The open-space office is a phenomenon that began to take off in the 2000s.

Its image as a modern, trendy place to work, reinforced by the culture of American startups that seem to be constantly innovating in these large, open offices, quickly won over even the most conservative.

Today, it’s hard to find an office that doesn’t adopt this design.

Yet, I’ve always had my doubts about the real utility of this configuration.

For those looking to concentrate, open-plan offices are often a nightmare.

And yet, the argument that managers keep repeating seems convincing: Open space facilitates interaction and therefore innovation.

But is this really the case?

I had my doubts, and that’s why I went looking for answers.

The open-space paradox

It didn’t take long for me to find the answer to my intuition, since scientific studies have repeatedly shown that open-plan offices are not suitable for productivity.

A recent study, for example, showed that open space increased bad moods by 25% and stress-related sweating by 34%.

Another study published in 2019 even showed a link between open space and feelings of dehumanization!

A study carried out by the Gensler architecture firm on 6,000 Americans showed that the time spent in coworking spaces - most of which are arranged as open spaces - is inversely proportional to concentration.

Among all these studies, one in particular caught my attention as it directly attacks the main argument for open space: social interaction.

This 2018 study by two Harvard University researchers aimed to analyze the effects of open space on interactions between people, whether face-to-face, via email, or instant messaging.

To do this, they used a sociometric badge, an electronic device worn around the neck that measures physical interactions between people (using infrared sensors, microphones, motion and location sensors).

In two studies carried out in two large American companies, they measured these interactions before and after the office was redesigned as an open space.

Contrary to expectations, the results showed that face-to-face interactions decreased by around 70% in the open-plan office!

Conversely, employees communicated much more by email.

In the first company, participants sent 56% more emails in the 15 days following the move.

The researchers concluded that the transition to open space is not necessarily synonymous with increased interaction.

Why open-space doesn’t work

According to the researchers of the study mentioned above, the fact that open space makes employees “observable” to the rest of the group acts as a barrier to interaction.

By using other communication channels such as email or instant messaging, employees avoid interacting in plain sight, thus reducing physical interactions, even when the recipient is within sight.

Although studies abound, the interaction argument is always used to defend the open workspace.

In reality, this argument hides another that is harder to admit: open space makes it easier for managers to monitor staff.

Yes, trusting someone is always easier when you see them sitting at their desk.

What manager hasn’t been tempted to look over a colleague’s shoulder to see what they’re up to?

This argument may not even be conscious to most managers, but it’s a reason that strongly tips the balance in favor of open space.

Is it a good reason?

I personally prefer to work remotely with my team, offering them total autonomy through asynchronous communication.

For those who still prefer the physical workplace, there are some interesting solutions.

Towards a new model for the workspace

The solution to the open space problem may well lie in the past: the good old partitioned space.

A study published in 2020 shows that when employees have a private space, their productivity increases by 17-22%.

In his book Deep Work, Cal Newport uses the example of the famous Bell Labs to demonstrate the benefits of such a design.

The building - which led to the creation of the transistor, the laser, and photovoltaic cells - encouraged both deep concentration and social interaction.

In addition to having a private space for each researcher, the building was laid out in such a way that each office was connected to a long, seemingly endless corridor.

The trick: to get to the cafeteria, researchers had to walk along this long corridor, interacting along the way with other researchers working on completely different projects.

In a book recounting the history of Bell Labs, Jon Gertner describes this design in this way:

"Traveling the hall’s length without encountering a number of acquaintances, problems, diversions and ideas was almost impossible. A physicist on his way to lunch in the cafeteria was like a magnet rolling past iron filings."

This hybrid model between privatization and shared space meets both the need for concentration and the need to create unexpected interactions.

The return to favor of the partitioned space seems to have already begun among the Tech giants, as can be seen at Meta, which recently decided to reintroduce the cubicle into its offices.

Although remote work has become a given for some, many companies want to bring staff back to their premises.

In this context, it’s interesting to consider the usefulness of open-plan offices, and to look for architectural models better suited to our needs.

The post-pandemic office could benefit from our experience of remote work, and reconcile both private space and areas of social interaction.

Hi everyone,

No article this week.

Instead, I'm going to talk about something more personal.

I’m launching a new project called The Science Marketer.

Short version: it’s a newsletter for actionable advice and tips on marketing and communication in sciences (and especially life sciences).

Longer version: you can read all the details about the launch here.

I'm not going to spend too much time on this because I know you've subscribed to my personal blog for something else.

So, if you are interested in this new project, feel free to subscribe.

If not, don't do anything and you'll still hear from me when I post on this blog.

What’s next for my blog?

As you can imagine, publishing on two platforms at once can be… overwhelming.

So, I can’t promise to stay consistent with this blog.

My publishing commitment will be to The Science Marketer, and as that already involves writing one article a week, I'm not sure how much I'll be able to produce on this blog.

But one thing is for sure: there are a lot of lessons to be learned from launching this new project, and I intend to share as much as I can here.

I also have a good amount of notes that may end up as articles on this blog.

One last thing.

I have another article planned for next week, so don't sign off too early!

You’ll be hearing from me.

See you around!

Today, I am thrilled to share with you an exciting transition in my career within the online media industry.

After almost a decade of dedicated service as Managing Director and then General Manager of Labiotech.eu, I am starting a new role as the company’s Editorial Director.

Over the years, I have witnessed and helped shape the remarkable evolution of our organization, from its humble beginnings to its current role as a significant biotech publication. 

Nearly two years ago, our company was acquired by Inova, a forward-thinking team that recognized the immense potential of our publication. 

This acquisition not only injected fresh energy and resources into our company but also brought an experienced team that helped streamline and optimize our operations.

As a result of the integration work we've done together, I now have the opportunity to fully focus on the reason I started a media company in the first place: the content.

This shift in my role is proof of our commitment to making Labiotech a thriving part of the biotech ecosystem, one that supports and nurtures creativity and independent journalism.

By entrusting the broader management responsibilities to capable hands, I aim to delve deeper into the editorial aspects that have always been close to my heart.

Embracing the core of my passion

Throughout my journey with the company, you may not have seen me in the front row very often, and that's perfectly normal.

As the manager, I wore multiple hats simultaneously, juggling various roles and responsibilities, often in the background.

From being a journalist to playing the role of a salesperson, I immersed myself in every facet of our organization, so that I could help the team progress faster. 

But amidst this diversification of skills, one thing has remained constant: my commitment to creating exceptional content.

Yet, until now, I have rarely had the opportunity to fully immerse myself in this core aspect of my passion.

The demands of managerial responsibilities often took priority, leaving limited time to focus solely on our publication’s creative and editorial side.

However, with the recent transition, I can now direct my attention and energy towards the very essence of what drives me.

With this shift in my role, I can now focus on curating compelling stories, fostering the growth of our editorial talents, and working hand-in-hand with them to push the boundaries of our content. 

How will this impact Labiotech?

One of the key ingredients behind our success is the exceptional team of talents that we’ve been fortunate enough to bring on board. 

By empowering our team to explore their unique ideas and experiment with new formats, we’ll have the tools to push the boundaries of our journalism. 

We must also give a shout-out to our supportive community. 

With your encouragement and trust, we've come to understand that Labiotech has a distinctive role to play in today's biotech media landscape.

We recognize that our focus should be on providing quality information that helps professionals like yourselves in your jobs, making it easier for you to innovate and excel.

As I embark on this new chapter as Editorial Director, I look forward to using my experience, passion, and dedication to take Labiotech to new heights.

Venturing into science marketing and communication

The change in my role is closely linked to a broader direction I aspire to take in my career.

With Inova’s support, I am happy to announce that I will embark on a personal side project that has been brewing in my mind for quite some time.

While I am still fine-tuning the last details and working towards its launch, I can give you a glimpse into what is to come. 

This new venture revolves around the world of science marketing and communication. 

It is an area that has always fascinated me and holds immense potential for driving innovation, bridging gaps, and fostering meaningful collaborations within the scientific community.

If you work in this field, I invite you to join me on this exciting journey.

By subscribing to the pre-launch list, you will be among the first to receive updates and exclusive insights about my upcoming project.

This new role and project fill me with enthusiasm and energy, and I'm excited to share the details with you soon.

So feel free to reach out or continue to support us by reading Labiotech!

Despite my affinity for new technologies, using instant messaging at work has always struck me as counterproductive.

Whether it’s Slack, Microsoft Teams, or similar solutions, the apparent benefits of these tools seem to come at the expense of overall productivity.

These apps, combined with our dependence on smartphones, have redefined the rules of communication at work.

It’s almost impossible to get away from them since they follow us everywhere, comfortably tucked in our pockets.

The result: constant connectivity has become the default work culture.

Employees are expected to read and respond to messages immediately, or be penalized.

Yet, the culture of connectivity is one of the main causes of distraction in the workplace.

As far as I’m concerned, constant connectivity is counterproductive, and I will prove it to you.

When connectivity becomes counterproductive

People working in professional services (consultants, financial services, accountants, lawyers, etc.) are particularly affected by the culture of constant connectivity.

It’s commonplace in these circles to think that being constantly available to the client is proof of professionalism and quality of service.

Yet the relationship between constant connectivity and quality of work has never been proven.

To verify this, two American researchers, Leslie A. Perlow and Jessica L. Porter, spent four years studying the behavior of professionals at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), one of the world’s most prestigious consulting firms.

Before beginning the study, the researchers surveyed over 1,000 consulting professionals to better understand their work habits.

94% claimed to work more than 50 hours a week, and almost half more than 65 hours a week.

This does not include the 20 to 25 hours spent checking email outside of work (at the time of the study, mainly on their BlackBerrys, but we can assume that this phenomenon persists, if not worsens with the use of smartphones).

In their experiment at BCG, the researchers imposed a radical method by asking a small group of consultants to take an entire day off in the middle of their working week.

During this day, they were forbidden to work and to read their emails or any other form of professional communication.

A second group was similarly disconnected, but only after 6 p.m., once a week.

This test aimed to measure the effects of total disconnection on the participants’ quality of work and well-being.

The experiment was initially greeted with resistance, as most participants were afraid of disappointing their clients or reducing their chances of promotion.

Measuring the quality of a consultant’s work can be very difficult, and although methods exist, their performance is often based on the number of hours worked.

Presenteeism wins the day.

With this in mind, the researchers were able to launch their test and force some of the staff to take a day off in the middle of the week.

At the start of the experiment, participants were asked to rate the following statement: “I feel respected for setting boundaries.” (rated from 1 for “strongly disagree” to 7 for “strongly agree”).

In the first month, the team responded with an average score of 3.7.

After five months, this score rose to 5.2.

The study also showed that all participants in this experiment wished to keep a portion of their time totally disconnected.

Even more astonishing, 76% of those who didn’t participate in the study also wanted to be included in the experiment after hearing about it.

Participants also reported greater job satisfaction, a greater chance of establishing a long-term career with the company, and a better work-life balance.

Notably, participants also reported delivering better quality work to their customers.

This experiment shows us that, despite the culture established in this group, its usefulness is unfounded.

However, without questioning it, it seems to persist and even worsen with the new tools available.

Why does constant connectivity persist?

The answer may come as a surprise, but it’s pretty clear: it’s because it’s easy.

Being constantly connected and reactive is easier than trying to create barriers to distraction.

Being reactive is easier than planning long-term tasks.

Letting yourself be disturbed is simpler than refusing to be interrupted.

In short, the culture of connectivity benefits from our laziness.

Cal Newport, author of Deep Work, calls this phenomenon the “Principle of Least Resistance” and defines it as follows:

Two natural forces drive the Least Resistance Principle:

1. Personal need: If you can get an immediate response to a problem, work becomes “easier.” The need to plan disappears. We then indulge in a reactivity that takes the weight off our shoulders, to the detriment of the group’s concentration.

2. Performance measurement: In an environment where constant connectivity is accepted, even encouraged, it’s easier to keep up with the general flow. Instead of developing personal organization skills, it’s easier to react to the next email. The fact that performance is indexed to reactivity encourages the preservation of this behavior.

It’s easier, for example, to forward an email to a whole team in the hope of receiving a constructive opinion, than to reflect on the content of the email and make a personal analysis.

The result: context-free emails asking only “What do you think?” abound in our inboxes (and distract us from more important tasks).

The Least Resistance Principle is the primary source of our addiction to constant connectivity.

Basically, being connected all the time is lazy.

Instead of trying to structure our time, we prefer to let ourselves be carried along by the current of communication.

We end up assessing our worth by the number of emails we read and process per day, rather than by the tasks we actually complete.

And our managers do the same because they are themselves carried by the Principle of Least Resistance.

It’s possible to extricate ourselves from this negative connectivity, but it takes effort to set up rules that are beneficial in the long term.

How to escape constant connectivity?

The method below aims to set limits on the amount of time you spend on communication, so that you can regain control of your time and concentration:

1/ Set strict, non-negotiable limits

Start by choosing a time slot reserved for rest, during which all professional communication will be prohibited.

