Merlin Mann, from 43Folders, presented a thought-provoking talk at the Google campus about time management. The video above is around 36 minutes, but worth watching if you have the time.
I thought his concept of laying departmental ground rules for communication was an excellent one. Does a particular message warrant a phone call, email, AIM, in-person visit, group meeting, etc? This is something I’d like to try at work.
I try to be conscious of my co-workers’ time when I schedule meetings, only inviting someone if it is absolutely necessary for them to be invited. I know how busy our schedules can become, and don’t like sitting in meetings where it’s difficult to determine why I was invited in the first place.
Merlin addresses some of these issues more eloquently than I ever could.
Link to the video if the embedded video doesn’t work for you.
- Dave
