TJ Walker says checking your phone in meetings disrespects the presenter's two months of work. He compares it to turning on a 65-inch TV to watch sports during someone's presentation. Companies are starting to ban phones to protect focus and productivity.
Chapters
None of us are magical productivity monks. You put that phone near me and suddenly I'm not running a business any longer. I'm checking whether a stranger in Nebraska liked my post from 2019. I'm not the only one. And the worst version of this is when someone is giving a presentation. Someone worked 2 months on it. They researched it, they rehearsed it, they made slides. They probably had 3 emotional breakdowns over whether the graph should be blue or slightly darker blue. And then some employee in the front row pulls out a phone like, "Hold on, I need to see if my burrito delivery is 2 minutes away." Are you kidding me? That's not multitasking. That's you announcing your 2 months of work are less important than the notification I get from Buffalo Wild Wings. If you wouldn't pull out a 65-inch TV during a meeting, plug it in, and start watching Manchester United or the Miami Dolphins, then don't pull out your cell phone in a meeting. It's the same insult, smaller screen. And companies are finally realizing this. Ultimize.