For example, disconnect completely after 6 p.m. and during weekends.

This first step aims to give you time to recharge your attention daily (using a closing ritual at the end of the day can also help).

2/ Communicate transparently

Your limits must be clearly communicated to your professional entourage.

Talk about it with those around you, whether your superior or your customers.

Explain that your work's result will be better if you can recharge your batteries daily.

Everyone can understand this (and often, even envy you).

3/ Define blocks of full concentration

Connectivity is also a problem during the day, and these distractions prevent you from completing the most important tasks.

To concentrate fully, define times when all forms of communication are forbidden.

If you work in an office and are constantly disturbed, use headphones and explain that you are not to be disturbed when you wear them.

The goal here is to reduce the constant distractions so that you can rediscover deep concentration.

4/ Compartmentalize your schedule

Once you’ve established the basics, organizing your time into specific compartments will be easier.

For example, define specific times for reading and replying to emails (twice a day is sufficient).

Likewise, define time slots during which you will accept meetings.

The rest of the time should be devoted to deep, concentrated work.

As we saw with the BCG example, constant connectivity persists because it is almost impossible to demonstrate that its opposite is more effective.

In a world where the Principle of Least Resistance reigns, alternatives to constant connectivity are often ignored.

Challenging this paradigm takes courage.

It requires reflection on the true meaning and value of work.

If being constantly reactive doesn’t suit you, it’s time to try another method.

Imagine the situation:

You return home after a long day at work, but your mind is still filled with the unfinished tasks that await you the next day.

You try to relax, but these thoughts won’t let you go.

Rather than helping you recharge your batteries for a new day, your mind is spinning and ruining your evening!

If you’ve ever been in this situation, you’ve experienced the Zeigarnik effect.

This discovery was made by the Russian psychologist Bluma Zeigarnik, who gave her name to the phenomenon.

She came up with the theory while observing the behavior of waiters in a restaurant.

When the bill had not yet been paid, the waiters always remembered all the customers’ orders in detail.

But once payment had been received, they instantly forgot what the customer had ordered.

The young psychologist hypothesized that it’s easier to remember the details of an incomplete task than a completed one.

The 1927 experiment

To verify her intuition, Bluma Zeigarnik set up an experiment, the results of which were published in 1927.

In this study, she asked participants to solve cognitive problems such as puzzles and brainteasers.

She interrupted half the group in the middle of their thinking and let the others complete their exercises.

She then asked participants in both subgroups a series of questions to measure the details they could remember.

The result was surprising: the interrupted subgroup remembered 90% more details than those who had completed the tests, thus proving Zeigarnik’s theory on the memorization of interrupted tasks.

Although the Zeigarnik effect has been criticized by other researchers who have been unable to reproduce the same results, its effects can still be seen in everyday life.

Have you ever felt like you’d forgotten everything you’d learned after passing an exam?

The Zeigarnik effect is to blame.

As Bluma Zeigarnik has shown in another study, this effect can also be helpful.

For instance, students can use it to retain better what they have learned (by introducing voluntary interruptions).

However, its negative effects are more commonplace, particularly in the workplace.

The influence of the Zeigarnik effect on our work-life balance

Our brain is a problem-solving machine.

When we leave a task incomplete or are interrupted in its completion, a cognitive tension forms in our mind.

This tension will help our brain to memorize the details needed to solve the task later.

Whether we like it or not, this task will inhabit a part of our subconscious, a part of the brain we have no control over.

And most often, the subconscious is most active when relaxing, meaning after work.

Then, the classic pattern sets in:

You think about the task that needs to be done, which creates stress and the need to do something about it.

Feeling useless, you start working in the evening when your energy reserves are at their lowest.

But this doesn’t work, because without energy, you can’t really do quality work.

So you fall back on low-value tasks, such as going through your emails.

New problems arise, increasing your stress and wasting time that should have been spent resting.

The next day starts off badly because you’re not fully rested.

In the end, the task remains unfinished and even ruins your evening!

Yet this vicious circle can easily be avoided, and researchers have even proved it.

Overcoming the Zeigarnik effect with planning

In a paper published in 2011, researchers Roy Baumeister and E. J. Masicampo examined the Zeigarnik effect.

They began by replicating the 1927 experiment by asking a group to complete a list of tasks.

As you might guess, they interrupted some of the participants in order to generate the Zeigarnik effect.

They then discovered a simple solution to reduce the effect: asking the interrupted participants to create an action plan to complete the remaining tasks.

Planning the next steps allowed participants to free up more cognitive space to focus on other problems.

The researchers also observed that, for these people, the feeling of having achieved their goal increased.

What this experiment shows is particularly interesting for those who want to completely disconnect from their work to regain mental energy for the next day.

It suggests that it is possible to trick our brains into a sense of completion through planning.

To benefit from this method, the best is to establish a daily ritual at the end of your working day.

The anti-Zeigarnik ritual

In his book Deep Work, author Cal Newport describes a daily practice he uses to effectively combat the Zeigarnik effect.

He calls it the “Shutdown Ritual.”

To begin, you need to establish a routine lasting around 15 minutes at the end of your day.

During these 15 minutes, you’ll take the following four steps:

1. Review the tasks that couldn’t be completed today.

2. For each task, create an action plan. The plan doesn’t need to be massively detailed. The important thing is to define the following steps to be taken for each task.

3. Capture this plan in your organizational system (your “to-do list,” for example).

4. Say a ritual phrase like “Workday successfully completed.” This little trick may sound a bit cheesy, but believe me, it does relieve the mental pressure you can feel at the end of the day, and helps you switch off completely.

Once you’ve completed this ritual, don’t spend a single second on work-related subjects - it’s now time to recuperate your mental energy!

The Zeigarnik effect is omnipresent in our lives and, if left unchecked, can lead to burnout.

Like an addiction to completed tasks, this effect prevents us from resting and enjoying better mental capacities during working hours.

Yet a simple 15-minute ritual can free us from this effect and allow us to enjoy our evenings to the fullest.

To say goodbye to the Zeigarnik effect, all you have to do is plan ahead!

Passion is a strange concept.

Some people take it for granted, while others can't imagine spending hundreds of hours on a single activity.

What's certain is that the Internet, and social networks in particular, have given us the wrong idea about passion.

They have created an amalgam between passion and success.

They make us think that success has to be instantenous, that if we fail, it's because our passion isn't strong enough.

And that's what keeps us from taking action.

I call this the passion paradox.

The paradox of passion is completely illogical and based on our fear of failing.

What's more, this paradox triggers a vicious circle that amplifies inaction.

The slightest difficulty makes us doubt.

We convince ourselves that our passion isn't real, or at least not strong enough to be shared.

We brood inwardly, frustrated by the inaction that consumes us.

We end up giving up, preferring to live our passion through that of others...

For me, the problem is simple: we have a false idea of what passion really is.

The mirage of passion

For a long time, I thought I had no passion.

I'm too very curious, so I'm interested in tons of subjects.

But I've never been so passionate as to drop everything and immerse myself body and soul in a single subject.

And yet, over time, I've developed passions that are now an integral part of my life (writing being one of them).

But I didn't wake up one morning and tell myself that this was THE passion that was going to change everything.

What you have to understand is that, for many of us, passion isn't innate.

Rather, passion is a consequence of our actions.

To combat the paradox of passion, we need to take action.

The virtuous circle of action

Passion comes from action.

Without action, it's impossible to develop a real passion, since it's impossible to know whether you really enjoy the activity.

Without action, you can have an interest, but not a passion.

Sounds logical, but therein lies the problem.

Taking action triggers a chain reaction that can turn interest into passion.

The virtuous circle of action works as follows:

1. Discovery: Taking action allows us to test our interest

2. Repetition: The more we practice, the more we produce (for a writing enthusiast, this means, for example, the number of words written).

3. Expertise: As time goes by, our practice improves. Quantity leads to quality.

4. Motivation: Our efforts pay off, and the quality of our work generates motivation.

5. Passion: Our motivation is transformed into passion, which in turn drives us to action, starting the virtuous circle again!

The only way out of the paradox of passion is to take the plunge.

Four steps to discovering your passion

The confinement caused by the COVID pandemic had an unexpected effect.

Driven by boredom and social disconnection, many people devoted their time to an ignored passion.

From 2020 to 2022, the creator economy experienced a phenomenal boom, even leading to the "Great Resignation" observed around the world.

In the absence of barriers (such as fear of failure or social pressure), these people took action and put their passion to the test.

Basically, when you've got nothing to lose, and you're bored, it's easier to take the plunge!

If you're still hesitating, here's a simple method for taking action without taking risks:

1. List your passions

The first step is simple: list all the interests that come to mind.

Don't hesitate to make a long list; the important thing is to clear your mind of any potential passions you may have.

For me, this list looks like this:

• cycling

• comics and graphic novels

• entrepreneurship

• fantasy literature

• personal development/psychology

• medieval history

• online marketing

• sciences

• media industry/creator economics

• board games

As you can see, the subjects are varied and, for the most part, unrelated.

But that doesn't matter.

The most important thing is to draw up an unfiltered list of your personal interests.

2. Choosing an interest

This step is often the reason for inaction.

Listing your passions is simple enough, but choosing one triggers our fear of missing out on another opportunity (the FOMO effect).

In reality, it's much easier to follow just one interest than to try to follow all your passions at once.

If this choice generates fear or stress, here are some questions that can help you choose:

• "If I could start my life over again, what would I do differently?"

• "If I died tomorrow, what passion would I most regret not having tried?

• "If I didn't need to earn money, what would I do with my free time?

There are no bad choices; the important thing is not to stand still, but to move forward.

3. Do a 30-day trial

Now that you've chosen your passion, it's time to put it to the test.

To do this, you're going to commit to exploring this passion on a daily basis for the next 30 days.

The aim is that, by the end of this period, you'll be able to decide whether it really is a passion.

We often idealize passions without even trying them out.

For example, I've long been interested in video game design.

So, I decided to download some software to try it out for myself.

After only a few days, I realized that I hated it!

Although my interest persists, it's now easy for me to remember that this activity isn't for me.

It's important to note that the key element during these 30 days is to establish a routine.

You'll need to allocate at least one hour of full concentration a day to your chosen activity.

I recommend taking this hour in the morning, as this is when you have the most mental energy available.

If you feel you have no free time, try to reduce a low-value activity, such as watching Netflix.

That way, you can wake up an hour earlier than usual to devote time to your passion.

4. Persevere or pivot

At the end of the 30 days, you'll have a good idea of whether you're really interested in your chosen activity.

If you feel you like it and feel motivated, set yourself a new goal (e.g. 60 more days).

On the other hand, if you realize after the trial period that this activity doesn't suit you (for whatever reason), go back to step 2 and choose another interest that you'll practice for 30 days.

This will allow you to eliminate items from your list until you find the activity that suits you.

Be patient; finding a passion can sometimes take years.

The time you invest in your interests, even if they don't become passions, will still be beneficial in the long run.

For example, I've always had an interest in drawing.

So, I decided to practice daily for several months.

At the end of this period, I realized that despite my strong interest, drawing was just a hobby for me and not something I wanted to pursue professionally.

In spite of this, the trial was beneficial as I learned many techniques such as perspective, light movement, anatomy, body proportions, and so on.

Rather than seeing this as a failure, I see it as time invested in learning a new skill that will serve me well throughout my life.

Whatever passion you choose, the important thing is to try.

It's always better to face failure than to sit back and do nothing.

Take action and explore your passions.

As an entrepreneur, I’ve always been fascinated by managers who can set up quasi-autonomous businesses.

In contrast to the “startup culture” that encourages excess, these companies are content to focus on the essentials to generate profits that can be reinvested in thoughtful, controlled growth.

Author Paul Jarvis calls these contrarian companies “Company of One,” the title of the book he has dedicated to this entrepreneurship model.

The book defends the thesis that a business doesn’t need to grow at all costs to succeed.

On the contrary, by focusing first on the quality of the service offered to the customer and making a profit, startups can build a more solid foundation for the long term.

In this article, I’ll summarize the key points of Company of One, to help you design businesses based on healthy growth.

Company of One, the resilient business model

A Company of One is a company that challenges the paradigm of growth at all costs.

Unlike many companies whose sole aim seems to be to get bigger and bigger, a Company of One prefers to grow at the rate of its generated profits without seeking external funding that will only serve to push artificial growth.

Although the name is confusing, a Company of One may have more than one employee.

The term is more of a philosophy, and can be applied to a handful of individuals or a team of hundreds.

This philosophy can be summed up simply by three mechanisms:

• Start small

• Define growth

• Learn continuously.

These three mechanisms form the basis of a contrarian entrepreneurship model that challenges our understanding of business growth.

Questioning growth

The pursuit of growth is the standard behavior of entrepreneurs, so much so that today we admire companies capable of “scaling up” very quickly by swallowing up millions in investments from Venture Capital.

