1 00:00:04,240 --> 00:00:06,680 Speaker 1: Welcome to How I Work, a show about the tactics 2 00:00:06,760 --> 00:00:09,119 Speaker 1: used by leading innovators to get so much out of 3 00:00:09,160 --> 00:00:12,559 Speaker 1: their day. I'm your host, doctor Amantha Imba. I'm an 4 00:00:12,640 --> 00:00:16,479 Speaker 1: organizational psychologist, the CEO of Inventium, and I'm obsessed with 5 00:00:16,560 --> 00:00:20,119 Speaker 1: finding ways to optimize my work day. Today's show is 6 00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:23,320 Speaker 1: another mini episode where I share some interesting research about 7 00:00:23,320 --> 00:00:25,200 Speaker 1: how you might be able to improve the way you 8 00:00:25,280 --> 00:00:28,840 Speaker 1: work now. I am yet to meet a person who 9 00:00:28,880 --> 00:00:33,080 Speaker 1: loves attending meetings. Most people hate them, yet they are 10 00:00:33,159 --> 00:00:37,360 Speaker 1: seen as a necessary evil of corporate life. But while 11 00:00:37,440 --> 00:00:41,159 Speaker 1: meetings might often be dull and sometimes yield few tangible results, 12 00:00:41,360 --> 00:00:44,320 Speaker 1: they might actually be causing more harm than you think. 13 00:00:45,320 --> 00:00:50,720 Speaker 1: Meetings are almost always set by managers who inadvertently disregard 14 00:00:50,840 --> 00:00:54,720 Speaker 1: other people's time by doing this because if they need 15 00:00:54,760 --> 00:00:57,880 Speaker 1: something done, they typically set a meeting, and if a 16 00:00:57,920 --> 00:01:01,040 Speaker 1: decision needs to be made, well a meeting is And 17 00:01:01,520 --> 00:01:04,160 Speaker 1: if they want a project update, well better have a meeting. 18 00:01:04,880 --> 00:01:08,440 Speaker 1: And meetings default to thirty or sixty minutes. I mean, 19 00:01:08,520 --> 00:01:10,720 Speaker 1: when's the last time you attended a meeting that was 20 00:01:10,760 --> 00:01:14,320 Speaker 1: scheduled for forty minutes or twenty five minutes? It generally 21 00:01:14,360 --> 00:01:19,280 Speaker 1: doesn't happen because people default to easy behavior. And what 22 00:01:19,319 --> 00:01:21,760 Speaker 1: this all means is that for the average worker, their 23 00:01:21,800 --> 00:01:24,840 Speaker 1: diary is scattered with thirty and sixty minute blocks of 24 00:01:24,880 --> 00:01:28,840 Speaker 1: time where they can't actually get any work done. And 25 00:01:29,040 --> 00:01:32,759 Speaker 1: what we also know is that to achieve deep, focused 26 00:01:32,840 --> 00:01:36,160 Speaker 1: work and make real progress on a project, we actually 27 00:01:36,200 --> 00:01:39,720 Speaker 1: need larger blocks of time, ideally three to four hours, 28 00:01:40,120 --> 00:01:44,320 Speaker 1: but in most people's days this is impossible to find. Now. 29 00:01:44,400 --> 00:01:47,520 Speaker 1: Paul Graham, who's the co founder of y Combinator, which 30 00:01:47,560 --> 00:01:50,920 Speaker 1: is arguably the world's most successful incubator based in Silicon Valley, 31 00:01:51,320 --> 00:01:55,680 Speaker 1: refer to this issue as maker versus manager time. Graham 32 00:01:55,760 --> 00:01:59,560 Speaker 1: said that most powerful people are on the manager's schedule, 33 00:02:00,080 --> 00:02:02,240 Speaker 1: and that this is the schedule that the rest of 34 00:02:02,320 --> 00:02:05,720 Speaker 1: us mere mortals have to fall into. But Graham talks 35 00:02:05,760 --> 00:02:09,120 Speaker 