:04:42.732 or they stick around[br]after everyone's left, 0:04:42.756,0:04:44.170 or go in on the weekends, 0:04:44.194,0:04:47.285 or they get work done on the plane,[br]in the car or in the train, 0:04:47.309,0:04:49.214 because there are no distractions. 0:04:49.238,0:04:51.433 Now there are different[br]kinds of distractions, 0:04:51.457,0:04:54.846 but not the really bad distractions,[br]which I'll talk about in a minute. 0:04:54.870,0:04:59.334 And this whole phenomenon of having[br]short bursts of time to get things done 0:04:59.358,0:05:03.000 reminds me of another thing[br]that doesn't work when you're interrupted, 0:05:03.024,0:05:04.209 and that is sleep. 0:05:04.771,0:05:07.960 I think that sleep and work[br]are very closely related -- 0:05:07.984,0:05:11.682 not because you can work while you're[br]sleeping and sleep while you're working. 0:05:11.706,0:05:13.150 That's not really what I mean. 0:05:13.174,0:05:19.245 I'm talking specifically about the fact[br]that sleep and work are phase-based, 0:05:19.269,0:05:21.000 or stage-based, events. 0:05:21.324,0:05:27.379 Sleep is about sleep phases, or stages --[br]some people call them different things. 0:05:27.403,0:05:31.237 There are five of them, and in order[br]to get to the really deep ones, 0:05:31.261,0:05:34.030 the meaningful ones,[br]you have to go through the early ones. 0:05:34.054,0:05:37.245 If you're interrupted while you're[br]going through the early ones -- 0:05:37.269,0:05:40.976 if someone bumps you in bed,[br]or there's a sound, or whatever happens -- 0:05:41.000,0:05:43.000 you don't just pick up where you left off. 0:05:43.024,0:05:44.976 If you're interrupted and woken up, 0:05:45.000,0:05:46.738 you have to start again. 0:05:46.762,0:05:49.976 So you have to go back[br]a few phases and start again. 0:05:50.000,0:05:52.767 And what ends up happening --[br]you might have days like this 0:05:52.791,0:05:56.339 where you wake up at eight or seven[br]in the morning, or whenever you get up, 0:05:56.363,0:05:58.479 and you're like,[br]"I didn't sleep very well. 0:05:58.503,0:06:01.071 I did the sleep thing --[br]I went to bed, I laid down, 0:06:01.095,0:06:03.473 but I didn't really sleep." 0:06:03.497,0:06:05.863 People say you go "to" sleep, 0:06:05.887,0:06:09.005 but you don't go to sleep,[br]you go towards sleep; it takes a while. 0:06:09.029,0:06:11.084 You've got to go through phases and stuff, 0:06:11.108,0:06:13.417 and if you're interrupted,[br]you don't sleep well. 0:06:13.441,0:06:15.797 So does anyone here[br]expect someone to sleep well 0:06:15.821,0:06:17.403 if they're interrupted all night? 0:06:17.427,0:06:19.141 I don't think anyone would say yes. 0:06:19.165,0:06:21.490 Why do we expect people to work well 0:06:21.514,0:06:23.986 if they're being interrupted[br]all day at the office? 0:06:24.010,0:06:26.444 How can we possibly expect[br]people to do their job 0:06:26.468,0:06:28.573 if they go to the office[br]and are interrupted? 0:06:28.597,0:06:31.504 That doesn't really seem[br]like it makes a lot of sense, to me. 0:06:31.528,0:06:35.396 So what are the interruptions that happen[br]at the office but not at other places? 0:06:35.420,0:06:39.681 Because in other places, you can have[br]interruptions like the TV, 0:06:39.705,0:06:42.976 or you could go for a walk,[br]or there's a fridge downstairs, 0:06:43.000,0:06:46.105 or you've got your own couch,[br]or whatever you want to do. 0:06:46.129,0:06:48.938 If you talk to certain managers,[br]they'll tell you 0:06:48.962,0:06:51.533 that they don't want[br]their employees to work at home 0:06:51.557,0:06:53.454 because of these distractions. 