Why work doesn't happen at work | Jason Fried

[@-Floydimus]

"Uninterrupted time" Best productivity advise. This can beat every method, every app out there.

[@starryeyedtara]

He's right on the mark about creative professions needing long stretches of uninterrupted time. Something that NEVER happens at the office. I'm a designer and even if I know I have the rest of the afternoon to myself, I can't seem to get work started because I know I'm bound to get interrupted sooner or later!

[@qoiddurrani3883]

my manager would hate this..i got warning letters for getting caught watching youtube during office hours altho i got a number of recognitions by the dept for getting a lot of tasks n projects done on time n great performance..

[@randomrandom450]

The irony of having to pause that video 3 times because someone was talking to me.

[@BrhmhCom]

hhhhhhhhhhh it happened to me as well

[@satoboshi1434]

You are so right ...

[@antdude]

Your boss?

[@moving.quotes]

LMAO

[@danabecky3012]

My boss (she) would have said to you "you're not capable to do 2 things at the time?!". That 's what she says to me. She' s a bi#&h

[@NazUploads]

Great talk. Totally agree & I think working away from the office works best for those performing creative or mentally intensive tasks that require high level of concentration and uninterruption. I probably spend about 2-3 hours per day actually doing any real work because of the level of distraction but occasionally when I work from home I get about 7-8 hours of actual work done.

[@ramshaq1]

I have visited this talk several times in my career (last 13 years) and it has always reinforced ideas and gave something new... It's a classic now.

[@hermanmeyer1050]

I just watched this clip from my office....in Africa....we dont just all sit on rocks drinking beer out of dried pumpkins around a camp fire. :-) Great talk terrible stereotyping.

[@karenzhang1020]

lol

[@SandraLovesSun]

that sounds awesome though lol

[@ozzyfromspace]

+Herman Meyer I thought the same thing.

[@sarahhunter9896]

I thought the same thing! haha watching this in my office as well...on the internet...at my desk...in Africa

[@francoisherrault2277]

I would say "Terrible stereotyping and terrible talk without references to any research. He just has opinions, not very good ones I would say. His talk opposes what team work is about

[@MsGlamgirl247]

Good advice! When I was a manager, I made sure to leave my staff alone but allow them to check up on me when they needed..they really respected me. I also had trust in them. Otherwise when I worked in an office, I noticed that everyone would chat, take bathroom breaks to use their cells, took coffee or cig breaks, did their work more slowly, spent time chatting with other staff just endless methods when the work was stressful..therefore I do agree that people WILL FIND A WAY TO TAKE THE EDGE OFF

[@VenkySubramaniam]

One of the most pertinent points raised by Jason Fried - the topic of uninvited interruptions that thwart your productivity at the office. I personally prefer to work from home (away from all kinds of distractions, including my own family members WHILE I am working...) in a quiet place where I can think, plan, lay out my ideas, re-visit them at will, correct and the whole nine-yards of an intuitive process. At the office, gossip becomes the static that kills my creativity and productivity.

[@ProfileboosterAustralia]

Jason Fried hit the nail right on the head. So much of my work used to be done to and from work with no-one disturbing me. A meeting culture can be very counter-productive. The M&Ms are so frustrating for most employee's. I also like the idea of testing the idea of not talking for a full day.

[@Alexpropman1]

How about no talk any day. People with their bullshit talking. More than half of it is not work related which includes managers, employees, the Fed-Ex guy... blah...blah...blah in the office all day

[@stevenvanloan4664]

This was very impressive. I work at an Engineering/Construction company and the amount of interruptions is incredible! I recently had surgery for a detached retina and was home for 5 weeks and got more work done during that period than the previous 6 months! I will work to incorporate some of these idea's!!