1: about another group of people who make things, like people 36 00:02:09,160 --> 00:02:13,519 Speaker 1: like programmers and writers. These people generally prefer to use 37 00:02:13,639 --> 00:02:17,280 Speaker 1: time in units of half a day at least. That's 38 00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:20,400 Speaker 1: because you can't write or program all that well if 39 00:02:20,440 --> 00:02:22,840 Speaker 1: you're only working in units of an hour or so, 40 00:02:23,240 --> 00:02:26,360 Speaker 1: I mean, that's barely enough time to get started. So 41 00:02:26,760 --> 00:02:29,080 Speaker 1: for those whose job it is to make things whether 42 00:02:29,120 --> 00:02:32,839 Speaker 1: that be create strategies, produce reports, write articles, or even 43 00:02:32,880 --> 00:02:35,880 Speaker 1: write code. Manager time is a bit of a disaster, 44 00:02:36,680 --> 00:02:39,800 Speaker 1: and as Graham writes, it's almost impossible to get big 45 00:02:39,840 --> 00:02:42,240 Speaker 1: and focused chunks of work done in thirty or sixty 46 00:02:42,280 --> 00:02:45,680 Speaker 1: minute breaks in between a day full of meetings. So 47 00:02:45,760 --> 00:02:49,560 Speaker 1: if managers want their makers to actually make stuff, something 48 00:02:49,600 --> 00:02:54,280 Speaker 1: needs to change. At Inventium, the innovation consultancy that I 49 00:02:54,320 --> 00:02:57,480 Speaker 1: head up, and being both a manager and a maker myself, 50 00:02:58,400 --> 00:03:01,840 Speaker 1: I block out my mornings for time. My assistant knows 51 00:03:01,880 --> 00:03:04,600 Speaker 1: not to book meetings in my diary before lunchtime because 52 00:03:04,600 --> 00:03:08,000 Speaker 1: I dedicate my mornings to making. But my afternoon looks 53 00:03:08,040 --> 00:03:10,680 Speaker 1: very different, and it's blocked out, often looking like a 54 00:03:10,720 --> 00:03:14,160 Speaker 1: game of Tetris, into meetings of various lengths. So the 55 00:03:14,200 --> 00:03:16,800 Speaker 1: next time you're about to schedule a meeting in the diary, 56 00:03:17,440 --> 00:03:19,959 Speaker 1: just think about the cost that that meeting might have 57 00:03:20,160 --> 00:03:25,120 Speaker 1: on a maker's time. Hello. There, that's it for today's episode. 58 00:03:25,400 --> 00:03:27,440 Speaker 1: If you liked it, there are plenty of others that 59 00:03:27,480 --> 00:03:29,960 Speaker 1: you might enjoy, such as my chat with Nancy Duarte, 60 00:03:30,200 --> 00:03:33,359 Speaker 1: the global expert on presentations, where we talk about how 61 00:03:33,400 --> 00:03:36,440 Speaker 1: she prepares for her own presentations, or you might enjoy 62 00:03:36,520 --> 00:03:39,000 Speaker 1: one of my mini episodes where I share some simple, 63 00:03:39,080 --> 00:03:43,720 Speaker 1: science backed productivity tips that I've discovered in the research. Finally, 64 00:03:43,760 --> 00:03:46,920 Speaker 1: it's great getting feedback from listeners such as yourself, so 65 00:03:47,080 --> 00:03:49,240 Speaker 1: I'd love it if you give this podcast a review 66 00:03:49,280 --> 00:03:52,360 Speaker 1: in iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. And if 67 00:03:52,400 --> 00:03:55,160 Speaker 1: you like this episode, make sure you hit the subscribe 68 00:03:55,160 --> 00:03:57,880 Speaker 1: button so that you can be alerted whenever new episodes 69 00:03:57,920 --> 00:03:59,760 Speaker 1: are released. See you next time.