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Back to Work

Episode 55: The Pickles Never Touch

Back to Work

5by5

Business, Society & Culture, Barriers, Dan Benjamin, Careers, Communication, Merlin Mann, Creativity, Work, Productivity, Constraints, Technology

4.72.3K Ratings

🗓️ 21 February 2012

⏱️ 108 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This week Dan and Merlin ponder why there's so much variability in the quality of our work. 

Whether we're making code, scrubbing toilets, or stinking up the Arby's, what explains our individual drive to do something better?

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Transcript

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0:00.0

Hello. Hey, Merlin. We're on. Hi, Dan. How are you? Good. How are you doing this afternoon?

0:06.2

Oh, I'm good. It is afternoon, huh? Look at that. Yeah. Wake up. Time to go. Oh, gotta get going.

0:12.8

Let's do it.

0:17.2

Sorry. I was that was into that. Yeah. I gotta calm down, Dan. What are you eating?

0:25.3

Yeah. I didn't eat again. I made tea. I got tea and I got water and make an extra. You know what?

0:33.2

I could eat one of these nuts. I think this might be stale. I'll try one. Did you, did you,

0:37.6

did I, can I mention what you said in your message to me? Yeah, sure. First of all,

0:42.8

you misspelled it. But you said, I know the phone spelled it for me. I wanted to say it like

0:47.5

the razor. No, I'll be sandboxing that with your version of a galette. No, what is that? That doesn't

0:53.8

have any weed in it. Meatloaf. You do me with meatloaf without any gluten. Yeah, it's made of meat.

1:06.4

I'm not going to eat on there. What's a slight misnomer?

1:12.0

They won't be eating on the air. You mean people hate it when you're on there? Do you know

1:16.1

their architects listen to the show? Architects? I heard that's a made up profession.

1:22.4

What's a terrible, terrible, paying professional listener independent is my understanding.

1:26.8

You're basically a project manager until you open your own firm.

1:30.4

I heard that's true for podcasters too. It's very true.

1:33.8

I'm not a lot done this record. I hate hanging on one second.

1:40.4

Oh God. What are you doing down there? God, all of that was for two almonds and they were stale.

1:51.9

John, good, eating, galette, architects. Okay, let's go back on the stack.

1:56.8

So here's the thing. When I make meatloaf, you have a pretty good quality beef and pork.

2:04.5

People forget the pork. Do you do the pork? I don't know what shit but it could be anything.

2:10.0

She could be poisoning me or making me healthy. I don't know.

...

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