But despite popular belief, ultra-growth is rarely synonymous with success.

As a company grows, it comes with its own set of problems, because with more people to manage, more infrastructure costs to pay, and more complexity in the organization, new problems arise that are not necessarily related to the company’s original mission, but rather to administrative issues.

As a result, ultra-growth startups often exhibit an organizational complexity that resembles that of large corporations.

Driven by ever-increasing amounts of capital, the company’s growth is self-sustaining, generating a kind of insatiable monster - a concept that some authors call “the hungry ghost” or “the beast.”

Faced with the new problems generated by growth (the need for more hierarchy, more infrastructure, etc.), the default solution is to invest more to solve these new problems.

It’s like fanning the flames of growth with gasoline, hoping it will dry them out.

And as the figures show, ultra-growth is a significant factor in business failure!

A study by the Startup Genome Project organization on 3,200 high-growth companies showed that 74% failed because they grew too fast.

A second study, carried out by the Kauffman Foundation and Inc. magazine on 5,000 companies, also showed that 86% of businesses considered successful (i.e., still active after eight years without having suffered massive lay-offs or significant devaluation) did so without recourse to Venture Capital.

A Company of One recognizes that success is not linked to growth and prefers to generate real profits rather than relying on hypothetical ones.

To achieve this goal, a Company of One must have four characteristics:

• resilience: dealing with and adapting to the ups and downs of business

• autonomy: not depending on external resources to survive

• speed: developing solutions quickly, going straight to the point

• simplicity: continually questioning the efficiency of processes and keeping them to a strict minimum.

A Company of One sets its own profit limits and doesn’t try to exceed them. As Paul Jarvis writes in his book:

"If you have a business idea that requires a lot of money, time or resources, you're probably thinking too big".

Scaling up your business at launch is a mistake and a waste of time for most digital businesses.

The most important thing is to find customers quickly and help them with a quality solution.

Once a good customer relationship has been established, and revenues are flowing in, the choice is yours to define your success.

Putting customers first

In this book, Paul Jarvis introduces the concept of “Minimal Viable Profits.”

The concept of Minimal Viable Profits is simple: when you create a business, you must aim to generate profits right from the start.

And to generate profits, you have to start by finding customers!

Rather than developing a solution that costs millions of euros in investment, a Company of One offers a solution that may be simpler but meets an existing need.

Thanks to the initial profits generated, it will then be possible to incrementally improve the solution, thereby enhancing the quality of the product or service.

The second point differentiating a Company of One from the classic startup concerns acquiring new customers.

To scale up, a startup financed by external capital often focuses on the number of new customers acquired, spending fortunes on marketing.

The idea is simple: capture as much attention as possible in the hope of converting a certain percentage of consumers into new customers.

With this method comes the concept of “churn,” i.e., the percentage of customers lost over time.

A Company of One spends little or no resources on marketing because it understands that churn is not a viable long-term solution since keeping an existing customer always costs less than acquiring a new one!

A Company of One understands this difference and has the advantage of being able to implement processes that would be inconceivable for competitors seeking growth at any price.

For example, a Company of One can take the time to thank each customer with a personalized note or develop a service specially designed for a customer’s specific needs.

The company 37signals, which develops the Basecamp project management software, made a name for itself by producing a personalized video for each new customer.

It’s a time-consuming and costly process, but it doesn’t matter when the priority is to establish a relationship with the customer, not to acquire as many as possible in a short time.

What’s more, a Company of One doesn’t need to invest millions in marketing campaigns, because by providing a quality service, these existing customers will take it upon themselves to promote it through the most effective acquisition mechanism: word of mouth.

Word of mouth is the most reliable and least expensive acquisition method, yet it is often under-utilized because it is difficult to “scale.”

Since its objective is not growth, a Company of One can even afford to choose its customers and develop a long-term relationship based on trust.

A Company of One also attaches great importance to educating its customers and does not hesitate to offer time, sometimes free of charge.

As a study of 1,200 customers of financial advisor Goldman Sachs JBWere Pty Ltd. shows, the more educated a customer is, the higher the level of trust and loyalty towards the company that provided the knowledge.

When setting up a business, being helpful to customers is the best way to build loyalty and encourage them to promote the company.

Such a solution inevitably requires more time, but a Company of One needn’t worry about the downside since in the long run, such a philosophy will ensure more stable profits.

Based on these methods, a Company of One develops the three factors needed to build trust between a customer and a company:

• Assurance

• Competence

• Friendliness

Managing a Company of One

A Company of One is not run in the same way as a traditional business.

To run a Company of One, you need to be a good generalist, i.e., to know a little about many things.

The manager of a Company of One must know how to give instructions while allowing their team to work autonomously.

So there’s a balance to be struck between management that’s too intrusive (where the manager himself forms a bottleneck) and management that’s too lax (which would lead to anarchy).

To achieve this, the manager of a Company of One must be organized, preferring asynchronous communication and deep concentration.

For companies seeking to establish such a model, a “productivity audit” may be necessary.

This involves recording the time spent on each activity over a week, and then identifying which tasks or activities take up the most time without actually being beneficial to the company.

This exercise should be repeated regularly (at least twice a year) to continually question the state of operations and how a Company of One uses its most important resource: its staff’s time.

Paul Jarvis also lists a few examples of how he has put in place in his company to make the best use of his time:

• When developing a new project or writing a new book, Paul Jarvis spends several months without any communication (e-mail, telephone, etc.), enabling him to concentrate fully on the task at hand. Because he offers clear instructions and autonomy to his teams, operations can continue without his presence.

• Monday and Friday are communication-free days, for the sake of concentration and to avoid constant interruptions.

• Paul Jarvis reserves Thursday for meetings and interviews. It’s the only purpose reserved for these days, so he can consider his day productive even if he does nothing but spend his time in meetings.

His secret to achieving this balance is simple: first, he asks himself, “How do I want to spend my time during the day?”

Once this question has been answered, he defines a system for achieving this goal.

Rather than letting others define his time, Paul Jarvis decides how his day is structured, even if this means challenging the standard corporate model.

Finally, the leader of a Company of One knows how to put his ego aside to focus on his mission.

Entrepreneurial circles are increasingly infested with “hustle culture” or “workaholism” - a culture that encourages people to work as hard as possible, to the detriment of their personal lives.

Yet, as psychologist Wayne Oates shows in a research article dedicated to the subject, workaholics are no better than more moderate workers.

On the contrary, they exhibit elevated signs of stress, significant personal conflicts, and even health problems linked to this behavior.

The leader of a Company of One recognizes that work is not an end in itself and puts in place systems that enable people to live life to the full while enjoying a fulfilling professional activity.

This is the case, for example, of Sean D’Souza, founder of the psychotactics.com website and renowned for taking three months’ vacation every year.

Of course, this limits his company’s growth, but that’s of little importance since he himself has set limits on his profits and doesn’t want to exceed them.

It’s just a question of priorities!

Towards a new business model

Entrepreneurship has never been more accessible.

The administrative system has never been more straightforward, and the tools at our disposal have never been more plentiful.

Yet entrepreneurship is still too often associated with the “hip” startup that raises millions to disrupt an entire industry.

But is this really the only way to operate?

And is it the lifestyle all entrepreneurs aspire to?

I think it isn’t and that we’d all benefit from reviving the image of the SME inspired by the Company of One model.

No need to chase investors if you have an idea that convinces a customer.

No need to hire a huge team when you can accomplish so much with just one or two people.

And finally, there’s no need for financial pressure when you can base your growth on actual profits.

If you want to get started in entrepreneurship without sacrificing your independence and your ideas, the Company of One method may be just what you’re looking for.

Procrastination - the tendency to systematically put off actions until tomorrow - is a widespread phenomenon, increasingly under scrutiny by researchers.

For example, Joseph Ferrari, a professor of psychology at DePaul University in Chicago, has found that about 20% of adults are chronic procrastinators.

He explained, “That’s higher than depression, higher than phobia, higher than panic attacks and alcoholism.”

Not to be confused with laziness, procrastination is described by Fuschia Sirois, Professor of Psychology at the University of Sheffield, as “the voluntary, unnecessary delay of an important task, despite knowing you’ll be worse off for doing so.”

According to her research, the source of procrastination is emotional self-regulation and, in particular, our inability to manage negative moods around a specific task.

We don’t usually procrastinate on fun things, but rather on tasks we find difficult, unpleasant, boring, or stressful.

It’s often easier to avoid such tasks than to accomplish them. Low self-esteem also generally amplifies this problem.

In short, procrastination is primarily a rejection (conscious or otherwise) of the state of focus.

If procrastination keeps you from achieving your goals, don’t worry because our bodies have a mechanism for regaining focus.

All you have to do is walk!

The benefits of walking

When we walk, our heart beats faster, circulating more blood and oxygen to our brain.

Several studies have shown that after physical exercise, even in small amounts, our memory and attention span increase.

Regular walking also promotes the formation of new connections between neurons, reduces the withering of brain tissue, and increases the volume of the hippocampus, a brain region crucial for memory.

A study by two Stanford University researchers also showed a link between walking and creative thinking.

In a series of four experiments, the researchers asked one hundred and seventy-six students to complete various cognitive tests by sitting, walking on a treadmill, or walking freely around the university campus.

In one test, volunteers were asked to suggest atypical uses for everyday objects, such as a button or a tire.

On average, students who walked generated four to six more ideas than those who sat.

What’s more, after walking, participants showed residual creative reinforcement when they sat down.

Of the three methods tested, outdoor walking produced the best results.

So the link between walking and increased brain capacity seems very real, but how do you put it into practice?

How can you rewire your brain to combat procrastination?

Procrastination occurs when we are faced with the unknown.

A project that at first sight seems impossible - like writing a long report under a short deadline - triggers a defense mechanism.

Our brain, which is primarily a survival system, always prefers to conserve our cognitive energy.

That’s why we have a natural inclination for simple tasks like checking our e-mail or browsing social networks.

This behavior is self-sustaining, since these sources of distraction also generate dopamine, the neurotransmitter that stimulates our sense of reward.

It’s a vicious circle directly programmed at the base of our brains!

When I’m faced with a difficult task and the temptation of distractions sets in, I use the steps below to short-circuit the vicious circle:

1. Use walking as an anti-procrastination reflex

At the first sign of procrastination, get out in the fresh air immediately, even if it’s raining!

If you’re dealing with chronic procrastination, you must rewire your brain so that the procrastination cycle dissociates from distractions.

So it’s essential in the first few weeks of this new habit to respond quickly and establish a new foundation for your concentration.

You need to make walking an automatic response to distractions.

When I started this method, it was common for me to walk several times a day so that the feeling of procrastination could be dissociated from the distraction.

As time goes on, breaks will be less necessary, and your concentration time should increase considerably.

2. Set a course that doesn’t drain your attention

Where you choose to walk also has an impact on your creative output.

In a study by Marc Berman at the University of South Carolina, students who walked in a forest showed better memory performance than those who walked in the middle of a city.

Our attention is a finite resource, continually depleted throughout the day.

Yet our modern cities are often filled with noise and visual cues demanding our attention.

The place you choose for your walk is therefore important.

To maximize its effects, choose a route that favors green spaces.

3. Avoid music

The reflex is often to listen to music when walking, but it turns out that its effects are counter-productive.

It has been shown that music, particularly when played at a fast tempo, encourages us to move faster.

But the intended effect we want is to let our minds wander and regulate our walking pace.

Songs with lyrics also monopolize our attention to the detriment of the thinking we need to do.

So skip the headphones and let the sounds of nature carry you along!

4. Prepare for the task

Let’s not forget that this walk has a purpose: to free us from procrastination.

The desired effect is that once the walk is over, we should be ready to work.

To achieve this, we need to prepare ourselves.

I try to break down my walks into three mental stages.

I start by wandering aimlessly for a few minutes to clear my mind.

This step is essential because, as we’ve seen, procrastination is, first and foremost, a mood problem.

So it’s important to feel relaxed.

When I feel relaxed, I focus my attention on the task I want to accomplish.

I try to break down the problem.

If it’s a big project, I focus on the first possible step.

The aim is to answer the question: what’s the simplest task I can do to get started?

In the case of writing a report, for example, this might involve drawing up an outline.

Finally, as I approach the end of my course, I visualize myself returning to my desk and working on the task.

It’s vital that when the walk is over, you immediately get down to work.

No breaks, no distractions (avoid your phone at all costs!).

The only thing that counts is getting started.

This visualization allows you to anticipate that moment and remove any doubt that might still remain.

5. Establish a routine

Walking has become part of my work routine.

Thanks to this method, I’ve gradually increased my concentration period.

To maintain this concentration, I also define regular daily breaks for walking.

Unlike walks that are deliberately designed to unlock a problem, these have no specific purpose.

It’s often during these pre-programmed walks that new ideas emerge.