[@IAmTheUnknownPunk]

i gotta say, i work at UPS, and i love my job. Personally, I think manual labor is a good thing for everyone, because I unload trucks and even when days suck horribly, I always go home and know that I unloaded this truck, meaning boxes that went for 30-55 feet, stacked anywhere from 3 - 10 feet high, repeated 1-3 times in a normal day (i do more than 1 truck per day). I always feel like I actually did something and I earned the money I was paid. It feels good.

[@shrinivask1981]

As an entrepreneur and an independent thinker i completely buy his presentation, and if my office was a group of people like me or him, it would work perfectly. But not all people like their job and hence not everyone wants to "do" any work or apply themselves to it. They need to be told what to do and follow ups are critical, like the guy who you hired to mow the lawn or fix your car. I feel this talk is only applicable to small startups or just senior management in bigger companies, and for people who are extremely motivated and driven. Alas, that's not the world of normal work places.

[@JustBCWi]

"...not all people like their job...[or] wants to do any work..." These people should be called former employees of the company. If they are going to be non-producing, let them go work for your competition so they can waste their time and resources. If they are going to be unhappy, then there's something wrong with your culture that either promotes that or tolerates it. Let them find happiness somewhere else.

[@BeatSyncBytes]

I really like the NO TALK THURSDAY AFTERNOON idea :)

[@Alexpropman1]

Yes... talking is overrated.

[@rickvian]

+KZbinChannel lolol

[@vasudha1074]

+KZbinChannel I would like a NO TALK WORK WEEK altogether!

[@mulliganstew72]

Meee too, for some people it's like: I talk, therefore, I exist...blah blah blah all day long.

[@Ann199040]

honestly my company is like what he said, everyone is so quiet and keep focus on their own job, well, most of them, and we only have meeting like several week a time, sometimes when I adjust my mood quickly, it do work well and I can finish a lot of things, but a bit depressed when I've been there for long time but still not getting along familiar with my colleague. Since everyone do their job very fast and on time, and leave on time, I don't want to disturb their time, so basically, reluctantly have a chance to conversation and I've stopped my eager to communicate a lot with people...when in work

[@EpoQ-hg8vu]

+Ann Zhao exactly what i think ! i understand the avantages of the method but WTF ?? it's a life of machine

[@ColinGilchrist]

The voice of someone that has never had to manage large scale projects - some relevant points none the less - 4 hours peace - good call.

[@CurtHowland]

(cont) Sure I read lots of USEnet (before the web), but in 4 years I called the circuit providers just ONCE for a dispatch that wasn't actually their problem. Once. Because I had the time to actually examine and troubleshoot problems without interruption. Staff meetings were 1 hr, once a month. That's it. Glorious.

[@TonyKutlu]

Strong leaders + the right people * the desire to make a positive impact * focused on doing the right things = (positive impacts (successful projects)) / less meetings + less managers

[@esthersantos_1]

Dude, this all makes sense now, you were ahead of time! Just brilliant! 👏🏼👏🏼

[@velara314]

I've had a few good managers before. They would ask the expected questions but would also ask, "do you need anything? what can I do to help you work better? are there any obstacles?" Asking those questions and questions like them and then *actually doing those things* to solve those issues made a huge difference. It wasn't always help though bc most managers could / would only do one or two things. Had they done what I needed it would have helped everyone!

[@LuivirRangel]

Let me try to explain (english is not my first language) I've been work on a website as a writer for over almost 2 years now (I'm 22) and I think the hardest is to feel inspirated when you spend too many time alone. I really like to work with the other writers, I like how we sit to take coffe and chat about our articles and ask help, it's really nice (thing that doesn't happen online, because I don't know, it's not the same). So, yep people, work from home is really confortable but make sure to take time to go out, eat, talk with friends, read, and runaway from family because it will be the same if you don't set your space.

[@vasudha1074]

+Luivir Rangel i get it. Well, it differs from person to person...Usually people waste gigantic amount of time in the name of meetings and reviews...I think he does not mean that we have to avoid human interaction, just the unnecessary formalities. Sure coworkers have to hang out so as to improve the bonding between them, but it must not arise out of taboos

[@robellidge]

Yes, we all get constantly distracted and pulled away from our main tasks to do so many other little things, but at the end of the day, all of those little task add up to a lot of work that was done! So you didn't get that project finished, but you did help a coworker fix the printer and went that extra mile for a customer... still all good things!

