thought of the day
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The 20-Minute Call
If you do creative work, the best gift you can possibly give your schedule is to create large, open blocks of time. In these open blocks, you can do the work of thinking, writing, drawing, composing, etc., without constantly watching the clock.
But how do you create these blocks of open time? First, ask “Do I need to be there?” Skipping one 2-hour meeting or call frees up plenty of time for thinking right there.
If you do need to do a fair number of meetings or phone calls, though, don’t be a slave to the idea that meetings need to start at times that end in :00 or :30. A meeting that starts at 9 will likely run to 10, but so could a meeting that starts at 9:20. If a phone call will move your thinking forward, spend as much time on it as you want. But if not, stacking calls seeking basic info closer together will free up time — 6 20-minute calls takes 2 hours; 6 30-minute calls takes 3.