0:06:53.478,0:06:56.509 They'll sometimes also say, 0:06:56.533,0:06:59.376 "If I can't see the person,[br]how do I know they're working?" 0:06:59.400,0:07:02.701 which is ridiculous, but that's one[br]of the excuses that managers give. 0:07:02.725,0:07:05.982 And I'm one of these managers.[br]I understand. I know how this goes. 0:07:06.006,0:07:08.729 We all have to improve[br]on this sort of thing. 0:07:08.753,0:07:10.723 But oftentimes they'll cite distractions: 0:07:10.747,0:07:12.381 "I can't let someone work at home. 0:07:12.405,0:07:14.421 They'll watch TV, or do this other thing." 0:07:14.445,0:07:17.180 It turns out those aren't[br]the things that are distracting, 0:07:17.204,0:07:19.160 Because those are voluntary distractions. 0:07:19.184,0:07:21.636 You decide when you want[br]to be distracted by the TV, 0:07:21.660,0:07:23.351 when you want to turn something on, 0:07:23.375,0:07:25.769 or when you want to go[br]downstairs or go for a walk. 0:07:25.793,0:07:26.944 At the office, 0:07:26.968,0:07:28.991 most of the interruptions and distractions 0:07:29.015,0:07:32.132 that really cause people not[br]to get work done are involuntary. 0:07:32.156,0:07:35.267 So let's go through a couple of those. 0:07:35.291,0:07:38.608 Now, managers and bosses[br]will often have you think 0:07:38.632,0:07:40.636 that the real distractions at work 0:07:40.660,0:07:43.470 are things like Facebook and Twitter 0:07:43.494,0:07:46.664 and YouTube and other websites, 0:07:46.688,0:07:50.530 and in fact, they'll go so far[br]as to actually ban these sites at work. 0:07:50.554,0:07:53.895 Some of you may work at places[br]where you can't get to certain sites. 0:07:53.919,0:07:56.538 I mean, is this China?[br]What the hell is going on here? 0:07:56.562,0:07:59.305 You can't go to a website at work,[br]and that's the problem? 0:07:59.329,0:08:01.337 That's why people aren't[br]getting work done, 0:08:01.361,0:08:03.289 because they're on Facebook and Twitter? 0:08:03.313,0:08:05.566 That's kind of ridiculous.[br]It's a total decoy. 0:08:06.297,0:08:09.714 Today's Facebook and Twitter and YouTube, 0:08:09.738,0:08:11.976 these things are just[br]modern-day smoke breaks. 0:08:12.000,0:08:16.015 No one cared about letting people take[br]a smoke break for 15 minutes 10 years ago, 0:08:16.039,0:08:18.657 so why does anyone care[br]if someone goes to Facebook 0:08:18.681,0:08:20.792 or Twitter or YouTube here and there? 0:08:20.816,0:08:23.393 Those aren't the real[br]problems in the office. 0:08:23.417,0:08:27.028 The real problems are[br]what I like to call the M&Ms, 0:08:27.052,0:08:29.305 the Managers and the Meetings. 0:08:29.329,0:08:32.718 Those are the real problems[br]in the modern office today. 0:08:32.742,0:08:35.222 And this is why[br]things don't get done at work, 0:08:35.246,0:08:37.046 it's because of the M&Ms. 0:08:37.070,0:08:39.372 Now what's interesting is, 0:08:39.396,0:08:42.537 if you listen to all the places[br]that people talk about doing work, 0:08:42.561,0:08:46.525 like at home, in the car, on a plane,[br]late at night, or early in the morning, 0:08:46.549,0:08:48.680 you don't find managers and meetings. 0:08:48.704,0:08:51.941 You find a lot of other distractions,[br]but not managers and meetings. 0:08:51.965,0:08:54.942 So these are the things[br]that you don't find elsewhere, 0:08:54.966,0:08:56.561 but you do find at the office. 