The effects of walking accumulate over time, and once it becomes part of your routine, you won’t be able to do without it.

Unlock your creativity

When you think about it, the link between walking and creativity seems obvious.

When we walk, our brains must study our environment, build a mental map of our surroundings, choose a path to follow, and translate this plan into a series of steps.

In the same way, a creative exercise forces our brain to collect the elements of our memory, map those that will be put to use, connect them and then move our fingers across the keyboard.

Walking is simply a continuation of creative exercise.

As Nietzsche said:

'Only ideas won by walking have any value.'

Now it’s your turn to get some fresh air and say goodbye to procrastination.

Hey folks 👋

It's been a while since I've posted on my Substack (two and a half years, damn it!), so I thought it might be good to share some new content with you.

This post is a translation of an article I recently wrote on my French blog.

I came across this idea of "being irresponsible" while reading Deep Work by Cal Newport, and the idea really stuck with me.

I think it's a unique way to keep distractions away, so I thought, why not share it?

If you like it and want more articles like this, hit the reply button and let me know!

Without further ado, here is the article:

🧐 The Initial Problem

Managing our priorities at work is a veritable conundrum.

Our attention span is under constant attack from all sides.

If we're not careful, we'll spend our days working for others instead of focusing on our own goals.

The solution is simple: know how to say 'no'.

But saying no can be scary.

So we end up agreeing to put our priorities on the back burner because it's good manners to say yes.

But there is a way to be fully focused without feeling guilty: be irresponsible.

🧠 Inside Your Mind

I got this idea from Richard Feynman, one of the most influential physicists of the 20th century, famous for his part in the Manhattan Project and for developing an indispensable tool of quantum physics (Feynman diagrams).

Feynman owed the success of his research (for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1965) to his ability to concentrate, which depended, above all, on having long, undistracted hours at his disposal.

In 1981, he explained his secret weapon in a BBC interview:

" If you have a job administrating anything, you don't have the time. So I have invented another myth for myself: that I'm irresponsible. I'm actively irresponsible. I tell everyone I don't do anything. If anyone asks me to be on a committee for admissions, "no," I tell them: I'm irresponsible… "

This somewhat surprising technique makes perfect sense.

Long, uninterrupted hours are the only way to reach the flow, the mental state that allows us to forget the passage of time and be fully focused (a concept described by Mihály Csíkszentmihályi in 1975).

And to achieve this level of focus, we need to say no.

Saying no is easier if people think you are irresponsible.

You don’t have to be irresponsible.

You only need to keep the appearance of it.

Being irresponsible is a secret weapon allowing you to focus on the essentials.

💪 How To Apply This

Of course, being deemed "irresponsible" comes at a cost, especially in the short term.

You won't climb the corporate ladder by being labeled irresponsible.

But is that really your goal?

Appearing irresponsible is a long-term investment that could pay off far more than a promotion.

Being irresponsible (and thus focused), allows you to stay focused and produce more.

While most people will spend their 9-5 on emails and meetings, you’ll have time to dive deep into the tasks that matter the most to you.

As Feynman explained:

"Nearly everything is really interesting if you go into it deeply enough. Work as hard and as much as you want to on the things you like to do the best. Don't think about what you want to be, but what you want to do. Keep up some kind of a minimum with other things so that society doesn't stop you from doing anything at all."

In order to become an expert in a field, you have to make a choice, and that choice is bound to be frowned upon by some of the people around you.

But ultimately, you’ll become the expert, not them.

💥 The Short of It

Protect your time; be irresponsible.

We don't all aspire to a Nobel Prize like Feynman, but as creators, thinkers, or leaders, total immersion in our work is what gets us up every morning.

It's our duty to protect our time and focus, sometimes drastically.

Take the advice of one of the most brilliant minds of the last century: Be irresponsible and let it be known!

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We’re all familiar with this common TV show scene where the main character has a moment of genius during a brainstorming session. Among the many iterations of this stereotype scene, Mad Men is certainly the one that uses it the most. The US TV show depicts a team of advertising executives from the 1950s elaborating the next hit slogan while sitting all day long in meeting rooms filled with cigarette smoke.

We call this spark of genius the “aha moment” or the “eureka effect.” In movies and TV shows, it looks like characters get it as soon as they decide to get together in a room and start thinking. However, the reality of brainstorming sessions is far from the idealized scenes made to entertain us. If you’ve already sat in one of these meetings, chances are it was not as productive as you expected.

We can all remember this time when we had a genius idea while taking a shower or doing the laundry. That’s because taking a shower increases your level of dopamine, which is critical for the “creative” part of the brain. Taking a shower also offers the second important ingredient for a creative cocktail: distraction. According to Harvard University researcher and psychologist Shelley H. Carson, “a distraction may provide the break you need to disengage from a fixation on the ineffective solution.” Distraction is the best way to unlock your mind and get an answer to a problem you are stuck with. On the other hand, filling a room with more people stuck on the same problem will not help.

Why brainstorming doesn’t work

Meetings are full of cognitive biases (at least 16 different biases can be listed). In brainstorming sessions, three of them are particularly harmful:

• Social loafing: Social loafing is the phenomenon showing that people provide less effort to achieve a goal when they work in a group than when they are working alone. It is one of the main reasons groups are sometimes less productive than the combined performance of individuals.

• Evaluation apprehension: This effect is the fear of being judged for our ideas. Humans quickly learn that the social rewards and punishments that we receive from other people are based on their evaluations of us. Offering an idea that is considered as “bad” once can prevent someone from participating in future idea generation.

• Anchoring effect: The anchoring effect is a common human tendency to rely too heavily on the first piece of information they are offered (what we call the “anchor”). During brainstorming, it’s common to reward the first idea that gets on the whiteboard. You can’t fight it — just the fact that an idea is presented first will advantage it against other ideas.

If those biases weren’t enough, the “group effect” is also harming the efficiency of brainstorming. Introverted and less experienced people withhold ideas in fear of being judged or believing that they have less knowledge. The group is also trying to find the middle ground without realizing it, which could lead to decisions that are more in favor of the status quo.

In short, trying to generate ideas in a group kills your innovation. So if brainstorming is so bad, why do we keep having these sessions? In my opinion, the idolized image of brainstorming we’ve been fed by the media industry enforces the idea that these meetings are an effective way of innovating. Managers in hierarchical structures can also reap the reward of a group solution more easily than if individuals are let free to think and take ownership of their own ideas. Pop-culture images and old-fashioned corporate management are two effects amplifying the survival of brainstorming. To make it work, we should totally rethink how brainstorming sessions are managed, especially in a world where remote work makes it even harder.

3 steps to lead an efficient brainstorm

When handled well, a brainstorming effort can lead to true innovation. But first, you need to forget all you know about brainstorming and rethink it from the ground up.

Humans are more ingenious when they are left alone. Newton didn’t come up with the law of gravity during a meeting — he was alone, sitting under a tree! The benefits of solitude on creativity have been proven in many studies. In a paper from 2018, a team led by Harvard Business School scientists showed that putting people in a group increases their problem-solving performance but also decreases the quality of their solution. In contrast, when the group meets only intermittently, their problem-solving performance stays the same, and the quality of the solution increases. This intermittence is the key to good brainstorming.

Below are the three main phases of a modern, remote-friendly brainstorming session that uses intermittence:

1. Brainstorm individually

To make brainstorming efficient, the only solution is to deconstruct the group and let individuals think for themselves first. The first step is for the manager of the group to create well-documented material about the problem at hand. This document should contain as much background information as possible so the members of the group can provide well-informed input and ideas.

Once the document is ready, each individual should have time to think about it independently and do their own research. The concept of time is critical here. Good ideas can’t be rushed, and at least two weeks of time should be given to really think about a complex topic. Managers should ensure that enough time is allocated and fight against personalities showing a strong need for closure. When faced with uncertainty, some people tend to rush a decision to avoid the uncertainty to stay. This is another reason why a meeting doesn’t work in the early stage of brainstorming.

2. Put the notes in common and nurture them

Once each member of the team has had time to think and prepare their notes, it’s time to put them together. It’s essential to resist the temptation to have a meeting at this point. Trying to mix all ideas and opinions in a meeting will likely lead to strong argumentation and friction.

Offering time to read and understand a long-form argument is way more effective. Your team should take the time to go through others’ ideas, rethink their input, or offer additional insights to someone else.

If your team is used to asynchronous communication methods, this should be a no-brainer. If not, it’s important for the manager to train their team in taking the time to formulate long-form feedback in a written format.

It’s also the manager’s role to put all of this feedback together and construct a final version of the document.

3. Organize a meeting to align and fix issues, not to find ideas

In most cases, the last phase is optional and should only happen if necessary. If the previous phases went well, the manager should have a well-documented solution already at hand.

But sometimes, a bit of alignment is necessary, and that’s the only reason why a meeting should happen. If you are still struggling to generate ideas, go back to your desk and take more time to think. A meeting will not fix it.

The closing meeting can be used to confirm the decision that is taken and make sure all members of the group understand and commit to the next steps. If issues still exist and can’t be fixed by writing, the meeting can also help. A meeting can help problem-solving performance if the group is already well-informed.

What’s important at this point is that the manager doesn’t fall back to classical brainstorming sessions where ideas fly around. It could be tempting to have doubt, especially if some elements of the group are protesting the final decision. Pay attention to the group dynamic and avoid argumentation that will bring you one step back.

Someone needs to take the final decision, and that decision-maker should be clearly communicated with everyone in advance. Once a decision is taken, it’s important that the group commit to it, even if some members disagree.

With these three phases complete, your brainstorming sessions should become a decentralized effort leading to true innovation. Getting to this point takes a bit of practice, but it can unlock valuable input from your team.

Skip the brainstorming

The template for brainstorming I offered in this post is more easily implemented when a manager is willing to try something different. But sometimes, you may find yourself obliged to attend inefficient brainstorming sessions. If it’s the case, talking to your manager about this method could be a good start. You can explain that you feel more comfortable having time to think about a problem before offering a solution. This is easy to understand.

Another way to face this problem is to simply say no to unprepared brainstorming. We tend to forget that “no” is a valid answer in the workplace. If you don’t know how to present it, here is a simple template you can use to communicate with your manager:

I feel unprepared for this brainstorming session and would like to take more time to think about it before offering my opinion. If you could also send me additional information and data on this issue, this would help me to provide well-informed feedback.

This template offers a valid argument to postpone the brainstorming — you need more time — while also forcing the person in charge to take ownership and offer additional information on the problem to solve.

Brainstormings have been inefficient for many years. Now is the time to change our practice and get better at innovating. Forget about what you see on TV and start doing intermittent brainstormings — your eureka moment is just one step away.

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Average workers spend 28% of their time reading and responding to emails. If you work 40 hours per week, that’s more than 11 hours spent only on emails! Another source says that only 38% of all emails are important or relevant, meaning that on the 11 hours spent on emails, about 7 hours could be avoided. 7 hours per week wasted on emails, that’s almost a full workday.

When I saw these numbers, I decided to dig a bit more into this topic. Some researchers found that it takes 64 seconds to recover from an email interruption. Nowadays, we receive an average of 120 emails per day, or 15 emails per hour for a typical 8-hour workday. If you let each and every email interrupt you, that’s 16 minutes per hour wasted in attention recovery or basically 27% of your working time!

Let’s add up the time you’re really spending on emails: 

28% on reading/answering 

+ 27% on attention recovery 

= 55% of your total working time is spent on emails

Ouch, that’s more than half of your time!

So here are my thoughts on the email problem:

• We spend too much time reading and answering emails that are not important.

• We let emails interrupt us too often and lose a lot of time in attention recovery.

• We are never deeply focused because of the two points above.

The solution: Inbox Zero!

When applied properly, Inbox Zero will help you:

• Reduce the time you spend on emails

• Increase your responsiveness and reliability

• Allocate more time to big tasks

What is Inbox Zero?

Inbox Zero is an organization method that consists of systematically emptying your email inbox each time you check your email — without leaving anything unanswered or unsorted. Sounds easy, right? If you think so, just go to your inbox and check the number of emails in your inbox. Now take it down to zero. Done? Not so easy, right?

This simple action of archiving emails can be challenging for many people. Nobody teaches us to use the inbox as a temporary storage place. But the inbox isn’t built to keep emails indefinitely.

Just think about this: do you leave your postal mails in the mailbox? No, of course not! You take them out, read them, trash the ads, answer what needs to be answered, and archive what needs to be kept. Why don’t you do the same thing with your email? After all, emails are just a digital equivalent of your postal mails. The proof is that all email services work like a mailbox: they have an inbox for incoming messages, a bin to trash them, and an archive button to store them.

Inbox Zero offers a solution to finally use your emails the right way and save a ton of time thanks to a simple workflow.

The initial setup

If it’s the first time you’re trying to reach Inbox Zero, you will have to do some spring cleaning. At this point, you have certainly accumulated a ton of emails in your inbox, and trying to sort them all will be too complicated. You have to make a clean cut and start fresh.

