We love TED Talks. We're also obsessed with managing our time—and we're always looking for new ways to be more productive.
So, it makes perfect sense that we combined all of those things in this roundup. While none of these talks teach us how to add more time in a day (that's a job for sorcery), they do talk about how to make the most out of the time we do have.
They share unique advice from real experiences about managing their time, work, and ultimately—their productivity.
These talks cover time on Mars, the pecking order at work, mental health, the benefits of simplification, and more. They're perfect for motivating you to start working on everything you've meant to do.
Let's make the most of our time with these TED Talks.
Table of Contents
- What Time is It on Mars?
- How to Gain Control of Your Free Time
- How to Get Stuff Done When You're Depressed
- Why It's Time to Forget the Pecking Order at Work
- How to Make Choosing Easier
- How Simplification is the Key to Change
- Got A Meeting? Take A Walk
Pro Tip: If you like TED Talks, check out our collection of favorite TED Talks on everything from Confidence to quitting your job.
1. What Time is It on Mars?
Nagin Cox operates one of the rovers on Mars. Because a day on Mars lasts for 24 hours and 40 minutes, Cox has to go in to work 40 minutes later than the day before, every day, to plan out what the rover will do the following day.
Still with us? Is your brain spinning yet? This means that Cox is functioning in a different time zone pretty much all the time. So, not only does Cox manage her time on Earth, as we all do—she manages time on a planetary level.
2. How to Gain Control of Your Free Time
We overwhelm ourselves with the concept that we don’t have enough time in the day. This makes us feel like we’re not getting enough done, causing us to overschedule in the hopes of “catching up.” See the issue? We fall short when it comes to pursuing happiness in regard to our careers, relationships and selves because “we don’t have time.”
Yet, when we have to do something, time becomes highly elastic. It turns out we can't make more time, but time can stretch to accommodate what we decide to put into it.
So, focus on what matters and build the life you want with your time.
3. How to Get Stuff Done When You're Depressed
According to the World Health Organization, by 2020, depression will be the second greatest disability in the world, second only to blindness. Depression can be as debilitating as a physical obstacle, yet society is dealing with it with a label, prescribed medication and a lack of coping mechanisms. Jessica Gimeno explains how living well with depression takes practice.
Managing your mental health in addition to your workload becomes more doable when you know yourself. Determine what you need, spring into action when you feel like you are getting depressed, understand what's most important, and build the confidence to take on the harder tasks in order to get stuff done. If you can’t give 30 minutes, give ten. Eventually, those ten will turn into 30.
>4. Why It's Time to Forget the Pecking Order at Work
Forget the "super chicken" mentality in your career—we're here to argue for super social cohesion. We’ve been socially trained to think that competing is the way to get ahead. We’re convinced that we have to get into the right college and get the right job to access all the power and the resources. However, when this trajectory toward success is followed, the productivity of others is suppressed.
Rather than a culture of competition, it’s been determined that a culture of helpfulness is the core of successful teams. Are we shocked? Not a bit. It makes perfect sense that when groups have high degrees of social sensitivity, equal time dedicated to each other, and genuine openness, success becomes more attainable. Is competition holding back your productivity potential?
5. How to Make Choosing Easier
The average American makes about 70 choices in a day, and 50 percent of the decisions are made in nine minutes or less. However, the remaining 50 percent require around an hour. This is linked to the choice overload problem. While people might enjoy a plethora of options to look at, when it comes to actually choosing from an insane amount of options, we can’t commit to the work of comparing and contrasting each alternative.
When overloaded with choices, people are more likely to delay choosing, make the worst decisions, and choose things that make them overall less satisfied. Try to get rid of the extraneous options and understand the consequences of each choice. The more engaged you are with the options, the easier it is to choose.
6. How Simplification is the Key to Change
Make simplicity a habit. Make time for the things you want to do, by organizing and powering through those mundane tasks that you don't want to do. People don’t want to get up in the morning to do the mundane. They get up in the morning to do meaningful things.
But doing meaningful work becomes a challenge when things put a chokehold on change. Due to this, we need to eradicate the stuff that gets in our way, and this can be done in three ways—killing stupid rules, making simplification a habit, and asking provocative questions.
7. Got A Meeting? Take A Walk