[@kamaboko1]

@JohnWoo Meetings are an absolute waste of time. My former boss use to have them every morning from 8:30AM to 9:00AM. He was like a broken record. One meeting a month would have been sufficient. This speaker hit the nail on the head.

[@dougsensei]

My entire work life.. "period"! This man deserves a great sum of money to promote these ideas!!!!

[@tapary]

I have been working at home for 8 years, and I must say that I could not agree more. I understand the need for meetings with a large number of folks (Program Managers really do need this), but when people attend such calls from home over the net/phone, it wastes far less time.

[@MichaelBaggelin]

I have a creative work and i run around to meet clients at their comfortable place so as i can read them in their environment. I think thats much better so as they can be relaxed and focus on their need and goals. It really help me to be free in my choice of place to work and i most often use a local coffeshop for breakfast wish free my mind for creativity and writing my strategies ;) Thanks Jason

[@billlondon7303]

He is missing a major point of what work is. Yes, some of work is accomplishing a particular task, but the real WORK is sharing your knowledge with others to make them better at their job and learning from others who might know more than you do. None of that can happen on the porch, or in the kitchen or the plane.

[@shastonmcnaspy5528]

You can use slack in the kitchen, on the porch or on the plane. :)

[@miadaze6722]

lol yeah, only if you have good management or a good company you’re working for... not every company is that willing to learn or teach

[@abdulazizabduqodirov4348]

Hey KZbin algorithm, please show this video in my manager's feed

[@azzurres1]

i am an digital artist who worked one year in thecompanies office.. everybody was talking.. it was a nightmare and i had to do high q jobs. i talked to the ceos and suggested to work at home.. now i am really free. nobody s commenting and interrupted me.. i wprked yesterday 18 hours cause it was much pleasure.. not everyday.. one day i can only bring 4 hours my creativity .. then 12 hours.. ideas are coming in the breaks.. in that part where i am not at my home office. i have to go some steps away ofthe work.. now i can meditate an hour before work.. then i can do all i want.. and yes.. i can nearly create everthing. in my office i was mobbed of persons who are so unsatisfied (and here in germany almost everybody is unhappy) with their life and the job etc.... no way i will do that again.. thank you boss ,) btw i have no face book.. no twitter.. just yt.. people and my family i have in REAL life.. really cant waist my time here with...'hello, how are you? what are you doing right now...bla, bla.. yes i drink a coffee now and you? i slap my dog..bla bla' people i give you the best drug ever on earth.. it took many years for finding it.. the drug is called.. doing things you have to do.. than you will have a natural high.. than again enjoy sitting still and meditate ... uuuh wonderfull.. the loving self is there ,)

[@ivsv4823]

Are you german or just working in germany? :)

[@rogosobe]

4. You have to know what is the best time for you to get focused. For some people it is in the morning. Some people work better in the afternoon (such as myself). Then split your day in two. During the time it is harder to you to get focused, do things which take short periods to be accomplished: answer e-mails, search for documentation to support your work, organize your stuff. You will do several small tasks that will help you not bothering you while working.

[@Emilyrsps]

I agree with most of his points. Especially in reference to meetings. In a meeting with 15 to 20 people it is especially difficult to keep the main purpose of the meeting on task. It is very easy to slip down rabbit trails and things are not done. I am all for collaboration and sharing of ideas, but large meetings are not the most productive place . Often times when there are " too many cooks in the kitchen" productivity is radically decreased and frustration is increased.