This initial setup will only take you one to two hours. After that, you will be in control of your emails. Here are the steps to setup Inbox Zero:

1. Connect to your email service and select all emails

2. Unselect the 30 most recent emails

3. Archive the rest

The 30 most recent emails will be used as training to learn the Inbox Zero workflow. It’s an arbitrary number, but I recommend sticking to it. Emails that are already older than this will most likely never be answered anyway. Also, don’t be afraid about losing important information. Emails in your archive can easily be found using the search option (which is found on top of your screen in Gmail).

The last step in the initial setup is to create two folders (or labels in Gmail): “Waiting” and “Next actions.” The “Waiting” folder will be used to keep track of emails that need an answer or the completion of a task by someone else. “Next actions” will be used to keep emails that need you to complete a task or write a long answer. Later on, I’ll explain how to use these folders.

Inbox Zero’s workflow

Now that your inbox contains only the most recent emails, we can start applying the Inbox Zero workflow as described below.

Reading an email and coming back to it later is a waste of time, as you duplicate the time it takes to sort it out. With Inbox Zero, each new email should go through this workflow as soon as you open it. If you do this, you are sure that each email has been answered, trashed, archived, or turned into a task.

To train, you can try using your 30 most recent emails with this workflow. Below are some indications to help you understand better the workflow:

1. Actionable emails: The first question to ask about a new email is if its content is actionable. An actionable email means that you can do something with it, like answering it or creating a task from it. If it’s not actionable, you only have two viable options: trash it or archive it. Only use the archive if this email could be useful to you later. All the rest should be trashed so you can keep your email storage low and search results cleaner. Don’t worry about archiving emails — they can be found later with the search option.

2. 2-minute rule: If an email or related task takes less than 2 minutes to complete, you’d better do it right away. This is a concept directly inspired from the Getting Things Done method, which I also wrote about. Why 2 minutes? Because it takes less time to do it now than the time it takes to organize it and come back to it later. This doesn’t have to be strictly 2 minutes; it can also work if you do it in 3 to 5 minutes. This technique should be used for all emails, even if the answer is not urgent. If an email you send needs a reply, sort it into the “Waiting” folder.

3. Delegate or defer: If an email is actionable but takes more than 2 minutes to complete, you have two options: delegating it or deferring it. In the case of delegated emails, always put them in the “Waiting” folder once you’ve answered them. This will help you keep track of potential follow-ups you need to do. If the email leads to a meeting or a specific time in your agenda, create an event in your calendar, then archive the email. Last, if an email requires you to complete a task or write a long answer, create a task in your to-do list. I also recommend putting the email in the “Next actions” folder and archiving it so it doesn’t show in your inbox. Keeping an email in your inbox defeats the purpose of this method. I know it’s tempting to keep email that requires your attention in your inbox, but trust me, this will lead you back to a full inbox.

4. Review weekly: By now, you should have a few emails sorted in your “Waiting” and “Next actions” folders. These folders keep the most important emails under your radar, but they are not a long-term archive. These labels should be reviewed and updated on a weekly basis. Once a week, go through the “Waiting” folder and follow up on all tasks or emails that are not answered. If an email is completed, remove it from the folder (it will go into your archive). Similarly, go through your “Next actions” label and remove what’s done. Make sure emails are not staying in the “Next actions” folder too long. If they do, it certainly means that the answer or related task is not important and you should consider removing it from your priorities. With a short weekly review of these two folders, you can be sure that tasks will be completed.

That’s pretty much it. Congrats, you have reached Inbox Zero! Once you went through the training with your most recent emails, you should have a good grip on the workflow. Now, apply this process to all incoming emails and you can be sure that you will never miss anything again.

Reduce your email time to one hour per day

Inbox Zero streamlines the way we interact with emails. Using this workflow will make you more efficient at reading and answering your emails, but it’s not enough to drastically reduce your time on emails. Remember the numbers I shared at the beginning of this post: you spend around 55% of your time on email, or 22 hours per week. With Inbox Zero alone, you can already halve it, but changing your email habits can reduce it even more. I spend less than one hour per day on emails (that’s around 80% less than the average person). But that’s not due to Inbox Zero alone. Below are some techniques you should consider if you want to spend as little time as possible on your emails.

1. Batch your email time

Thanks to the Inbox Zero workflow, you should be able to handle incoming emails in batches. This is a life changer if you are used to checking your emails every ten minutes. From now on, you can check your email only 1 to 3 times per day and use the rest of your day on real tasks.

The reason this technique works is because you now have a systematic way of collecting, organizing, and activating emails. Each time you connect to your email service, run all new emails through the Inbox Zero workflow. Once it’s done, your inbox will be empty and everything that was in it will be answered, organized, or archived.

It’s useful to define in advance when you will check your emails. For instance, it could be before lunch and before leaving the office so people can work on your email in the afternoon or the following morning.

One piece of advice, though: don’t check your emails first thing in the morning. When you start your day, you are at your peak energy level, and it’s better to tackle a big task than use your brain on processing tasks.

2. Remove notifications

I’m certainly not the first to tell you that you have to remove email notifications from your phone and computer! Our devices are constantly trying to grab our attention, and if you let them, you have no chance of winning. The problem with notifications is that they play with a social anxiety called “fear of missing out” (FOMO). You keep them because you are afraid of missing an urgent email. Here’s a tip for you: most of your emails are not urgent, and if they are, someone will find another way to grab your attention.

Email notifications, and notifications in general, are a real social disease. People can’t stop “working” or “feeling busy” because they are constantly bombarded by work-related notifications, but the solution is so easy! Go to your device settings and just deactivate them. Also remove any visual cue like the red dots on iOS and Mac apps — they are another form of notification that will also grab your attention as soon as you see them. If you want to spend less time on emails, don’t let them interrupt you.

3. Stop sorting your emails into folders

Are you proud of your super well-organized email folders? I have bad news: it’s a pure waste of your time! Email services have really reliable search engines (if you use Gmail, remember that Google is behind it). They can find any emails in no time — way faster than the time you will spend on saving emails in a folder and finding them again.

Just try it: type an email subject or the name of someone in the search bar of your email provider, and I’m sure you’ll find anything you want. Stop sorting your emails into folders; they are just a “feel good” procrastination method.

4. Reduce the back-and-forth

A common issue with emails is back-and-forth communication. The most common case is trying to schedule a meeting over emails. It’s typical to send 3 to 5 emails before finding a time slot that works for both the sender and the receiver. This back-and-forth communication can be reduced with a simple technique called “If…Then.” For example, instead of writing, “Can you meet at 4:00 p.m. tomorrow?” you could write, “Can you meet at 4:00 p.m.? If not, then please advise three other times that work for you.” This simple technique can be used in many contexts and save you a lot of time. It also works really well for task delegation (“If you can’t do Option 1, then do Option 2.”).

Another alternative for scheduling meetings is to use an app like Calendly that lets other people pick up a time in your agenda. It’s even faster and only requires you to send a link — the software does the rest for you.

The benefits of reducing your time on emails

Thanks to Inbox Zero, you will be able to:

• Increase your responsiveness and reliability by systematically answering emails that need an answer.

• Focus more often on big tasks by batching your time spent on emails.

• Create a feeling of accomplishment by having an empty inbox every single day!

What would you do with several additional hours per week? I’m sure you can already imagine all the benefits. All it takes is some courage to archive this overloaded inbox and the workflow described in this post.

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Photos by Solen Feyissa and Jason Hogan.

When I first encountered the book Getting Things Done (GTD), by David Allen, I was blown away. The personal productivity method described in the book—also called Getting Things Done—clicked with me immediately, and I started implementing it in my daily life. The result was fast: after only a few days, I observed an increase in focus and a decrease in work-related stress. I can’t measure it, but I’m sure this book helped me save thousands of hours.

Personal productivity is a life-long learning process. Over the years, I’ve tried different methods or adapted existing ones to make the most of my working time, but each new technique reminds me of some aspects of the GTD method. I’ve also seen people struggle with their personal organization until they understand the concepts of this book.

In this post, I will introduce you to GTD and show you why it’s still the top-ranking productivity method.

Why you need an organization method

The average worker is interrupted between 50 and 60 times per day. Each one of these interruptions creates an input that needs to be understood and sometimes transformed into a task. If we all receive so many inputs, why do some people seem to be better at turning them into action? The secret lies within their personal organization system.

Feeling overwhelmed by those inputs is natural, but it’s also your responsibility to organize them. Without a way to capture them, you either let them overwhelm you or you forget them. In both cases, you will add stress due to too many tasks or unhappy colleagues.

A good organization system will help you to capture inputs as they come and organize them so they don’t take over your day. If inputs are sorted and stored somewhere safe, you can always have a look at them later. With more time to spend on tasks and less time spent on interruptions, you can finally get this big task done in time. And once it’s done, you can rely on your system to tell you what to do next.

How to use Getting Things Done

According to David Allen, Getting Things Done is “a personal productivity methodology that redefines how you approach your life and work.” It’s a framework to organize your life and work systematically. To put his method into practice, David Allen developed a simple logic tree diagram shown below. I adapted it to streamline some of its components, but the original is very similar and can be found in the book.

The 5 principles of GTD

For me, the genius of this method starts at the top, with the “stuff.” David Allen built an organization system where all kinds of inputs are treated the same way. By moving these inputs along the logic tree, you sort them into specific places that can be used in the corresponding context. At first, it can seem a bit daunting, but after some days of practice, this logic tree becomes second nature.

The GTD method can be divided into 5 steps:

1. Capture

“Stuff” should be captured as soon as it comes to your attention. “Stuff” is coming from all directions: emails, instant messaging apps like Slack or Microsoft Teams, notes on your desk, phone calls, meetings, etc. Even ideas you got in the shower are “stuff” that needs to be captured as soon as possible (we all know how fast these ideas go away). To capture them, you will need a system of inboxes I will explain later.

2. Clarify

All “stuff” needs some clarification. Pausing to understand an input is an easy way to get the most out of it. This step can be as fast as a few seconds or take a bit longer for more complex inputs. The logic tree described above uses a series of question to clarify each input:

• “What is it?”: This is an informal question and usually takes a microsecond. The goal is to make you think about each “stuff” more deeply and understand its nature. It’s also helping you to clarify whether or not an input is worth your time.

• “Is it actionable?”: You can’t always have a direct action linked to an input—sometimes the information doesn’t need a follow-up action. This is the first junction point in the clarification of “stuff.” Non-actionable inputs will be sorted in a sub-system I will describe below.

• “What’s the next action?”: If an input is actionable, you need to ask what the next action is. The answer will give you a task you can then organize.

• “Is it part of a multi-step project?”: Some of the “next actions” are more complex than they seem and could lead to a multi-step project. In this case, they should be organized in a project system, described later in this post.

• “Will it take less than two minutes?”: This is a critical part of the GTD method. When designing the system, David Allen was conscious that an organization system with too much maintenance is overkill. The two-minute rule fixes this issue. If a task takes less than two minutes to complete, you better do it right away. The effort required to organize it in a system will cost you more than the time it takes to complete it!

3. Organize

With a clear picture of where your attention is needed, you can park the “stuff” in the right place, where you are sure to find it when you need it. For more details on how to organize your system, refer to the next step.

4. Review

Frequently reviewing your work is key to keep the system running. Priorities change, and reflecting on what’s left on your plate is important in order to keep your system up to date. GTD uses a system of daily and weekly reviews:

• Daily reviews: At the end of each day, take five to ten minutes to reflect on what you have done during the day and reorganize priorities for the next day (like uncompleted tasks or new priorities). You can also keep a daily log—it’s a great way to create a feeling of completion, and it helps for your weekly review.

• Weekly reviews: Somewhere in your week, you need a deeper time to entirely review your system. The best time is typically on Friday before leaving the office or over the weekend. During the weekly review, you look at what has been done during the week (your daily log could be a great place for that) and prepare for the coming week. To do so, you should review your entire system. Update your project plans and next actions and select some for the coming week. Assign a day to each of these tasks so that when you start your week, you have a clear picture of what to do.

5. Engage

This system would not be called Getting Things Done without involving a lot of action! When your personal organization system is running smoothly, you have more time to do the things you want. The weekly review also helps a lot to keep your priorities up to date. A lot of work-related stress is due to the impression of urgency with tasks. GTD helps you remove this feeling by gaining a clear idea of what to do and when to do it. Without the constant uncertainty, you can find the time to focus on a task you selected for yourself.

How to set up your organization system

To make the system work, you first need to build a few “boxes” to store your “stuff”:

• Inbox(es): You need inboxes to capture the “stuff.” You should already have used some of them, like your email inbox. What most people miss is that software inboxes are meant to be temporary storage places. It’s also common to have several inboxes, but to work, they need to be consolidated in one organized system. With GTD, you can use one or several inboxes as long as they are treated the same way, meaning that every bit of information you collect in them goes through the logic tree. Here are the inboxes I use:

• Email inbox: I use my email inbox as temporary storage to receive emails. Once I read them, the information they contain goes through the GTD logic tree and the email is archived (that’s called the zero inbox method).

