CAL HENDERSON SLACK
Slack’s explosive growth—from zero users to more than four million in less than four
years—is all the more impressive considering that what it ofers, ofce productivity
software, isn’t typically associated with a rabid following. As Slack’s chief technical
ofcer, Henderson, 36, shows of some serious time-management chops of his own
in his job of ensuring that product updates go of without a hitch. –A.H.
I am so impressed with Cal’s schedule. If he can get enough sleep, have family time, and exercise while running a major company,
so can everyone else. Note the sleep: eight hours. Not everyone needs eight hours, but whatever your happy sleep number is, do
what you can to structure your life to get it. FAMILY TIME CAN BE ANY TIME Mornings are great for spending with family. If family
dinner isn’t happening because of your crazy work schedule, breakfast is a great substitute. MANAGE YOUR MEETINGS Meetings
expand to fll the available space. And if they’re stacked up, back to back, it’s easy for the schedule to fall apart when one runs late.
Cal guards against this by putting in an open half-hour at 2: 30 p.m. This slack keeps everything running on time.
LAURA
SAYS ...
12AM
6 PM
7 PM
8 PM
9 PM
10 PM
11 PM
Wake up, review
news from BBC
and front page
of Reddit, quickly
review Slack (
mainly DMs from overnight), and shower.
FAMILY 4 HOURS
—
I get two to three
hours a day with
my 2-year-old son
during the week (an
hour in the morning
and an hour or more
in the evening), so I
make a point not to
do work during
these hours.
COMMUTE/EXERCISE
2 HOURS
—
My morning commute
is a 50-minute walk.
It includes a stop at
Blue Bottle for cofee,
and I listen to audiobooks at 2-to-3x
speed. I’ve read or
listened to 70-plus
books this year.
MEETINGS 4. 5 HOURS
—
The meetings
begin, often with a
staf meeting. It’s
late enough that the
late starters (like
me!) have been at
the ofce for a few
minutes, but not
so late that they’ve
gotten down to
work.
I schedule meetings
on the half-hour or
hour. It’s easy to let
them fll the time.
Having an agenda
before you start is
a huge help. Many
recurring meetings
have a single document with an
agenda that we add
to over the course of
the week.
I set a 10-minute
reminder on my
Apple Watch for
meetings. It’s
helpful for work-fow. Our video
conference system
(Zoom) displays
a countdown for
the last 10 minutes
of each meeting,
which keeps me
on time.
This is family time.
EAT 2. 5 HOURS
—
We cater lunch once
a week, but encourage
people to get out of
the ofce on the other
days.
•
I spend 30 minutes
each week with each
of my direct reports
and others. Doing
walking one-on-ones
helps me get exercise.
My wife and I have a
set date night once
a week. It can be
hard to stick to, but
making sure we
take time a way
from work every
week is really
important.
WORK 2. 5 HOURS
—
Brainstorm.
•
At 2: 30, I take a
break. I like a few
breathers throughout the day–I fnd
having a couple of
half-hour breaks is
much less stressful
than having constant, back-to-back
meetings.
Time for some
onsite interviews.
I interview only
a fraction of the
candidates we have
onsite, but I like to
spend a portion of
my time every week
on recruiting.
I schedule one block
daily without a
meeting to catch up
on Slack (I’m also
reading it during the
day) and email (I
usually check it just
once a day). I also
read proposals, give
feedback, or route
information to the
right people.
I have a 40-minute
walk home. I try to
walk every day,
though that gets
harder in the winter
with the early
sunset. Having
the extra time to
think or listen
to an audiobook
or podcast is
a great way to
decompress.
ENTERTAINMENT
0.5 HOUR
—
Brush teeth. Listen
to audiobook.
•
Sleep.
SLEEP 8 HOURS
LAUNCH 26 - INC. - APRIL 2017
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