[@royklaassebos2400]

An overview of 6 of the key insights: • Companies spend a ton of money on offices, while employees indicate they get most work done outside the office. • For creative work,​ you need long periods of uninterrupted time to get work done. In the office this is rarely the case (or only very early/late on the day). • The use of social media for private purposes can be considered as a smoke break for your employees. • The real problems are M&Ms (managers and meetings) which you can only find at the office. • Meetings aren’t work; they are things you are supposed to do later. Moreover, they are very expensive to the organisation. • Two of his suggestions: experiment with quiet time in the afternoon and transition from active forms of communication to more passive ones.

[@lorenehun5796]

I was expecting some studies at the end of the video to show results of this work method. Because the thing is, and I agree with you Luivir Rangel, we go to office to meet people and share ideas and get inspired from people when we're talking to each other. Ideas we probably won't get working alone. I worked on different team projects, and yes, I've done quasi the all work in the evening because i was alone at home and then i didn't get disturb by other people. But we had really great ideas talking about this project in team cause we've shared ideas and talked about that. We do meetings to resolve problem, to do better. I believe that the office is also a place to connect people, share and develop new ideas that would never have been found before. Maybe the best method is having some moments alone but also find time to share ideas and discuss about it.

[@leonardodossantos6918]

You know, when I was an intern, the company where I worked blocked the entire internet for us interns. Yes, we did not have contact with the outside world, only the intranet. We couldn't even Google something.

[@drditup]

This guy knows me. Although I fall to long hours of playing games or watching stupid videos, the only way to work efficiently is to have a bunch of hours when nobody tries to interrupt me. I love this video. I'll make my company more like this, wether I join or start one.

[@sukantomaikap]

Part-1:i partially agree with him; but consider this : -u r a junior engineer / new joiner ... initially u really need to talk to seniors during office time actively to actively understand the product [ i'm talking about sofwware industry ... have no experience in other fields ] -i feel my decision 2 stick to some company largely depends on the work as well as the people around me at work; and i'm happy to say that i've very jolly relationship with most of my team mates where i work currently

[@neilwalsh3977]

I'm starting to despise the 'mainstream' workplace and media - this is a good rejoinder

[@davidpv2401]

Totally agree with your talk!. We'd all be much more productive if we could work by objectives and have total freedom about how, when, and where to work. Use the office for team meetings, objective tasks, conclusiones, etc.. but not for work productive. Gonna keep this video.

[@thiiiviana]

Eleven years and still current!

[@kheireddineboot]

I'm actually listening to this ted talk at work !! IRONY

[@CurtHowland]

Best job I ever had, 4pm to 12:30am, network operations. World-wide, couple hundred nodes, and no budget to hire a replacement for the guy who was supposed to be working with me. I had it completely to myself for at least 6 hours every night, unless someone was working late on a special project. The first hour with all the 9-5ers was great for getting caught up, asking questions, getting special assignments from my manager, etc. Then they LEFT ME ALONE to solve problems, if any.

[@AndrewVilleneuve]

I don't think these ideas are necessarily invalid, but they're not consistent with my personal experience. I find the office to be the place I work most efficiently - it's an environment filled with the tools, resources, and people that help me get my job done. My productivity is enhanced by being able to talk to people directly about problems, often giving me insight that would save me hours of independently re-inventing the wheel. Naturally, though, not every office environment is the same.

[@Dean_TV]

Yep. This is why I work outside on my deck.. It's also why I quit my job to live my passion. Awesome video.

[@ColinGilchrist]

The voice of someone that has never had to manage large scale projects - some relevant points none the less.

[@dharatidholariya]

Relatable even after 10 years👍

[@Saktoth]

I think its true that some people work best on their own, but personally, i work best in a team. When you are all working on a project together, get to discuss, shoot ideas back and forth, ask for help, and see a project come together in real time its a great feeling. I also NEED feedback on my work, praise and criticism, it motivates me. Working in a vacuum is horrible. We are social creatures.