• To-do list inbox: I use the inbox in my to-do list app (Things 3) to capture ideas, personal tasks, or verbal inputs from meetings or chats. It’s also accessible on my phone, so I can add an input at any time.

• Slack messages: I treat the whole app as an inbox—every message in there is an input to be sorted, like an email.

• Monday.com notifications: We use this app with my team to manage our projects (it’s similar to Asana or Trello). The built-in communication system notifies you if someone mentions you on a project note or tags you somewhere. Each notification I receive is an input as well and must be sorted with the GTD method.

• Reference: Sometimes you want to keep some information for later, like a meeting note or an article you read online. That’s how the reference system comes in. Evernote and Notion are great apps to use to build a reference system. Some people also like to keep an analog reference system, and the book goes into detail on how to create one. I keep everything digital as it’s easily searchable and accessible. Your reference system is like a second brain. It’s also used to keep notes on things you read in books or heard in a podcast, for example. I recommend keeping a system that requires as little maintenance as possible. Using tags is a good way to keep everything centered in one place without having to manually sort into folders.

• Someday/maybe: Some “stuff” may be relevant, but not actionable right now. In those cases, it’s recommended to keep them in a special list called “someday/maybe.” I keep this in my to-do list. What’s crucial with this list is to remember to review it regularly. It’s a great place for fresh ideas you may have forgotten.

• Trash: Trashing unnecessary emails or messages is the best way to remove them from your mind. Don’t forget to press the trash button to declutter your system.

• Project plans: Multi-step projects require their own system. It’s important to break down big projects into smaller bits that can be done independently. For those, a dedicated box is important. You can use a project management software (good for teams), a to-do list with project folders, or even a notebook.

• Waiting list: It’s frustrating to delegate and task and realize weeks later that it hasn’t been done. The waiting list can solve your problem and allow you to delegate tasks in confidence. Delegation needs follow-up, and the waiting list keeps track of everything you’ve delegated. Like inboxes, you can have different waiting lists depending on how you work. I keep a waiting label in my emails and in my to-do list, for example. Every Thursday, I go through them and follow up if the task hasn’t been done.

• Calendar: This is a no-brainer, as most of us are already using a digital or analog calendar. GTD makes use of it for “stuff” that is time-related.

• Next actions: This is “stuff” going on your to-do list. An important lesson I learned from GTD is to put due dates on a task only when it has a real deadline (meaning something bad will happen if it’s not done on time). In all other cases, the review system will help you keep your to-do list without a due date, which is a great way of reducing your stress.

With those different systems set up, it’s easy to keep consistent organization with GTD.

GTD is everywhere

If you are still not convinced about the benefits of GTD, let me show you how it became ubiquitous in our work environment.

Several popular productivity methods are inspired by GTD and use a similar logic tree to organize inputs and chose what to do next:

• Inbox Zero: The key concept is to use your inbox as temporary storage and then sort, archive, or delete emails. It’s basically GTD applied to email.

• Bullet Journal: It’s an analog alternative to GTD (using a paper notebook and a pen). Similarly to GTD, the Bullet Journal method offers an organization system to sort all your inputs in different buckets called “collections.” Like GTD, it uses a recurring review principle to keep the system up to date (it’s great for people struggling with digital tools).

Even older techniques like Agile (or its derivatives like Scrum) can be applied more easily by using GTD. Agile uses a similar concept: collecting data on a project, planning the different steps, and then doing them in a short cycle called “sprint.” At the end of a sprint, the team can review the project and start preparing the next cycle. It’s very similar to a GTD workflow, but applied to a team instead of an individual.

GTD is also built in the tools we use. Most of the apps we use for work use an inbox, an archive, and a trash function. GTD is everywhere, and ignoring it could cost you a lot of time.

Make GTD part of a bigger framework

The key of a good productivity system is consistency. GTD is sometimes criticized for being too complex to implement in your daily life. I agree that strictly following the GTD methodology can be too much, but you can already achieve a lot with the basics.

For instance, I don’t use the “context” option described in the book. David Allen explains that you can tag each “next action” with a context label like “home/work,” “on the phone/in car,” or “low energy” / “high energy.” My work-life balance and agenda are well-structured, and my weekly review is enough to plan tasks into contexts without having to keep an active tag system. I chose to remove it from my GTD after realizing that it was taking too much time to maintain.

Your GTD can evolve in its own customized version as well. GTD gives you the power to clear the inputs you receive in an organized way, but if you let inputs interrupt you all the time, your day will still look like a mess. On top of GTD, you can use other techniques that will let you focus on the “next actions.”

I recommend three methods that work well with GTD:

• Asynchronous communication: GTD is solving the problem of how to sort your “stuff;” asynchronous communication answers when to sort it. And the answer is simple: once or twice a day, no more. By batching your communication time, you can free the rest of your day for deep work. I wrote a post about it if you want to go into more details.

• The 1-3-5 rule: If used properly, asynchronous communication will give you back the time you need to complete your “next actions.” But how do you choose what to do next? The 1-3-5 rule is a great way to select your next actions. The rule says that every day, you should select:

  • 1 big task that takes several hours of focus

  • 3 medium tasks that take five to thirty minutes each

  • 5 small tasks that take under five minutes each, mainly errands

• “Eat that frog”: American author Mark Twain once said, “Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.” The “frog” is the big task in your 1-3-5 rule. It’s the most difficult one because it will take time and focus. To make it easier, tackle this big task first thing in the morning. Don’t check your emails or the latest news on your phone when you come to the office—just sit down and eat that frog. It works, believe me (disclaimer: I write all my blog posts first thing in the morning).

With these additional techniques under your belt, you should be equipped to regularly reach a state of flow where your concentration is at its highest level. Stress related to deadlines or fake due dates should also become a bad memory. Always feel free to experiment with new techniques or revert to something that worked better in the past. Getting Things Done is the backbone of your productivity system. Don’t wait to try it!

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Photos by Maarten van den Heuvel, Viktor Talashuk, and Bernard Hermant

“You have a meeting to make a decision, not to decide on the question.” —Bill Gates

This quote perfectly summarizes all my frustrations about meetings. Many studies have highlighted the inefficiency of meetings at work. Still, meetings keep increasing in length and frequency, to the point where executives spend around 23 hours a week in them (it was less than 10 hours in the 1960s). It would not be a bad thing if meetings were all useful, but we all know how inefficient most of them are. I’ve been experimenting a lot with meetings in my company and have learned how to make the most out of them—here’s what I’ve discovered and want to share with you so you can use your time well and hold productive, effective meetings.

Meetings are bad for your productivity

We usually work on two different schedules: the maker's schedule or the manager's schedule.

This concept was first described by Y Combinator's founder, Paul Graham, in his 2009 essay. In this essay, Graham explains how makers are task oriented and need a long stretch of time to focus (programmers or writers are the typical examples). On the other hand, managers use mainly communication and meetings to make things progress. What’s interesting is that most of the time, we all need to combine the two schedules in our work life.

When you are in the maker’s schedule, a single meeting interruption could be a hard hit at your productivity. The maker’s schedule is most efficient when you are able to enter the flow, a state of deep focus where your concentration is at its maximum and time seems to flow by without you noticing it. Going back to the flow after an interruption can cost you up to 23 minutes! Trying to mix your maker’s and manager’s schedule is always an indicator of inefficiency.

The problem can also come from outside. Managers are more likely to disrupt the maker’s schedule due to the nature of their position. Because of hierarchy, managers also have the power to decide when meetings should happen. This power comes with a great responsibility (Spiderman quote alert).

Interrupting the maker's schedule with a meeting is a big waste of their time. A good manager should recognize this and adopt meeting practices that let makers maximize their time. Managers should also realize that they could have fewer meetings and create more maker’s time for themselves.

Paul Graham—a highly solicited person—keeps only the last hours of his day dedicated to meetings. The rest of the day is dedicated to getting things done. In modern companies, most of us need to adopt a dual schedule. So, how do you implement this in your daily work life?

Recognize which type of meeting you are in

In his bestseller High Output Management, Andy Grove (former chairman and CEO of Intel) describes two kinds of meetings: process-oriented and mission-oriented meetings. To make the most of your meetings, it’s important to recognize in which type of meeting you are.

Process-oriented meetings

Process-oriented meetings aim at sharing knowledge and exchanging information. They usually take place on a regular basis. Classical examples of process-oriented meetings are one-on-one meetings, staff meetings, or project reviews.

Most process-oriented meetings can be avoided (I will exclude the one-on-one from this affirmation). Take staff meetings, for example. It’s very common for companies to organize regular staff meetings to exchange statuses or project updates. The underlying goal is often to gain a bigger picture on how tasks are advancing in a team or company. It’s quite common nowadays to have a daily standup meetings at the beginning of the day. The problem with these meetings is that most of the time, they’re an interruption for makers. Even if organized early, the meeting will always disrupt someone’s plan. And when you take this interruption company wide, the loss of efficiency is very high.

In general, process-oriented meetings can be replaced by digital updates. A written update has more value than one shared in a meeting. It can be read at any time, removes micromanagement, and builds trust across the company. 

Take daily or weekly updates, for instance. Apps like Basecamp or Range.co include features dedicated to eradicate daily status meetings. Every day, these tools invite your staff to enter an update. They can choose when to write it and avoid being interrupted by a meeting when they are in their maker’s schedule. The updates are shared with colleagues so they can also read them whenever they want, without being interrupted in the middle of a task. These systems keep all the benefits of a meeting while avoiding the drawbacks.

Process-oriented meetings are not all bad, though. I mentioned the one-on-one as an exception, because the main benefit of those meetings is the personal relationship they create between managers and team members. You can of course make the one-on-one more efficient with some techniques I will describe below, but trying to avoid the social interactions of these meetings would be an overkill.

Mission-oriented meetings

Mission-oriented meetings aim at solving a specific problem or producing a decision. Unlike process-oriented meetings, they are usually ad hoc and can’t be predicted in advance.

The inefficiency of mission-oriented meetings comes from the fact that spontaneous decision making involves many cognitive biases. The bandwagon bias, for example, stipulates that when we’re in groups, we start to think the same as other people in the group. Another one, the confirmation bias, is very likely to happen in meetings and shows that we are more likely to listen to information that confirms our preconceptions.

The best way to remove cognitive biases from mission-oriented meetings is to go through a longer preparation phase in written form. When a manager organizes a mission-oriented meeting, it’s better to not rush into it and to take the time to collect arguments, feedback, or questions beforehand. Creating a written discussion around the problem to solve it could lead to a better decision process. Rushing into a meeting as soon as a problem occurs is the best way to trigger cognitive biases. It also creates false urgency and disrupts other people’s schedules.

Once all parties are well informed through a preliminary documentation, a short mission-oriented meeting can happen and conclude the decision process. This is a good way to make sure that all parties agree to the decision, or at least commit to it. It could also be helpful to organize this type of meeting in case of conflicts or escalation in the decision process.

Recognizing which type of meeting you are in will help you understand how to implement a better practice. In the case of process-oriented meetings, try replacing them with digital updates. For mission-oriented meetings, a diligent documentation prepared in advance will help reduce the bias linked to decision making.

7 meeting rules to live by

Some meetings can’t be avoided. When this is the case, meetings should always follow the seven rules below: 

1. Predefined goal: A meeting without a goal is the best way to waste your time. Either it’s a mission-oriented or a project-oriented meeting, all meetings should have a goal that is clear to all participants (for instance, a one-on-one meeting aims at reviewing the performance of an employee).

2. Timeline: A meeting is not open ended and must respect an allotted time. The shorter the allotted time is, the more efficient the meeting will be. If you plan a four-hour meeting, you can be sure that participants will find a way to fill in the time. You could reduce it to 30 minutes and have the same output if the meeting is well prepared and includes all five other rules.

3. Agenda: No agenda means no meeting! A meeting without agenda is just an excuse to lock people in a room (or Zoom call) for a specific period of time. Always start a meeting with an agenda of what will be discussed.

4. Preparation: The meeting agenda should always be available in advance (at least 24 hours) so all participants can prepare their thoughts on the topic. The best practice is to engage in a written conversation before the meeting so that the issue can advance as far as possible without face-to-face interaction (and thus remove the problem of extrovert personalities taking over the discussion in meetings).

5. Leader: Each meeting must have an appointed leader to keep things moving along. If it’s a mission-oriented meeting, the leader should also be the one having the last word in case of indecision.

6. Scribe: Always appoint a scribe to take notes in a meeting. For fairness, the scribe should not always be the same person. Without notes, there is no trace of what’s been decided in the meeting. Notes help you in case of future memory lapse or to share the content of a meeting with people who didn’t attend. The scribe should also clean up the notes after the meeting to make them fully understandable to readers.

