Craig McLean:

When Ed Sheeran signed his first record deal with Atlantic after three years of doing the pub singer-songwriter circuit, he ratcheted up his ambitions. "At Atlantic everyone said James Blunt was the hardest-working guy in the music industry. So I asked my manager to get James Blunt's diary from 2005." He studied Blunt's diary of shows and told his team: "We're doing all of that -- times two." He grins. "And that's exactly what we did. Because he was the hardest-working guy, I wanted to work twice as hard as him."

n+1 editors:

Today the era of the Kitchen Debate seems like a dream of slow living -- a few television channels, a single telephone for the household, no email, nine-to-five jobs, a delirious paucity of choices. At the time, it felt harried and oversped. But not (we insist) as harried as our own.

Arun Sundararajan:

People are monetizing their own downtime.

Rikki Rogers:

Make sure to not only carve out time for yourself, but to actually acknowledge that you're on the "leisure clock." Don't multitask -- enjoy the downtime, and mentally label it as such.

Seneca:

People are frugal in guarding their personal property; but as soon as it comes to squandering time they are most wasteful of the one thing in which it is right to be stingy.

Yuki Noguchi:

The average American office worker spends more than nine hours of every week preparing for, or attending, project update meetings.

Bijan Stephen:

How long do we wander the depths of the Internet to find the perfect GIF? How many hours do you spend clicking the random button on Wikipedia? Where is real life?

Leigh Alexander:

Does anyone still believe that the fear of missing an important call or work email is what keeps us tethered to our devices in the midst of other engagements? Misting our attention across the numerous empty, tactile diversions available on a smartphone is socially isolating, but there's a secret relief in that isolation.

Aaron Bleyaert:

After work one night, go up up up all the way to the top floor of the parking garage and walk all the way to the back. Look out at the twinkling lights of the skyscrapers of downtown Los Angeles and think about how every single one of those office lights represents a person. Try to imagine how they feel. What they're doing right then; if they miss someone special, if they wonder if someone special misses them. Then realize that most of those lights are probably shining into offices with no one in them except for a custodian or two. Realize you are alone, that you are staring at no one. Turn your collar up against the cold and drive home to a meal of a single chicken breast and steamed vegetables.