[@rogosobe]

5. Do you have a meeting? Discuss previously with the people who will participate in the meeting what is the necessary time frame, what are the subjects to be discussed and get prepared for it. Read documentation, take note of your ideas and suggestions, organize yourself before the meeting. Someone will be in charge of organizing the meeting and taking care of the time. This person needs to be firm with the meeting schedule and aim. Doing this, can be very productive.

[@xPressOStartx]

TedTalk@youtube = the working moments = the real learning moments

[@khanduraj]

Experience has shown to me that in the period upto Christmas with an expectation that little work is expected to be done in the relaxed atmosphere, the teams blew away the work targets. This suggests that far from whipping up staff to work, relaxation away can be truely more productive.

[@halberthawkins]

This was a very insightful TEDtalk. Yes, we all understand that many of you don't do office work or have jobs that are collaborative in nature. This talk does not apply to all types of work, if you think he isn't aware of that, you just aren't that bright. Obviously, this was aimed at the type of worker whose work requires concentration. If I am trying to work out a particularly complex bit of code and my CIO rings my phone for a 10min conversation I lose 20 min of productivity.

[@CraZee131]

Sometimes meetings remind me of school....dumbed down to the extreme. It just brought flashbacks to me of being in school and thinking "I GET IT ALREADY how much longer do I have to sit here?" I always dreaded meetings. Now I work alone and seem to get a lot of work done, problems are solved and many avoided-because I listen to myself.....bosses never did....

[@QuijanoPhD]

I used to be a supervisor in a small university (I was the head of General Studies) and the president was always on my case about not holding meetings with my faculty. I always told him they had better things to do than listen to me elucidate on random crap irrelevant to their work as faculty, that they knew what to do, and that everything would be fine. My department was the most productive. The nursing department, on the other hand, had weekly meetings and hourly complaints. Jason is correct.

[@papasitoman]

@wodahsking My friend, he never mentioned sitting at home and hoping to achieve inspiration. People who do work at home have their assignments, deadlines and their work to do; they can just do it better at home. I realize that it takes a lot of discipline to be at home and he def did not mention the distractions like kids, tv, phone, friends etc. His point, I think, is that for many people work is a boring place and full of stress so they can´t do their best in that typical environment.

[@MrMlo42]

I think I made a mistake when I encouraged my manager to watch this since he is notorious for being long winded, but I was so impressed by this video that I wanted to let everyone at work know about it.

[@Melki]

@Glomerol despite my disagreement i think your point about how people could enjoy their lives better in the past, is resourceful, influential and interesting. Thats why I wrote the reply.

[@Jotto999]

I think he makes a good argument. I notice people in the comments picking apart his suggestions, but they were mere suggestions, the details of which could be optimized. The point is that businesses should experiment with giving workers uninterrupted periods of time, at least once in a while.

[@liveonyourknees]

Implement Lean Business Practice to reduce wasted time. 1. Identify wasted time using Value Stream Mapping and develop ideas to eliminate them. 2. Use visual control boards in the office to show and update status of activities. No need to ask employees, "How's that project coming along?" Go & see on the board & don't bother me. 3. Implement process standards for important processes that employees can follow easily. Improve them if errors still occur. There's more, but that will do for now.

[@Harley04]

I've worked on drilling rigs for 40 years, all over the world - I get work done at work !!!

[@johnnielawson]

Thanks Jason for the ideas, even as a one person operation I feel I can implement them to improve my workflow and eventual service that I offer. Johnnie Lawson

[@neilwalsh3977]

Perhaps when it's especially useful!

[@JJJ12987]

Where did he say that? We're employed to work, not to build relationships. He's 100% right about not having uninterrupted time though, 04:28 was an extremely accurate point.

[@RealLoveHandles]

It's all about balance. If you create a company where everyone is working remotely, talking passively and avoiding meeting together in the name of productivity, you might have some real issues.

