As messaging becomes more and more pervasive on our workplaces and our personal lives, it's going to continually challenge our productivity. Here, we explore the current state of messaging, how we got here, and what we can do to protect our productivity.

1. The Always
Distracted
Economy
The rise of messaging and its challenges to
productivity (and what we can do about it).

2. Hi. I’m Matt.
Product Manager at
@MattBilotti

3. We build tools for
companies to have 1 on 1
conversations at scale.
@MattBilotti

4. Slack.
A messaging app to help you run your
business.
@MattBilotti

5. Drift.
A messaging app to help you grow
your business.
@MattBilotti

6. So I think about messaging a lot.
It’s an exciting shift in communication.
@MattBilotti

7. And what’s apparent
is that messaging is
taking over our lives...
@MattBilotti

9. ...which means we’re
all getting pinged all
day, all the time.
@MattBilotti

10. Everyone has access to us.
And we’re crafting a society
that expects everyone to be
available, always.
@MattBilotti

11. 1,000+
(The number of messages I received on Friday,
September 16th, 2016)
@MattBilotti

12. 131
(That’s how many times I was distracted by, or glanced
at, a messaging app while I was making these slides.)
@MattBilotti

13. 1-2 hours
(That’s how quickly I could have completed these
slides)
@MattBilotti

14. 6 hours
(That’s how long it took me instead because I was
constantly distracted)
@MattBilotti

15. I got near a breaking
point recently.
So I said something in
Slack...
@MattBilotti

16. @MattBilotti

17. @MattBilotti

18. I was totally vilified (except for the one
engineer who agreed with me).
Sure, it’s funny. I agree.
@MattBilotti

19. And, to be fair, that’s actually how I’m starting to feel.
Footnote: I do love my team at Drift and they like giving me a hard time because they know I can take it. No hard feelings here at all
@MattBilotti

20. The problem is we’re making a joke about how out
of hand we’re getting.
We’re putting so much emphasis on messaging and
the benefits of open communication that we’re
forgetting, and overlooking, how it can negatively
impact our ability to focus.
And we have yet to develop great standards for
handling all of these messages.
@MattBilotti

21. So let’s talk about
how we got here....
@MattBilotti

22. We used to have one
email inbox.
@MattBilotti

23. We had control.
@MattBilotti

24. We didn’t have our phones at all times.
@MattBilotti

25. We decided when to respond.
@MattBilotti

26. We worked on our our own schedules.
@MattBilotti

27. Then, we started having
multiple email addresses.
And multiple platforms for
those emails.
@MattBilotti

28. @MattBilotti

29. All the while,
messaging platforms
entered the mix...
@MattBilotti

31. And then we all realized...hey!
We can use messaging in our
workplaces.
@MattBilotti

32. We were promised higher
productivity by the entrance
of internal messaging apps
such as HipChat and Slack...
@MattBilotti

34. Amazing, right?
“We can all become so much
more productive!”
- The rallying cry of the tech world
@MattBilotti

35. I call bullshit.
@MattBilotti@MattBilotti

36. Okay, fine.
There’s some angle of increased productivity, sure.
Knowledge sharing has gone up. Transparency has gone up.
Speed of communication has no doubt been increased by an
order of magnitude.
I agree with that. And it is all great, positive change.
But if we lose perspective of what “productivity” means, we’re
playing a dangerous game.
@MattBilotti

37. A 2012 McKinsey study found
that the average knowledge
worker now spends more
than 60% of the work week
engaged in electronic
communication and internet
searching.
Close to 30% of that time is
dedicated to reading and
answering email alone.
@MattBilotti

38. That’s terrifying.
@MattBilotti

39. And it’s terrifying because
we’re constantly context
switching.
@MattBilotti

40. Sophie Leroy of the University of Minnesota ran an experiment to test
the impact of context switching.
She had her subjects work on a set of word puzzles.
● In one trial, she’d interrupt them and tell them to move on to a
more challenging tasks.
● In other trials she let the subjects finish the puzzles before
moving onto the next task.
For those who had to switch tasks before completing the first one,
they consistently did a worse job on the 2nd task.
@MattBilotti

41. She calls this
“Attention Residue”
@MattBilotti

42. Which ultimately causes
us to work like this...
@MattBilotti

43. @MattBilotti

44. Rather than like this...
@MattBilotti

45. @MattBilotti

46. And, as the world of
messaging has progressed,
businesses have embraced
the idea of using messaging
to talk to their customers.
@MattBilotti

47. @MattBilotti
Which is important and a welcome change because it’s
how people want to communicate these days and
companies need to adapt to maintain an edge.

