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2025-10-15 04:30:00| Fast Company

If youre still using Google Calendar like its 2009just punching in appointments and letting it rideyoure leaving productivity on the table.While were all drowning in digital noise, the single best thing you can do is carve out some actual, useful time. These five tricks are simple to implement, and they turn your basic calendar into a surprisingly effective time-management copilot.So, stop scheduling and start planning.The shortcut-iest shortcutsYou know whats less efficient than a two-hour conference call? Constantly clicking the Create button or dragging your mouse to the next available time slot.Instead, just hit the C key on your keyboard.The event creation box pops up instantly, ready for you to title your meeting and select a time. Its basic, but the cumulative time savings of not having to drag the pointer to the left-hand corner of your screen for the ten-thousandth time is non-trivial.Also, while youre at it, hit T to jump straight back to todays date, and check out other useful shortcuts here.Block out Focus TimeWe all have a task list that never ends. You need two hours to write that report, but your calendar is a patchwork quilt of calls, reminders, and quick syncs. If its not on the calendar, it doesnt exist.Carve out some actual work time by scheduling a Focus Time event. Note that for this to work, youll need a Business, Enterprise, Education, or Nonprofit Google Workspace account.In the past, youd just block off the time. Now, Google Calendar has a specific Focus Time event type. Its like a regular event, but it gives you an option to automatically decline any conflicting invitations during that block.Use it, abuse it, and get something done.Color-code your eventsYour work calendar is a mess of identical blue events. Is that blue dot a mandatory team meeting, or just a reminder to take the recycling out? You have to click it to know.Instead, assign a color to specific types of events.When editing an event, change its color next to your name about half-way down the modal. I like to use red for anything thats a Hard Stop or external meeting, green for personal stuff, and yellow for internal work things.Now, when you glance at your week, you can instantly see the type of week youre having: a color-coded visual indicator of your commitments.Schedule meetings without herding catsLets be honest: The absolute worst part of scheduling a meeting isnt the meeting itself, its the five emails and three Slack messages that happen before the meeting, all dedicated to the question, When are you free?Youre not a reservation agent. Use the Find a Time feature instead.When you create an event and add your guests, click on the Find a Time tab right next to Event Details.Google Calendar instantly overlays the schedules of everyone you invited, so you can see exactly who is busy and who is free and at which times. Drag the event block to the first open slot that works for everyone.Build in some breaksThe bane of modern office life is an entire day of back-to-back, 30-minute meetings. No time for lunch. No time for the bathroom. No time for . . . well, anything.Dont be a time miser. Instead, go to Settings > General > Event settings > Default Duration and click the Speed meetings box.This is a subtle but powerful change. Now, when you create an event, it automatically stops five or ten minutes before the hour.You and your attendees get a break and a chance to prep for the next call. In a world insane with meetings, its a small victory for sanity.


Category: E-Commerce

 