[@darkzerk7]

Most jobs in the west are just rewards for adults from privileged backgrounds or people who went to university. We don't really *do* anything at my office. Most of my colleagues work maybe 1 or 2 hours a day answering relevant phone calls. It's essentially nothing but roleplay which you get paid for. Only the people doing inventory, heavy lifting etc. actually work. People in the office don't really do anything. Besides lawyers or small business owners, I don't know any office workers who do any actual working at their job. It's just facebook, coffee drinking and waiting for the clock to strike 4 or 5 so you get to go home.

[@16m49x3]

Where do you even work? I create massive IT systems for communicating with the government digitally. Saving others huge amounts of work. It takes time though, but the time is not filled with typing or constructive planning. It's filled with writing down estimations that no-one will read, and thinking. The actual work is probably just 50% of the time I get payed for. I coulda not spend so much time on overhead and done my thinking doing other things. And then worked half a full work-day and accomplished the same.

[@amirouchethelionofnumidia7092]

I am reading his book REWORK it’s a very common sense kind of book thing. It is Sunday November 10th 2019 7:43 am in Melrose Massachussets and what he says is as relevant as ever. Great book BOSS great book. So true, so true

[@itstototoo]

"unless you live in Africa"...what does that mean? There are definitely office spaces in Africa

[@joiejay141]

Exactly!

[@thatosello1021]

Couldn't even do his research before a TED talk? 😒

[@tobyausneurobi]

Not gonna lie, that was a bit weird. Maybe he was nervous and let out a brainfart.

[@againsttheunlawful]

This talk is so relevant now in 2022. The lame excuse that companies use to get employees back to office is collaboration. But collaboration is effective when employees are allowed to collaborate remotely when they are in places of less distraction. Daily irrelevant meetings in an office takes away the creativity and productivity from the team.

[@adan1509]

@jaspertine9 I noticed this too, ideally there would be a system in place where people email unless its very urgent, in which case they would im. Of course there is always those people who think everything they want is urgent. People can always find other things to do while they are waiting for a reply though.

[@aisarosenbaum]

Brilliant analysis. Most of our time is spent talking about work. The M and M's are drags on productivity.

[@cswagner2]

I've always thought that school should be structured like this, 8 hrs/day: Monday: Math Tuesday: Science Wednesday: English Thursday: History Friday: Elective classes (PE, Health, Photography, etc.) I believe that a student could learn 8x as much with this model, because you are getting 8x as many hours per day, as opposed to the time being cut up. Traditional model: 5 hours per subject per week. My model: 8 hours per subject per week. A shorter and more fulfilling school year. Who's with me?

[@lionvipul2]

I work from home for the past three months and believe me I have never dome so much in past two years.TRY IT YOURSELF - it is as simple as that.

[@bootyclaw]

So true. They make life so difficult for the introverts who just want to get on and work - quietly!

[@stevebritgimp]

I really wanted to set up staff meetings in work (monthly), because I think they're important because staff weren't communicating. But firstly they'd be in lunchtime, not in work hours. We'd exclude the bosses, book the boardroom, or go to the pub or to an outside space. They'd be voluntary - if you don't want to turn up, don't. If you want to leave, do. Totally agree on the yapping. To get uninterrupted time I'd have to go to a room on my own. Problem with email is that they get ignored.

[@ThePotatocam]

likely the nature of your business/work determines the relevancy of this talk, i can say it is completely consistent with my personal experience

[@FortranCastle]

4 hrs silence .. my brain wouldn't stop thanking you for it! Jason sounds like he works at our company, but then again it seems like everywhere offices are being built, the workplace has been pretty much synonymous with interruptions. So much so that when there is momentary silence, everyone think there's actually something wrong with the employees and the managers! "What's going on?" Pretty strange to say the least! It's like focus is an outdated tool of the past and distraction is the new cool

[@knifenewbie456]

i agree about the long stretches of uninterrupted time. at school my English teacher asks me to write an essay. i try to think of a really good idea for one but by the time i have it the class is most of the way over, so i have to write a meaningless and un-unique esaay.

