The theater of work.

Last year I wrote a blog post that outlined two New Year’s resolutions I’d put to paper—one of which was to “do more work.” More recently I quipped about changing my job description to read: “drafts and responds to emails about marketing and brand.”  So much for resolutions.

Welcome to what I call “The Theater of Work,” where passing time passes as labor, and everyone’s output is considered equal. To be clear here, “The Theater of Work” is about playing business; it’s about inputs and feedback loops (read: emails, meetings, and conversation) not tangible outputs. And it’s a problem.

Recently I quickly flipped through Donald Rumsfeld’s book “Rumsfeld’s Rules: Leadership Lessons in Business, Politics, War, and Life,” (don’t ask!) and came across a remarkable insight—yes, from Donald Rumsfeld—he wrote, “If you’re working from your inbox, you’re working on other people’s priorities.” Damn.

With that in mind I decided to push forward with business as usual—but to track things as I went for two weeks to see how things netted out with respect to work. In that 10-day timeframe I received 423 emails (excluding junk mail) and responded directly to 382, averaging about 38 responses per day. With regard to meetings, I averaged 3 per day, about 30 hours total. Lump that all together, factor in an hour or so for lunch each day and I’m left with 1-2 hours per day to perform actual work. Damn.

Next week I’ve decided that instead of playing business, I’m going to do a bit of good ole fashion work. I’m going to forget about my inbox, and roll up my sleeves. I encourage all of you to do the same. Emails and meetings have been passing as “work” for far too long. It’s time to retire the show!