0:08:57.371,0:09:00.722 And managers are basically people[br]whose job it is to interrupt people. 0:09:00.746,0:09:04.238 That's pretty much what managers are for.[br]They're for interrupting people. 0:09:04.262,0:09:08.101 They don't really do the work, so they[br]make sure everyone else is doing work, 0:09:08.125,0:09:09.849 which is an interruption. 0:09:09.873,0:09:13.467 We have lots of managers in the world now,[br]and a lot of people in the world, 0:09:13.491,0:09:15.592 and a lot of interruptions[br]by these managers. 0:09:15.616,0:09:17.669 They have to check in:[br]"Hey, how's it going? 0:09:17.693,0:09:19.577 Show me what's up." This sort of thing. 0:09:19.601,0:09:21.759 They keep interrupting you[br]at the wrong time, 0:09:21.783,0:09:25.084 while you're actually trying to do[br]something they're paying you to do, 0:09:25.108,0:09:26.511 they tend to interrupt you. 0:09:26.535,0:09:28.098 That's kind of bad. 0:09:28.122,0:09:31.233 But what's even worse is the thing[br]that managers do most of all, 0:09:31.257,0:09:32.704 which is call meetings. 0:09:32.728,0:09:35.274 And meetings are just toxic, 0:09:35.298,0:09:38.300 terrible, poisonous things 0:09:38.324,0:09:39.743 during the day at work. 0:09:39.767,0:09:40.983 (Laughter) 0:09:41.007,0:09:42.794 We all know this to be true, 0:09:42.818,0:09:46.039 and you would never see a spontaneous[br]meeting called by employees. 0:09:46.063,0:09:47.324 It doesn't work that way. 0:09:47.348,0:09:49.076 The manager calls the meeting 0:09:49.100,0:09:51.015 so the employees can all come together, 0:09:51.039,0:09:53.762 and it's an incredibly disruptive[br]thing to do to people -- 0:09:53.786,0:09:54.976 to say, "Hey look, 0:09:55.000,0:09:58.698 we're going to bring 10 people[br]together right now and have a meeting. 0:09:58.722,0:10:00.214 I don't care what you're doing, 0:10:00.238,0:10:03.245 you've got to stop doing it,[br]so you can have this meeting." 0:10:03.269,0:10:06.643 I mean, what are the chances[br]that all 10 people are ready to stop? 0:10:06.667,0:10:10.420 What if they're thinking about something[br]important, or doing important work? 0:10:10.444,0:10:14.233 All of a sudden you tell them they have[br]to stop doing that to do something else. 0:10:14.257,0:10:16.976 So they go into a meeting room,[br]they get together, 0:10:17.000,0:10:20.272 and they talk about stuff[br]that doesn't really matter, usually. 0:10:20.296,0:10:21.940 Because meetings aren't work. 0:10:21.964,0:10:24.130 Meetings are places to go[br]to talk about things 0:10:24.154,0:10:25.851 you're supposed to be doing later. 0:10:25.875,0:10:27.846 But meetings also procreate. 0:10:27.870,0:10:30.135 So one meeting tends[br]to lead to another meeting, 0:10:30.159,0:10:31.644 which leads to another meeting. 0:10:31.668,0:10:33.874 There's often too many people[br]in the meetings, 0:10:33.898,0:10:36.623 and they're very, very expensive[br]to the organization. 0:10:36.647,0:10:39.772 Companies often think of a one-hour[br]meeting as a one-hour meeting, 0:10:39.796,0:10:42.257 but that's not true,[br]unless there's only one person. 0:10:42.281,0:10:45.805 If there are 10 people, it's a 10-hour[br]meeting, not a one-hour meeting. 0:10:45.829,0:10:49.106 It's 10 hours of productivity taken[br]from the rest of the organization 0:10:49.130,0:10:52.469 to have this one-hour meeting,[br]which probably should have been handled 0:10:52.493,0:10:54.976 by two or three people[br]talking for a few minutes. 