7. No more people than necessary: Jeff Bezos has a famous rule for meetings: no meeting should be so large that two pizzas can’t feed the whole group. Participants in a meeting should always bring value, otherwise they can simply read the meeting notes and get an update on what’s been discussed. Adding more people in a meeting is a good way to slow down the decision process or just waste time that could be spent somewhere else.

Using this set of rules across your company will ensure that all your meetings are efficient. Still, you could find yourself being interrupted by well-organized and efficient meetings. On top of good organizational practices, healthy personal rules can also help your productivity.

Reduce the time you spend in meetings

Following the rules mentioned above should already reduce meetings to the most efficient ones. However, if meetings keep interrupting your maker’s schedule, they will still be a hindrance to your productivity. Below are some personal tips to help you regain your maker’s time.

1. Write more, talk less: Written conversation is a huge time saver. Imagine the number of meetings that could be solved by a written (and detailed) conversation. I’m not talking about chaotic Slack threads, but real, in-depth details about projects, issues, and decisions to take. I’m regularly writing 200-300 updates I share with my team in our project management software. This let me put my thoughts in order before I share them. These updates can be read at any time, so I don’t constantly interrupt my team with meetings. I would literally kill the productivity of my team if I constantly shared my thoughts in meetings instead of by writing.

2. Include metadata on calendar invite: Calendar invitations are a good place to add metadata like the location, a call link, notes, and an agenda. This is especially true with people outside of your organization. Giving context and information to external parties is even more important, as they may have less knowledge on the topic of the meeting than your colleagues.

3. Stay present and focus on the agenda: We have all seen those people who start texting while they are in a meeting. In addition to being disrespectful, it also shows that the meeting is not relevant to them. To increase participants’ attention, you can introduce simple rules like having only one computer in the room or forbidding smartphones during meetings. It’s also important to stay focused on the agenda. Going off course is the best way to make a 30-minute meeting last hours. If the agenda needs further discussion, prepare a followup meeting instead of locking up your colleagues in a room for too long.

4. Stop spontaneous interruptions: When you need to stay focused, the last thing you want is an interruption. However, some workplaces are more subject to this, and sometimes it’s your own responsibility to stop the interruptions from others. A simple method is to be transparent with your colleagues. For example, if you need long stretches of time to focus, communicate clearly with your team that you will not check emails or messages regularly. If you work in a crowded office with a lot of interruptions, you can also wear headphones to show that you are busy.

5. Say no to meetings: This is the most radical option, but often the best. Saying no to meetings is the best way to regain your maker’s time. You could, for instance, block your calendar with a “no meeting” event so that people can’t hijack your schedule. I regularly refuse meetings that don’t have a clear goal or agenda. Don’t forget, when you say yes to a meeting, you automatically say no to other tasks on your list.

6. Batch your meetings: Like tasks, meetings can be batched together. This is especially useful for people with a hybrid maker’s/manager’s schedule. If all your meetings are batched on one or two afternoons per week, you totally free up the rest of your time for deep focus. Allocating a specific time window for your meetings also allows you to keep time spent in meetings to a decent level. For those who have a lot of spontaneous interruptions, you can also create “office hours” (like what professors do in universities). With office hours, you open a specific window of time in your calendar to answer questions. This is particularly helpful for people who need to regularly answer questions.

7. Don’t make it too long: Most calendar apps create one-hour events by default, but meetings don’t always have to be that long! Keep in mind that a 30-minute conversation can cover a lot of ground if the meeting is well prepared. Ditch the one-hour slot and start having shorter meetings. It will also force participants to get to the point more rapidly.

8. Facilitate meetings with tools: Organizing a meeting can be complicated. It’s quite common to end up with a long email back-and-forth when trying to find a time that will fit all parties. One easy way to avoid this is to use tools like Calendly (it’s free). This app lets you share open time slots with external contacts. The organization process is totally automated, and you simply need to share a link for others to find a time that fits into your own agenda. Thank you, technology!

The social benefits of meetings

Each company is unique and has different needs when it comes to internal communication. Even though I’m convinced that most companies would benefit from reducing meetings to a strict minimum, I also acknowledge the social benefit of meetings.

Sometimes, you have to let bad meetings slip through the gaps. In my company, we do one of these every week, voluntarily. Once a week, we organize a short all-hands meeting (as we are less than 10 people, this is still manageable). This meeting is dedicated to sharing two short weekly highlights, one professional and one personal. Even though this could be completely replaced by a written report (and we actually have one in parallel), the benefit of this meeting is to gather the team and have a relaxed discussion. The personal highlight also helps us bond, and quite often, laugh together.

Sometimes, you have to recognize the benefit of a simple talk. But we can allow this meeting because we know that all other meetings are efficient.

If you follow the advice in this post, you could easily reduce your time in meetings to a few hours per week, even if you are managing a team or a company. You don’t have to hate meetings if they are all relevant.

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According to the Cambridge Dictionary, a persona is “the particular type of character that a person seems to have and that is often different from their real or private character.” This term is also used in marketing when talking about a fictional character for a client segment. In other words, a persona is a fictional character representing a particular personality and behavior.

Entrepreneurs also have different personas that define how they manage their companies. Knowing your entrepreneur persona can help you better understand your personal goals, your management style, and your personality.

The personas I describe below are voluntarily stereotypical, but this list gives you a blueprint to ask questions about your entrepreneurial style. By knowing your strengths and weaknesses, you can become a better entrepreneur.

7 types of entrepreneurs

1. The Kickstarter: They like to start new things all the time and can even run several businesses in parallel. This multifaceted focus gives them an advantage in how fast they can learn from multiple businesses, but it can also spread their attention too thin. Kickstarters have a good vision of the future, but can also rapidly lose interest and jump from one project to another without realizing the projects’ full potential.

Famous Kickstarter: Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, founder of The Boring Company, Neuralink, and OpenAI

Strength: Launching new businesses

Weakness: Available attention

2. The Hustler: They excel at selling and pitching their business. They usually build service-based businesses like agencies or consulting firms where they spend a lot of time with clients. They also understand the value of networking and spend a large amount of their time creating new relationships. Their network is vast but also tends to spread in many directions, which can make them lose focus or energy over time. Hustlers are very energetic and charismatic, but this high energy can also lead to burnout if it’s not kept under control.

Famous Hustler: Oprah Winfrey, host of The Oprah Winfrey Show

Strength: Sales and networking

Weakness: Tendency to burnout

3. The Engineer: They usually have a technical or research background. Their knowledge is the backbone of their company. Engineers are great at building technology companies, but they can be overwhelmed by the business side of entrepreneurship. It’s sometimes in the best interest of Engineers to find a co-founder that will complement their lack of business sensitivity. Their management style is also more mechanical, and they tend to see people as machines that they can program.

Famous Engineer: Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Strength: Technology

Weakness: Emotional intelligence

4. The Guru: They spend a lot of time crafting a strong personal brand more or less attached to their company. They are usually perceived as thought leaders or influencers, and they are great at attracting new talents to their company. They are also quite often spending time on creating a unique company culture that matches their personal brand. The risk for Gurus is going too far and creating a sect-like environment (remember Adam Neumann?). It’s also difficult for a company to lose its Guru, as its branding is attached to the individual.

Famous Guru: Tony Hsieh, former CEO of Zappos and author of Delivering Happiness

Strength: Company culture

Weakness: Confusion of personal and company brand

5. The Visionary: They focus on the big picture and can often detect trends before they become mainstream. Innovation is the keyword for Visionaries, and they tend to build technology-focused companies. However, their constant focus on long-term vision can sometimes create a disconnection with the real day-to-day operations. Visionaries can sometimes distort reality around them so that it can match their idealistic vision. This increases their resilience but can also hide problems they’re facing in the present.

Famous Visionary: Steve Jobs, founder of Apple

Strength: Disruptive innovation

Weakness: Reality distortion

6. The Bootstrapper: They prefer to build their business organically, focusing on revenues to grow instead of external capital. Bootstrappers are real Jack-of-all-trades, capable of single-handedly building a solid start for their company. They are usually very patient and could wait for years or even decades before their business takes off. However, their high involvement with the day-to-day business could prevent them from delegating tasks to someone else and restrain the company growth.

Famous Bootstrapper: Jason Fried, founder of Basecamp

Strength: Broad skillset

Weakness: Delegation

7. The Scaler: They do everything to grow their company as fast as possible (a pure opposite of the Bootstrapper). They are usually looking at disrupting an established industry thanks to a new technology or business model. This fast-paced growth can also harm their team members, who are usually asked to sacrifice their personal life for the company. Company culture can suffer if Scalers push too hard for growth.

Famous Scaler: Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon

Strength: Business expansion

Weakness: Team happiness

How to find your persona?

Finding your persona can help you understand the reason you are an entrepreneur. Trying to live in a persona that doesn’t fit you will only bring frustrations and decrease your motivation. Some introspective work is never bad when you are an entrepreneur.

To figure out which persona you are, ask yourself these questions:

- Who do you admire the most?

Asking which entrepreneurs you admire the most is a good way to discover what motivates you. You don’t need to be inspired by extremely successful people; entrepreneurs who have managed to create a strong work-life balance can be a great source of inspiration. The people you admire the most will tell you a lot about which life you want for yourself.

- What type of culture do you want to build?

A company’s culture is always linked to its founders. This can change over time, but the founders are always building the first bricks that will shape the company in the long run. Knowing your persona will help you analyze how you impact your company culture. A culture focused on growth will be different from one focusing on innovation or well-being. Asking yourself in which type of company you’d like to work could help you be more consistent with how you build your company culture.

- What sacrifices are you ready to make?

Building a business always takes some sacrifices, but it’s important to ask yourself where your limit is. Some entrepreneurs are ready to put the threshold of personal sacrifice very high, and they will naturally tend toward more demanding personas, such as the Hustler or the Scaler. This doesn’t mean that they will succeed more easily, though. Well-balanced work-life ethics are often the sign of a long-lasting career. You must decide which sacrifices you’re ready to make before it’s too late to go back.

- How do you measure success?

Success is a subjective metric. Success can be measured in many ways: money, free time, benefit to society, client happiness, employee happiness, etc. Knowing how you measure success is critical if you want to feel content with your work. Focusing on the wrong metric will only push you toward an entrepreneurial style that doesn’t match your personal values.

What does your persona say about your business?

Knowing your persona can teach you a lot about how you manage your company and your personal ambitions. Your persona can also change over time or become a mix of different personas.

I personally feel best in the Bootstrapper persona. It matches my way of working, my skillset, and my personal values. I’m quite sure I will keep this persona for some time, but it has not always been like this. When I started my entrepreneurship journey, I had more of a Hustler persona until I realized that it didn’t fit with how I wanted to work. It took some time to shift to a more adapted persona. This switch of persona also brought a change in how I managed my company, but I feel way more in sync with my business nowadays.

It’s important to constantly question yourself about what you want for your company. The personas I mentioned in this article are templates to help you discover your strengths and weaknesses. Ultimately, each entrepreneur is unique, and what works for one may not work for another. Constant experimentation and personal development will help you become a better entrepreneur.

As philosopher Alain de Botton said, “anyone who isn’t embarrassed of who they were last year probably isn’t learning enough.” Is it time to change your persona?

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Have you ever felt like having done nothing after a full day of work? Do you find yourself going away from the office so you can finally get things done? Good news: you’re not alone. Bad news: this may be linked to how you communicate at work!

How communication pollutes your workday

You’re at your office, ready to get things done, and a colleague approaches and asks, “Hey, do you have a minute?” You’re a nice person, so you say yes. Fast-forward to five minutes later and you try to go back to what you were doing, only to realize that you lost track of it. Now you're losing time to get back to the flow you were in.

Researchers at the University of California, Irvine, found that it takes around 23 minutes to get back into a concentrated state after an interruption. And when you know that a typical worker gets interrupted or switches tasks every three minutes on average, it’s not surprising that we can’t get things done at the office.

This feeling of busy work days is a real problem. Look at meeting practice, for instance. The average middle-level manager spends around 35% of their time in meetings—and the worst part is that 37% of those meetings are valued as unproductive! That’s a terrible waste of time.

Another common issue is the use of emails. Workers spend around 30% of their time checking emails. There’s nothing wrong with communication via email—it’s actually an essential part of asynchronous communication. The problem lies in how we expect our colleagues or employees to answer emails: instantly.

We've all met these people who can't stay focused for five minutes on a task without checking their emails. Companies often encourage this behavior by rewarding employees who are always "reactive" or "fast to answer." However, this is a very shallow view of employee performance that leads to highly stressed teams.

So, how do you regain time and focus in a busy workplace? One very efficient practice I discovered over the years is asynchronous communication.

Asynchronous communication's fundamental principles

According to Wikipedia, asynchronous communication is a transmission of data where data can be transmitted intermittently rather than in a steady stream. In work practice, it’s communicating without the immediate back and forth.

