You can\'t control time...only what YOU do with it.

1. HELLO.
Hi. Iʼm Merlin.
I do 43Folders.com.

2. WHO MOVED
MY BRAIN?
REVALUING
TIME & ATTENTION
MERLIN MANN
43FOLDERS.COM
Today, I want to tell you about my pal,
Mike Monteiro.

3. MIKE
MULEDESIGN.COM
This is Mike. Hi, Mike!

4. Mike makes things at MuleDesign.com.

5. Mike had a problem. Mike hates meetings.
Mike is also a huge smartass.

6. Mike made these. They make you think about
how you use peopleʼs time and attention.

7. YOU ARE A
BIG
BARGAIN.
It costs very little to get your attention.
Especially if youʼre a “knowledge worker.”

8. KNOWLEDGE
WHUH, NOW?
Thatʼs a Peter Drucker term. KWs are smart
people who add value to information.
They also have girly, smooth hands.

9. 28% OF EACH DAY
“Interruptions by things that aren’t
urgent or important, like
unnecessary e-mail messages —
and the time it takes to get back on
track.”
“Lost in E-Mail, Tech Firms Face Self-Made Beast,” June 14, 2008
Interruptions are a huge pain. Intel estimates
that interruptions cost them US$1B last year.

10. People give you money because you know
how to solve problems.
Not because you move email around and
respond to things that go “DING!”

11. BLACK BOX JOB
Hereʼs the thing: your jobʼs kind of weird.
At least compared to your Grandfather.
(Unless he was a pimp, or a spy, or something. Anyway.)

12. {} specs
meetings
email
pizza
etc.
(thing you do)
plop!
Flawless
Work
No one cares HOW you get things done;
just that you DO. This is really hard unless
you actively manage your time AND
attention.

13. Can you see the value of attention as clearly
as the value of cash? Donʼt just say, “Sure, I
do!”
Really think about it.

14. ∞
The things you COULD do are infinite,
while your time and attention are FINITE.

15. OPPORTUNITY COST
Opportunity Cost means: if I do “this,” I
necessarily canʼt also do “that,” “that,”
“that,” and “OMG, THAT!”

16. FINITE TIME,
FINITE ATTENTION
Concept: Joel Spolsky / JoelOnSoftware.com
Joel Spolsky says only so many blocks can
fit in a box. I agree. Joel Spolsky is smart.

17. So, how do I keep my brain where I want it?

18. FIVE PATTERNS
(THINGS THAT TEND TO WORK)
Well, hereʼs five things that tend to work.
I call them “patterns.”

19. FIVE PATTERNS
1 Identify Leaks
2 Govern Access
3 Minimize Notifications
4 Work in Dashes
5 Renegotiate
These are realistic, but theyʼre personal, too.
So, tweak them. Ready?

20. IDENTIFY LEAKS
Find giant holes that have filled with crap.
Remove the crap. Then seal the leak.

21. GOVERN ACCESS
Stop allowing 100% access. Make mindful
decisions about who gets access to you. And
when. And for how long.

22. WHO GETS ACCESS NOW?
Ask yourself. Seriously, do it. Because it
says a lot about who you are.

23. MINIMIZE
NOTIFICATIONS
Turn off everything thatʼs not an actual
“alarm.” Know what an “alarm” is?

24. An alarm is something that says,
“Hi. Stop what youʼre doing right now.
Or youʼll die. Honk.”

25. “DING!”
The “DING!” means Facebook zombies &
spammers get to interrupt you whenever it
suits them. Up to 2,000 times each week.

26. WORK IN
DASHES
Plan your work in small chunks that you can
tear through easily.

27. Rule of Thumb: If a task wonʼt fit through
your typical window of availability, itʼs too
big. Break it down.

28. Get out of “Grizzly Bear Mode.” Stop
scanning the campground for bears, and go
make some damned sʼmores.

29. TRAINING:
10/50 DASH
10 min Collect & Process
50 min Work
10 min Collect & Process
Etc...
An experiment. Ten minutes of “Grizzly
bear,” followed by 50 minutes of making
sʼmores. Repeat, D.C. al Coda.

30. RENEGOTIATE
This is a GTD-ish concept. Ask: “What could I
change about this thing to make it ʻdo-ableʼ
AND awesome?”

31. QUALIFYING
“YES”
Renegotiation means “yes” can have shades.

32. QUALIFYING
“YES”
• Kinda
• Maybe
• Later
• A Little
Learn to say, “Yes, but...!” Youʼll do more and
be less stressed about all of it.

33. FIVE PATTERNS
1 Identify Leaks
2 Govern Access
3 Minimize Notifications
4 Work in Dashes
5 Renegotiate
These work. I swear. Try them today.

34. Be like Mike: make things. And, seriously?

35. BE A DAD
NEVER be scared or embarrassed to defend
your attention. Be a Dad for your brain. It
needs you, okay?

36. THANKS.
(NOW, YOU.)
Thank you for 45 minutes of your Time &
Attention. I owe each of you three tokens.

37. WHO MOVED
MY BRAIN?
REVALUING
TIME & ATTENTION
MERLIN MANN
43FOLDERS.COM
Now, please ask me questions, and tell me
where Iʼm full of shit.

38. REALLY. THANKS.
Best thing ever. “Weʼre DONE here.” Thank
you very much.

39. FIN.
Last slide. Please stop looking at this, and go
make things that are awesome.