Don't Manage Time, Manage Attention

I’ve said before that Outlook is "not the boss of you."
It’s a point worth repeating.
One of the problems with Outlook is that, when you create a meeting in the calendar, the default setting is for an hour-long slot.
I’ve changed my settings to half-an-hour, and it won't be too long before I change that to 15 minutes.
It’s not that I have a short attention span.
It’s just that the point of a meeting is not to fill a slot in the calendar.
Like a good brief, a meeting should be as long as it needs to be, and as short as it can be.
Oh, and one more thing.
There’s nothing rude about excusing yourself when your part of the meeting is over.
When your bit is done, go do something more productive with your time.
If anyone has a problem with that, tell them to talk to me.
I’m sure I can find a spare five minutes in my diary

What Do You Think? No Really What Do You Think?

I’ve talked before about the fact that we live in a 100mph world.
We’re all feeling the pressure to get things moving.
But it’s important that we remember to stop and think.
When we’re busy racing from meeting to meeting, we need to be sure that we’re thinking about resources, time utilisation and smarter working.
This is the best time to start figuring out how to do things better, and reappraise the role you play.
Whether it’s taking a client brief or developing the creative, it’s important to engage your brain.
Make sure that you fully understand the problem before you start figuring out the solution.
Don’t respond to the challenge.
Think about what the challenge is asking of you.