[@midlifemx]

So true!!! (I have resorted to wearing workshop ear muffs at my desk to fend off office distractions)

[@jimmshorts]

ah, yes, totally! Uninterrupted time! That's why I work from home each morning for a few hours until the manager gives in to the phone support people who complain because "they have to be by the phone" and so the finger pointing means I have to be in the office with the gossipy, toxic, negative, non-creatives and those comments don't mean I don't like you. Rather it means I need time to continually invent the intellection property which brings in millions I'll support you to support.

[@kll.c]

i dont agree with the work and sleep comparison but i definitely need more time to work on something straight. even the school system needs a change in that direction.

[@GunithDevasurendra]

Wow! This is brilliant! Gonna post it to my Managers! So true! Thank you!

[@wikihog]

I like the not talking to each other idea. Especially in a newsroom, a lot of work can get done if you're left alone for a while with your story.

[@abrakanz]

somebody, please make my bosses watch this...

[@Hans-gb4mv]

Just plan a meeting with them and show it to them ;)

[@occhristian925]

I don't think that is the perfect way, remember some bosses can be rude, it might have a negative impact.

[@GaryOGarysGarage]

First day on the job in charge of a finance division and an employee showed this to me in front of the other managers. I thought to myself, "hey, I just got here". We cut down a 6 hour weekly meeting to 1 hour. I appreciated it, but I could see how some might be offended.

[@moving.quotes]

They don't listen to anyone that's probably why they are bosses and that sucks on so many levels.

[@bogusred6298]

At my office, my whole team blocks off the entire Thursday as "No meeting Thursdays." The challenge with a company/team wide policy though is people who want to book a meeting with lots of people end up only finding an open slot for everyone on, you guessed it, Thursday! Regardless, having an entire day or even an entire afternoon meeting and interruption free is definitely more productive for me.

[@ProstyjaSlovy]

I gotta say it's true. I used to work in the office with all these m&ms distractions, and now my work is pretty much the same as Jason Fried suggests it should be (except for we have a meeting every Tuesday afternoon, but it's always scheduled at the same time, so we plan accordingly and get the communications we need). Sad to see people still live in the "Dilbert" era.

[@SiilUdusProduction]

we had a youtube and facebook blocked at our office, but now those pages are unblocked. My productivity dropped 110% . There are some days when I drive home and realize on my way home that I did not do anything productive today :P

[@bavariantrawler]

The Blackberry ad at the end really provided some extra comic relief. The keypad is amazing!

[@hfhubbard11]

My work is between the office and the flight line where I manage many mechanics. This is obviously geared towards office workers and for the most part he is right but when it is urgent that I need to get something done, I just close my office door and do what I have to do...

[@mvboutdoors]

Clearly you aren't working in a current corporate office situation. The topics touched on with this speech are spot on to the current office culture.

[@timidgothica]

@MelTurpin I agree. I was just having a discussion on this topic, with my job which is self perpetuating, versus a more strict business that seems repressive. Not everyone is able to motivate themselves, and different tactics won't always work with all people.

[@chen778]

I watched this video with the other one about "how to listen better". So interesting to see opposite opinions.

[@pdxyarnho]

Oddly enough, I'm at the office right now, alone for the whole day (I'm alone all day on Fridays). I and my co-workers call random, spur of the moment meetings often - without meetings most of our communication wouldn't happen. But the distractions otherwise are a real problem. I just can't get things done with all the noise. That's why everyone else works M-Th, I work T-F. We all have 3-day weekends and can work from home (or wherever) when we need to. It's a start, at least!

[@Beachapeeater]

@Precaseptica You're right - I took the time to watch the rest. I feel like his ideas on managers is a bit narrow minded, and they still don't apply to my workplace, but I can see how they might be effective in some environments.

[@ederprado]

12 anos depois estou aqui, reassistindo esse vídeo pela enésima vez.

