Magic Laptop
When a client comes to me exhausted + overwhelmed at work, I like to play a little game:
“Imagine that you have a magic laptop,” I tell them. “It turns on at 9 am, and it turns off, promptly, at 4 pm. It also turns off for an hour in the middle for lunch — so, a 6-hour workday, total.”
(I try to make them imagine a working day that’s ~2 hours less than they are currently working, so I adjust the times based on the client.)
“No working on your cell phone at night, no exceptions. You can only work when the Magic Laptop lets you work. What would you do, to make sure you still did excellent work?”
And they look a little flustered for a moment, and then they immediately start brainstorming:
I’d do W and X project, but Y and Z would have to get de-prioritized.
I’d delegate G to my colleague.
I’d do much less email, and save most of it until they end of the day.
I’d say “no” to A and B.
And once they’ve told me everything, I give them a big smile:
“Well, it sounds like you know what you need to do.”
…
On one hand, it’s not so simple: There are always difficult workplace cultures, constraints, and exceptions.
On the other hand: it is not so complex. Most of my clients, if they genuinely desire it, can cut a significant number of hours, without sacrificing quality.
(That last part is important. They don’t end up sacrificing quality because they are typically sharper when they prioritize better, focus more intensely when they are working, and have more time to recover.)
And the craziest part is: they know how to do it. When I present them with the limitations of the Magical Laptop, they get creative, fast.
So today, I will ask: What would you do, if tomorrow your computer was a Magic Laptop?
…
As always, I’m rooting for you. You’ve got this.
Katie
p.s. It’s important to acknowledge: the Magic Laptop game typically applies best to salaried or project-based roles, not hourly ones. But I think we all benefit when we think about being the most effective we can, with a limited amount of time.
p.p.s. I specialize in working with people who are already pretty “together” in their lives — paying their bills, meeting their commitments. But just because your life looks pretty good on paper, doesn’t necessarily mean that it feels right to you, from the inside out.
If you're interested, learn more here.
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