In order for asynchronous communication to work, members of a team or company need to agree on simple rules. Below are the basic rules to follow to make asynchronous communication work:

1.    Agree on delayed responses

Asynchronous companies agree that instant communication is not a good practice and favor delayed responses. Employees are not expected to answer instant messages, emails, and messages on other communication channels in the following minutes. Instead, they should be allowed to take several hours or even days, depending on the importance and urgency of the message.

That’s the fundamental building block of asynchronous communication. Without this first rule in place, the whole system scrambles, and tension may arise in the team. If this is not clearly adopted by everybody, some people may push back and force the communication back to its initial state.

Once you start allowing delayed response, you will see that stress linked to constantly checking emails or Slack messages will decrease in the team. With less stress, you can start focusing on the bigger picture.

2.    Talk less, write more

Have you ever attended one of those meetings where you feel like only one person’s voice counted? That’s a common problem of meetings, and it’s not the only one. Face-to-face conversations are full of cognitive bias. Asynchronous communication offers to remove these biases through more writing and less talking.

Talking is reactive; writing is constructive. By allowing people to put their thoughts on paper, we give them more time and space to express complex ideas. Giving time to read the answer also leads to better-formed responses. The constant back and forth of a meeting doesn’t allow for the deep understanding of a written conversation.

In asynchronous companies, meetings are a last-resort tool in your communication box. Meetings should only be used for things that can’t be discussed in writing or for things that need a personal connection.

Meetings should also use a set of rules to make sure they are aligned with the asynchronous communication system:

• Prepare an agenda in advance so people can prepare for the meeting

• Agree in advance on a specific time for the meeting

• Take notes and share with people that didn’t attend but could use the information

• Meet only with people adding value to the meeting

Meetings can be a very productive tool if they are used sparingly.

3.    Don’t interrupt

Constant interruptions are quite common in office spaces, and as long as you allow them, they will mess up your concentration. One important rule of asynchronous communication is "no spontaneous interruption." This has to be clearly communicated so the whole team knows what to expect.

This may be difficult for some teams that value spontaneous talk. If that’s the case, you can also use a simple rule to build a hybrid model where interruptions are allowed in certain conditions. For instance, you can agree that anybody wearing headphones should not be interrupted. It’s effortless, and you don’t even need to listen to music.

Another good solution is the "office hours" system. This method is like the office hours used by professors in universities. With this system, each employee makes a few hours per week available for spontaneous interruptions. This works well with experts who are regularly asked to answer technical questions from the team. You don't want those people to be constantly interrupted. Protect their concentration by batching interruptions in a short window of time.

4.    Batch your communication time

It’s important that you and your team learn to batch communications. Don’t forget, the goal of asynchronous communication is to offer you back the precious time you should spend on deep-focus work. One easy way to free up your daily schedule is by batching communication.

For instance, I check my emails, Slack messages, and project management notifications once or twice a day, never more (and also never outside of office hours). It usually happens once before lunch and once at the end of the day. In total, I spend one hour per day on these communication channels, while the average professional spends four hours per day on just emails. I do receive a higher number of messages than average, but the fact that they are batched lets me focus on it for a short time and use the rest of my time for deep focus. If I would not batch it, the task switch would completely disrupt my day (spoiler alert, I also use the Getting Things Done method to make the most of this batching time).

Don't be afraid about what's happening between two batches of communication. If asynchronous communication is established, your team will know to expect your responses at some point during the day.

5.    Communicate on the right channel

Modern teams use many tools. In my team, for instance, we use a mix of Slack, Monday.com, and emails to communicate. If you don’t set rules for where messages should belong, you may rapidly find yourself with a mess. Chaotic Slack channels, lost project details, and long email chains are a common issue at the workplace.

Asynchronous communication fixes this issue by setting up rules about each channel. In my company, for instance, project-related discussions are always kept in our project management tool, Monday.com. If a project is discussed on Slack, we stop it and move it to our project management tool. Our Slack channels are dedicated to quick questions or updates, such as rescheduling a meeting or quickly sharing a link (it's also home to cat video links... you need a place for this). We use emails for external communication. If an email requires a complex discussion, it’s added to a project or to a meeting agenda. With these rules in place, you make sure that people know where to find the right information. You also make sure they can answer different communication channels by priority.

Embracing asynchronous communication in a resistant environment

Resistance to change in the workplace is quite common. And something as disrupting as asynchronous communication could be very difficult to adopt.

You will find common excuses to keep the status quo in the workplace. The statistics used at the beginning of this article are strong arguments in favor of asynchronous communication, but for those of you who encounter more resistance, here are the common critiques you will face:

• “Team spirit will suffer”: Many entrepreneurs think that constant chat in the office is a good sign of team spirit and collaboration. For me, it's a sign of chaos and low concentration. Social interactions at the office are a great motivator for your team, but it doesn't have to be all day long! Instead, use lunch breaks to gather the team to share real quality time, or organize regular team gatherings. The benefits will be way higher than constant interruptions.

• “I need an urgent answer”: The fear of waiting for an answer is a strong incentive against asynchronous communication. But are you sure that your tasks are urgent? Will something bad happen if the answer to your question doesn't come instantly? In 99% of the cases, no. Most people confuse urgent with important. I like to use the Eisenhower matrix to identify the urgency of a task. In case of real urgency, rules can always be broken, but if you allow every task to be urgent, then nothing is urgent.

• “I will look less reliable”: That's a normal concern for people who are used to being reactive in their communication. Unfortunately, there is only one way to go forward: you have to convince yourself of the benefits of asynchronous communication. Without a true understanding of the benefits, you will go back to bad practices. At the company level, it should also be agreed that people are not evaluated on their reactivity, but on their performance.

Reclaim your time

Asynchronous communication is the best method to regain your time and find deep focus at work. With the rise of remote work, this is becoming even more important.

After the COVID-19 crisis started, many companies were forced to work fully remotely. For most of them, they simply replaced the office formula with Zoom calls and constant Slack notifications. The companies are not benefiting from what remote work can offer.

Employees, especially millennials, are becoming aware of what a good work-life balance is. If you want your team to be happy at work and in life, the best gift you can do to them is offering a stressless communication practice, so they can use most of their working time to focus on tasks that matter. Go asynchronous, reclaim your time, and find deep focus.

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Let’s take an agency, for example. You can imagine any type of agency, like web development, marketing, recruiting, and so on. An agency’s business model is quite simple: the more employees they have, the more hours they can charge their clients. To grow, an agency needs to increase its number of employees so it can sell more hours.

In reality, this is not always so easy. Hiring new employees often comes with unexpected challenges, like higher management costs or organizational issues. It’s also hard to hire at the right time—hire too early, and you may find yourself with resources you don’t fully use. You may also simply face another issue: hiring is too expensive for your business’ current financial situation.

So, how do you keep growing a small business when hiring is not an option? Asking the right questions could help. 

The techniques I will describe don’t require developing new revenue streams or taking a huge bet on new projects. I’m focusing on increasing growth by freeing up a part of your team's time. In other words, do more with less. 

Recognize what drives your growth

If you added more employees to your company, would you immediately unlock your growth potential? Answering this question can be confusing. Most entrepreneurs think that with more employees, a company automatically grows. This is far from the truth. It’s quite common to see companies breaking apart after they reached a certain number of employees. But smart companies know that their success doesn’t have to be linked to their size.

Take Basecamp, for instance—a popular project management tool. Basecamp is used by millions of users, but the company behind it, 37signals, only has 60 employees. While its user base hasn’t stopped growing in recent years, the same small team managed to maintain the required quality of its product without having to hire concurrently. 

Basecamp’s founders recognized very early on that they didn’t need to raise a ton of money to build a great software company. Their growth was never bound by the number of employees. Instead, they focused on creating a scalable product that can be updated and maintained by a small team. The founders also spent a lot of time creating a culture that prioritizes healthy growth.

Your company growth doesn’t have to be linked to your headcount. There are many ways to do more with your current team. I believe in the Pareto law (80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes), and I’m sure every business can find new ways of doing what they do best if they ask themselves good questions. 

4 ways to do more with less

Here are some tricks I learned over the years from my own experience. They’re not your only option for growth, but exploring even one of them could be a great opportunity for your business.

1. Use asynchronous communication

The average middle-level manager spends around 35% of their time in meetings. But the worst part is that 37% of those meetings are valued as unproductive! That’s a huge waste of time if your company needs to get things done. One of my working principles is asynchronous communication. I could (and I will) write a whole post about it, but I’ll share the basic principle here. 

Asynchronous companies use strong communication rules to protect their employees' time. For instance, asynchronous companies agree that instant communication is not a good practice and favor delayed response. With asynchronous communication, employees are expected to answer instant messages, emails, and messages from other channels in the coming hours instead of the next minutes. Meetings are also the last-resort tool in asynchronous companies and should only be used when other communication channels are limiting. 

For instance, if a colleague sends you a Slack message, it should be agreed that you need to answer in the next 4 hours (or more) and not the next 4 minutes! This may seem inefficient, but it’s actually the opposite.

Researchers at the University of California, Irvine, found that the typical office worker is interrupted or switches tasks, on average, every three minutes. And it can take more than 23 minutes just to get back to where they left off! When people are not constantly disturbed by notifications, emails, and meetings, they can find time for deep focus, and this is the best way to get more things done.

2. Map your processes

I like to see small businesses as machines. If the cogs are well implemented, the machine will run smoothly. This metaphor applies well to small businesses. The cogs are the different processes that make your business run (or Standard Operating Procedures, as they are often called). If you look closely at these processes, you may identify hidden bottlenecks that can be removed and save you a ton of time.

I often think of an example from the book It Doesn’t Have to Be Crazy at Work by Basecamp’s two founders I mentioned above. In the early days of their company, they were frustrated by the amount of time it took to report to clients (the company was originally a software agency). They progressively reduced the size of the report, making sure along the way that the client was satisfied. Their reporting material changed from a long PDF document to a simple page. This change saved a ton of time on each project without damaging client relationships. 

Similarly, they looked at how fast their customer support had to reply to users’ requests. They tested different hypotheses, answering tickets as fast as under 5 minutes to several hours or even days. In the end, they discovered that it didn’t matter for their users as long as they answered in the next few hours. So instead of trying to be as fast as possible, they were able to build customer support that was not constantly rushing to be the fastest.

I’ve often seen in my own company how outdated processes can waste a lot of time. And for employees doing these tasks, it’s not always easy to realize that they are wasting time (we are always biased by routine). If you want to reduce bottlenecks in your company, look at how your processes work and question them regularly. You may discover that you can save hours of work each week with a simple question: Why are we doing this task?

3. Cut the superfluous

Another part of your business to examine are “side projects”. By side projects, I mean all the features, collaborations, or initiatives that are not linked to the core business. In my company, for example, we used to spend a large amount of time negotiating media partnerships with event organizers (this is quite common for B2B media). This was great to give us credibility and a presence on the event scene in the early days of the company, but nowadays this doesn’t bring us as much benefit. To change this, we simply looked at the pros and cons of having regular event partnerships and concluded that the time investment was not worth it. We are now focusing on a very small amount of partnerships, selected for their high relevance to our business. This gives us the opportunity to focus even more on our core operations.

You may have similar opportunities in your own business. To identify them, look at the different projects or tasks that are not directly linked to your main business. Or more simply, identify the parts of your business that don’t bring you money! Once it’s done, ask the tough question: Should we still keep doing this, or stop it altogether? You can’t imagine how much headspace your team can gain if you leave behind some low-priority projects. 

4. Hire external experts

My last advice to help your company grow without hiring more is to use external help. Platforms such as Upwork or Fiverr are a great place to find experts that can help you with occasional tasks without creating too much complexity for your business. 

For instance, SEO, web development, and graphic design are areas that don’t necessarily need a full-time employee. Many companies ask their employees to become experts in many areas, but this is obviously very difficult and can’t compete with a true expert. So instead of trying to do things yourself, let a real expert help you. You may be surprised by the costs you can save. One hour of expert work is very often more efficient than weeks of trial and error. 

The ultimate question: should you grow?

Sometimes, no growth is the best answer to your problems. This may sound very strange (or stupid depending on who you ask) but some businesses may do better without the constant struggle to grow.

Being content with what you have already built as an entrepreneur could reduce your stress. At some point, it may be more interesting for managers to stop adding projects and instead focus their energy on providing a healthy work environment for their team. 

I may be swimming against the current with this philosophy, but I’m proud of owning a small business that supports the lives of a tiny team. Trying to grow at any cost would automatically bring consequences in our organization and way of doing things. I’m always preaching for a calm and relaxed workplace, even if sometimes it means doing less or doing things differently than most of the competition.

So what can you do for your own business? The ultimate answer lies in questioning everything you and your team do on a regular basis. It’s not an easy task, and it can lead to heated discussions (nobody likes change, after all), but asking simple questions about what you do could bring extraordinary results.

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