Trashflower

Consider this about an 8 hour work day:

You spend about 4 hours in listening activities;
You hear about 2 hours worth;
You actually listen to an hour’s worth;
You understand 30 minutes of that hour;
You believe only 15 minutes’ worth; and
You remember just under 8 minute’s worth.

Crazy, I know… and when I actually start thinking about it, I believe that to be true. Over the last few days, I’ve had the opportunity to just talk more with a few of my co-workers. Some of this is because of the slower time of year, and some is because we were saying our goodbyes as I transitioned away from the division I’ve been working in for the last 2 years. I am starting to wonder how much I will remember. Based on the above calculation – you actually only remember 3% of what you “listen” to. That mean’s I’ll only remember ~22 days worth of what I’ve done.

In 2007, I hope to listen more – pay attention more. I want to be quieter to understand more. I think we could all use a few more people listening, and society could use a little less noise.