48. And, on top of all of this, we
added messaging to our
social media platforms...
@MattBilotti

49. @MattBilotti

50. Which leaves us using messaging for…
● Talking to our friends
● Staying in touch with our families
● Communicating with our colleagues
● Talking to customers
● Conducting business with external
partners and vendors
● Building our social media presence
@MattBilotti

51. Which is crazy.

52. So, how do we deal
with this new world?
@MattBilotti

53. First, let’s accept the fact that it’s going
to get worse before it gets better.

54. 3 things are going to
happen in the next
few years...
@MattBilotti

55. 1 - More and more people are going to
burn out (this is a bad thing).
@MattBilotti

56. 2 - People will reach their
breaking points and snap
internally and take a
stand for their right to
productivity (which is a
good thing).
@MattBilotti

57. 3 - More messaging apps are going
to compete for our attention. And
everyone will continue to have their
preferences of which one to use to
reach them (this is inevitable).
@MattBilotti

58. Okay, so let’s talk
about how you can
maintain focus in this
world of messages...
@MattBilotti

59. In a group of 50 ultra-high scoring students at top universities, it was found
that this group studied less than the group directly below them in GPA.
The best students maximize their concentration and reduced time needed to
study or write papers without diminishing their results.
@MattBilotti

60. Intensity Formula
High quality work produced
=
[Time spent] * [Intensity of focus]
1 hour * 50% focus = 30 units of quality work
1 hour * 100% focus = 60 units of quality work
@MattBilotti

61. 1. Figure out how you can focus
2. Minimize attention residue and distractions
3. Find ways to make that focus sustainable
Three steps

62. Step 1...
Figure out how you
can focus best
@MattBilotti

63. There are 4 philosophies...
@MattBilotti

64. 1 - Monastic
Maximize deep efforts by eliminating or minimizing shallow concerns.
Example: Lock yourself in a room all day long by yourself, 9-5
Works well if: your career is focused, discreet, and independent. e.g: novelist,
not a manager
@MattBilotti

65. 2 - Bimodal Monastic
Take one major block of time in a cycle to disconnect and focus.
Example: Turn off all communication tools each Tuesday and work from home
Works well if: you’re a knowledge worker who doesn’t have people relying on you for
constant quick decisions (e.g: high level executive)
@MattBilotti

66. 3 - Rhythmic*
Schedule your times to go deep on a daily basis and stay consistent
Example: Block time on your calendar from 9-11am, 3-5pm and turn off distractions
Works well if: People rely on your on a daily basis and you have a place in your
office that you can go to be alone and undistracted
*(You didn’t ask, but this is the method I try to use)
@MattBilotti

67. 4 - Journalistic
Take advantage of times to be alone and focus whenever they happen.
Example: While talking with people and you have a spark of inspiration, walk off
and get work done and then come back
Works well if: You’ve built up the skill of focus over years and you have
conviction in the things you’re doing as well as a flexible schedule. @MattBilotti

68. Step 2…
Minimize attention
residue and distractions
@MattBilotti

69. Aim for hub and
spoke office layouts.
@MattBilotti

70. Make a grand gesture and
go way outside the norm.
@MattBilotti

71. Focus on the one thing...
“What’s the one thing I can do right now that will
make everything else easier or unnecessary?”
@MattBilotti

72. Develop a culture that sets,
embraces and respects boundaries.
@MattBilotti

73. Step 3…
Find ways to make that
focus sustainable
@MattBilotti

74. Embrace rituals and routine.
These will help you slide into deep work because over
time you’ve trained your mind to do so.
@MattBilotti

75. Keep a running tally
of the hours you do
deep work.
@MattBilotti

76. Shut down at night.
(Put all of your devices away and stop looking at them to give your
brain a breather) @MattBilotti

77. In summary...
@MattBilotti

78. 1 - Figure out how you
can focus
@MattBilotti

79. 2 - Minimize attention
residue and distractions
@MattBilotti

80. 3 - Find ways to make
that focus sustainable
@MattBilotti

81. And, most important
of all...

82. Set proper
expectations with
those around you.
Draw your lines and
make them clear.
@MattBilotti

83. @MattBilotti
Highly recommended reading

84. Great, related books
@MattBilotti

85. Thanks so much!
Matt@drift.com
@mattbilotti