How Many Things Do You Do in an Hour? Not finish, do. It’s different. Doing has nothing to do with finishing. Neither am I talking about productivity. I’m just asking — what do you do? Let’s see... You walk into the office. Grab a cup of coffee — if your office provides one. Sit down, open your inbox. You start typing a reply — But a word in that email triggers a memory. Oh, that call! The one you forgot to make. You pull out your phone. Dial. Done. Except… now that call adds a new task to your to-do list. (If you keep one.) Before you hang up, a colleague stops by. You end the call. You listen. It’s about that meeting you missed. Because you were in another meeting. A more important one. Apparently. You nod, thank them. Just then — your phone rings. It’s your manager. "Update me on the meeting you attended. And I hope you got the heads-up on the one you didn’t. Meet me in five minutes." You say yes. You turn back to the email — But remember: You had asked someone...
It was early in my career. I was swamped with work — something important my Director had asked me to complete. In the middle of that rush, a few candidates had arrived for their interviews. I kept them waiting. My Director walked in, looked around, and asked gently, “Why are the candidates waiting?” I explained, a little defensively, “I’m working on the task you gave me… it’ll take me another half an hour or so.” He nodded, then said something I carry with me to this day. “Never keep candidates waiting. It’s our need — we called them here. It’s our responsibility to honour their time. Never make them wait — not for the interview, not for the outcome. Internal work can wait. A bad candidate experience? That leaves a scar. They may never come back.” He wasn’t angry. Just... clear. And right. That day, something shifted in me. Since then, I’ve followed that lesson to the T. Today, when I see posts asking candidates to "be patient," "be understanding," or "trust th...