0:10:55.000,0:10:57.539 But instead, there's a long[br]scheduled meeting, 0:10:57.563,0:11:00.134 because meetings are scheduled[br]the way software works, 0:11:00.158,0:11:03.559 which is in increments of 15 minutes,[br]or 30 minutes, or an hour. 0:11:03.583,0:11:07.226 You don't schedule an eight-hour meeting[br]with Outlook; you can't. 0:11:07.250,0:11:10.224 You can go 15 minutes or 30 minutes[br]or 45 minutes or an hour. 0:11:10.248,0:11:12.222 And so we tend to fill these times up 0:11:12.246,0:11:14.405 when things should go really quickly. 0:11:14.429,0:11:18.079 So meetings and managers are[br]two major problems in businesses today, 0:11:18.103,0:11:19.262 especially at offices. 0:11:19.286,0:11:21.932 These things don't exist[br]outside of the office. 0:11:22.428,0:11:27.229 So I have some suggestions[br]to remedy the situation. 0:11:27.253,0:11:28.976 What can managers do -- 0:11:29.000,0:11:30.976 enlightened managers, hopefully -- 0:11:31.000,0:11:34.472 what can they do to make the office[br]a better place for people to work, 0:11:34.496,0:11:37.341 so it's not the last resort,[br]but it's the first resort, 0:11:37.365,0:11:38.707 so that people start to say, 0:11:38.731,0:11:41.508 "When I really want to get stuff done,[br]I go to the office." 0:11:41.532,0:11:43.446 Because the offices are well-equipped; 0:11:43.470,0:11:45.604 everything is there[br]for them to do the work. 0:11:45.628,0:11:48.889 But they don't want to go there right[br]now, so how do we change that? 0:11:48.913,0:11:50.947 I have three suggestions[br]to share with you. 0:11:50.971,0:11:53.842 I have about three minutes,[br]so that'll fit perfectly. 0:11:53.866,0:11:56.703 We've all heard[br]of the Casual Friday thing. 0:11:56.727,0:11:58.576 I don't know if people still do that. 0:11:58.600,0:12:00.276 But how about "No-talk Thursdays?" 0:12:00.300,0:12:02.332 (Laughter) 0:12:02.356,0:12:05.302 Pick one Thursday once a month, 0:12:05.326,0:12:08.637 and cut it in half, just the afternoon --[br]I'll make it easy for you. 0:12:08.661,0:12:10.391 So just the afternoon, one Thursday. 0:12:10.415,0:12:12.669 First Thursday of the month,[br]just the afternoon, 0:12:12.693,0:12:14.757 nobody in the office[br]can talk to each other. 0:12:14.781,0:12:16.319 Just silence, that's it. 0:12:16.343,0:12:17.976 And what you'll find 0:12:18.000,0:12:20.408 is that a tremendous amount[br]of work gets done 0:12:20.432,0:12:22.036 when no one talks to each other. 0:12:22.060,0:12:24.124 This is when people[br]actually get stuff done, 0:12:24.148,0:12:26.664 is when no one's bothering them[br]or interrupting them. 0:12:26.688,0:12:29.649 Giving someone four hours[br]of uninterrupted time 0:12:29.673,0:12:31.847 is the best gift you can[br]give anybody at work. 0:12:31.871,0:12:33.284 It's better than a computer, 0:12:33.308,0:12:36.062 better than a new monitor,[br]better than new software, 0:12:36.086,0:12:38.061 or whatever people typically use. 0:12:38.085,0:12:40.489 Giving them four hours[br]of quiet time at the office 0:12:40.513,0:12:42.434 is going to be incredibly valuable. 0:12:42.458,0:12:46.426 If you try that, I think you'll agree,[br]and hopefully you can do it more often. 0:12:46.450,0:12:48.172 So maybe it's every other week, 0:12:48.196,0:12:49.976 or every week, once a week, 0:12:50.000,0:12:52.053 afternoons no one can talk to each other. 