Efficiency improvements in any system lead to unintended consequences. When you become adept at quickly answering emails, you actually receive more emails in return. Being efficient in handling emails does not make your life easier, but instead, harder as the volume of emails increases. In contrast, if you are not proficient at email, people tend to send fewer urgent emails or expect quick replies. This finding applies to various aspects of life, such as personal productivity and energy efficiency. Simply making a system more efficient without considering what to focus on attracts more inputs, resulting in a busier system. While efficiency is not entirely detrimental, it will not lead to the desire of feeling in control of one's time or being the master of time.
Oliver Burkeman, the bestselling author of Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals joins Joe to discuss the problem of people not having enough time and the elusive work/life balance. He shares why most time optimization techniques make our lives worse off and offers a new way to approach time management that will help us live meaningful lives.
Oliver Burkeman is a British author and journalist, formerly writing the weekly column "This Column Will Change Your Life" for the newspaper The Guardian.