[@AdamdeMalyns]

This is almost exactly what was posted on "Joel On Software" a few years back. He recommended an office hours policy, setting aside the same small, predictable chunk of time every day or every week for the distractions to come into your office. You manager has to obey it. It'll keep them from shattering your time into so many unproductive pieces but still allow the manager to do his thing.

[@karenzhang1020]

This is very true! I always think about this: what's the point of staying in the office for 8 hours but your mind is actually not at work most of the time?

[@darkzerk7]

@Karen Z Most jobs in the west are just rewards for adults from privileged backgrounds or people who went to university. We don't really do anything at my office. Most of my colleagues work maybe 1 or 2 hours a day answering relevant phone calls. It's essentially nothing but roleplay which you get paid for. Only the people doing inventory, heavy lifting etc. actually work. People in the office don't really do anything. Besides lawyers, engineers or small business owners, I don't know any office workers who do any actual working at their job. It's just facebook, coffee drinking and waiting for the clock to

[@karenzhang1020]

That's a shame. It's an extremely waste of time and resources, but what can we do about it? The only thing would be make sure that YOU ( also refer to myself) do the actual work.

[@darkzerk7]

The thing is, most jobs are absolutely meaningless. Unless you're a doctor performing surgery, an engineer or architect planning the safety of a new building, you don't really "do" anything. What exactly does a "key account manager do"? I work at a bank and I can tell you, they take a phone call or two a day, and answer a few emails. They sit around doing jack the rest of the day. They browse facebook, they drink coffee and wait until they can go home. And these people get paid up to $100k a year. Life is absurd.

[@92greenmonster]

I see this all the time in the shop I work at. I sit down in front of a computer to begin work on distance courses that I've been ordered to complete. Twenty minutes into the course, I get interrupted by one of the Corporals in my shop who tell me to clean a restroom that's already been thoroughly swept and mopped twice. When there's no work to be done, I pick up a textbook to study aspects of my job, only to be accused of BSing by another Corporal and given a broom to sweep a pristine shop.

[@wickedinsight]

so true, in fact including calming music at workplace will help in great ways, have your employees listen to music while working, it does wonders, THUMBS up ;)

[@degen83]

Some days its exactly what he says, so much going on that you can't get anything done. Other days I have a huge amount of time to myself at work to get stuff done, it depends on the day and what projects we have going on. I do work better from home at times, but there are parts of my job that I have to be on site at work to do. This guy has some good points but seems to be focused on certain corporate jobs. A lot of jobs you have to be on site, construction, food, etc.

[@Fangaliel]

You just explained my exact vision of work in all the multinational public and private companies' offices I've worked in (more than 30 different ones ^^) worst of them being the "open offices" It's impossible to concentrate in those giant open spaces ! I'm happy with the part-time CEO assistant job I have today cause there is only the Boss and I... no middle management and no "other administrative person" (usually women) to tell me how to do my job every 10 minutes. I'm a HPE and an artist . I really have a hard time being creative already at home with my boyfriend interrupting me and my "everyday duties for 2" having to be "regular" cause someone else is depending on it too... So had to find a way to not be annoyed like that all the time everywhere ! And like you explained, I love public transports, walking (1 to 2horus per day) and the rare hours of total peace I can get just because it's only then that I can "think" for god sake ! imagine, build, organise, create, ... WORK. I'm really thinking of setting myself as a freelancer (first part-time and if it works well full time) Thanks allot for your presentation ! It's a relief to know notorious minded people like yourself think this way too and point out the "should be" obvious lame thing we're all still doing... Your 3 suggestions are awesome too ! Solutions ! guidelines ! love it !

[@rstdot]

when email began, a lot of managers who also hate meetings fell in love and thought email was the end of meetings. Now instead of being interrupted once a week, or for 10 minutes at the start of each day, I am interrupted 20 times a day.

[@gvaldez100]

I gave this a try. I noticed my workers started to wonder around and had frequent hallway social talk.

[@Shereeda2202]

wow this was spot on.. esp the meeting part

[@phoenixasifa8198]

Work moments / day shredded to bits...