0:12:52.077,0:12:55.164 That's something that you'll find[br]will really, really work. 0:12:55.188,0:12:57.490 Another thing you can try, 0:12:57.514,0:13:00.976 is switching from active[br]communication and collaboration, 0:13:01.000,0:13:04.191 which is like face-to-face stuff --[br]tapping people on the shoulder, 0:13:04.215,0:13:06.191 saying hi to them, having meetings, 0:13:06.215,0:13:09.001 and replace that with more[br]passive models of communication, 0:13:09.025,0:13:11.326 using things like email[br]and instant messaging, 0:13:11.350,0:13:14.302 or collaboration products,[br]things like that. 0:13:14.628,0:13:17.549 Now some people might say[br]email is really distracting, 0:13:17.573,0:13:21.143 I.M. is really distracting, and these[br]other things are really distracting, 0:13:21.167,0:13:24.739 but they're distracting at a time[br]of your own choice and your own choosing. 0:13:24.763,0:13:27.571 You can quit the email app;[br]you can't quit your boss. 0:13:27.595,0:13:29.373 You can quit I.M.; 0:13:29.397,0:13:31.214 you can't hide your manager. 0:13:31.238,0:13:32.976 You can put these things away, 0:13:33.000,0:13:36.381 and then you can be interrupted[br]on your own schedule, at your own time, 0:13:36.405,0:13:38.882 when you're available,[br]when you're ready to go again. 0:13:38.906,0:13:40.976 Because work, like sleep,[br]happens in phases. 0:13:41.000,0:13:43.093 So you'll be going up, doing some work, 0:13:43.117,0:13:45.076 and then you'll come down from that work, 0:13:45.100,0:13:47.552 and then maybe it's time[br]to check that email or I.M. 0:13:47.576,0:13:50.077 There are very, very few things[br]that are that urgent, 0:13:50.101,0:13:53.148 that need to happen, that need[br]to be answered right this second. 0:13:53.172,0:13:54.347 So if you're a manager, 0:13:54.371,0:13:57.355 start encouraging people to use[br]more things like I.M. and email 0:13:57.379,0:13:59.395 and other things that someone can put away 0:13:59.419,0:14:01.620 and then get back to you[br]on their own schedule. 0:14:01.644,0:14:05.223 And the last suggestion I have is that, 0:14:05.247,0:14:06.976 if you do have a meeting coming up, 0:14:07.000,0:14:10.626 if you have the power, just cancel it. 0:14:10.650,0:14:12.110 Just cancel that next meeting. 0:14:12.134,0:14:13.300 (Laughter) 0:14:13.324,0:14:15.969 Today's Friday, usually people[br]have meetings on Monday. 0:14:15.993,0:14:17.155 Just don't have it. 0:14:17.179,0:14:18.584 I don't mean move it; 0:14:18.608,0:14:21.250 I mean just erase it[br]from memory, it's gone. 0:14:21.274,0:14:23.862 And you'll find out that everything[br]will be just fine. 0:14:23.886,0:14:26.902 All these discussions and decisions[br]you thought you had to make 0:14:26.926,0:14:28.710 at this one time at 9 a.m. on Monday, 0:14:28.734,0:14:31.031 just forget about them,[br]and things will be fine. 0:14:31.055,0:14:34.036 People will have a more open morning,[br]they can actually think. 0:14:34.060,0:14:36.835 You'll find out all these things[br]you thought you had to do, 0:14:36.859,0:14:38.312 you don't actually have to do. 0:14:38.336,0:14:42.328 So those are just three quick suggestions[br]I wanted to give you guys to think about. 0:14:42.352,0:14:45.377 I hope that some of these ideas[br]were at least provocative enough 0:14:45.401,0:14:47.507 for managers and bosses[br]and business owners 0:14:47.531,0:14:50.347 and organizers and people[br]who are in charge of other people, 0:14:50.371,0:14:52.242 to think about laying off a little bit, 0:14:52.266,0:14:54.401 and giving people more time[br]to get work done. 0:14:54.425,0:14:56.235 I think it'll all pay off in the end. 0:14:56.259,0:14:58.261 So, thanks for listening. 0:14:58.285,0:14:59.944 (Applause)