LATEST NEWS

2025-10-15 00:25:00| Fast Company

Financial technology is now entering its third act, marked by a significant shift in how platforms and businesses interact with financial services. The first wave brought democratization, with businesses gaining access to online credit and lending tools aimed at leveling the playing field. The second wave moved these products inside platforms, embedding payments and finance into everyday software workflows. Despite their impact, these steps left business owners managing multiple fragmented systems. Today, platforms are in a race to embed financial services; as of 2021, 73% planned to integrate lending features into their software within two years. The opportunity is huge: Such integrations can increase EBITDA, retention, and user acquisition for platforms. Yet, most current efforts stick to static, product-first solutions rooted in earlier fintech phases. The real transformation is reaching its third actplatforms evolving into true financial operating systems (OS): intelligent, integrated, and predictive. This third act is crucial for end users, who want to manage and resolve their financial challenges directly within the platforms they use daily, without juggling separate systems or applications. ACT I: DIRECT-TO-BUSINESS FINTECHS The first phase of fintech focused squarely on increasing access. Online lenders and challenger banks used bureau data and alternative signals to provide credit and unbundle financial services, making them accessible outside traditional institutions. Capital flowed more freely, yet these assets remained siloed: Businesses had to navigate a separate financial stack from their core operations, consuming valuable time and resources. For fintech providers, reaching customers directly was fraught with acquisition costs and operational hurdles, often making profitability elusive. ACT II: SINGLE EMBEDDED SOLUTIONS The second wave introduced embedded productspayments, lending, accounting, and payrolldirectly into existing platforms. Small and midsize businesses could access financing or manage payroll without leaving the tools they relied on for day-to-day operations. Platforms experienced increased growth and retention, but the integrations were narrow. They often addressed only isolated events in the customer journey, like a loan for payroll, without considering broader impacts on cash flow, vendor payments, or inventory management. Most solutions in this stage felt bolted on rather than truly integrated, providing businesses with options but not holistic or proactive solutions. Many fintechs still operate in this single-product mode, mistaking integration for innovations finish line. ACT III: THE EMBEDDED FINANCIAL OPERATING SYSTEM The third act marks a major leap. Instead of simply adding products, the financial OS embeds finance into the entire user workflowmaking it not just about payments or credit, but intelligence. In practice, these platforms anticipate cash flow gaps before they arise, deliver insights in real time, and proactively match users with the best financial tools or resources when needed. Every interaction adds context and intelligence, going far beyond what static loan products or one-off integrations can offer. AI drives this evolution, analyzing unstructured data, predicting financial needs, and constantly improving the OS with every transaction. This approach doesnt just create stickier platforms; it transforms the core experience by reducing the complexity of financial decision-making. For platforms, fully integrating finance means owning the end-to-end workflow, becoming the trusted system of record and deepening user relationships over time. STAKES FOR PLATFORMS The competition to embed fintech at deeper levels is escalating. Platforms that linger in Act I or II will be overtaken by those embracing the financial OS approach. Users are tired of fragmented dashboards and single-point appsthey want systems that remove friction, automate financial decisions, and free up time for growth. Companies that evolve into a financial OS dont just provide servicesthey become indispensable, earning trust and increasing loyalty as financial intelligence compounds with each interaction. THE NEXT ERA Fintechs evolution is about aligning closer to the workflows that drive real value for businesses and consumers. Act I expanded access; Act II brought capital into software. Now, Act III is defined by intelligence and seamless, proactive integrations. Static tools may address temporary issues, but only platforms powered by AI and a true financial OS will define the future. The next era will belong to those that shift from product-centric models to embedded foresight, enabling businesses and consumers to focus on further unlocking their potential. Luke Voiles is CEO of Pipe.


Category: E-Commerce

 

2025-10-15 00:00:00| Fast Company

Nothing is certain, least of all employment. It might be more traditional and financially responsible (initially) to be hired on as a full-time employee. But dont be fooled into believing that its more secure. Most U.S. employment is at-will, and given the waves of return-to-office mandates and layoffs over the last year-and-a-half, the longstanding perception that employees are safer if theyre directly employed isnt really justified. It may be easier, but it certainly isnt more stable. And so its no secret that there are talented individuals seeking to break away from that merry-go-round. (I was one of them, a decade-plus ago.) Thats why weve seen a huge uptick in the last five years of employees opting for freelance or flexible work. Yes, it started because of shifting pandemic realities and constraints, but its continued through the Great Resignation as employees stood up and demanded more from their employers. In 2016, a Freelancing in America study found that 55 million Americans, or 35% of the U.S. workforce, was independently employed. Since the pandemic, the freelance economy grew to include an estimated 64 million Americans. Today, its not just the workers benefiting from the flexibility of independent work. A 2024 poll found a 260% jump in freelance overseas contracting from North American companies, signaling that independents are no longer a staffing backup plan for savvy corporations. Smart leaders are leveraging independents to make their workforces more agile as part of their core business strategy. WHAT IT TAKES TO BECOME SUCCESSFULLY INDEPENDENT Thats a lot of opportunity to secure diverse, flexible work as an independent. However, to be truly effectiveand stand out from an increasing pool of freelancerspursuing independent work must be an active, consistent choice that regularly puts your creativity and flexibility on display. Heres how to stand out from the pack. Diverse opportunities: No one asks a musician why they dont only play in one club. No savvy investor would intentionally invest all their money into one stock and its not smart for an established artist to exclusively show in one gallery. Independents should take the same approach by exploring diverse opportunities for gainful client work. Pipeline: A successful independent is proactive by always pursuing a series of contracts, projects, and connections. Landing one contract and sticking with it is not enough. An effective independent knows it takes time to build a pipeline and that work may come in waves, so set up a few retainers, but never stop pitching or networking. The most important KPI in a client relationship isand always will betrust. And that takes time to build. Organization: The ability to keep multiple plates spinning also applies when doing the actual work. With more than one gig comes more than one stakeholder and more than one schedule. You must be organized, remain attentive, and never stop the hustle. Creativity: Expert project management means nothing without a healthy penchant for creativity. The strongest independents are creative problem solvers. They respond to a problem by pausing, asking only necessary questions, and then brainstorming solutions and mirroring those back to their stakeholders. Flexibility: Flexibility is a core expectation of freelance life, but it means more than varied schedules. A truly flexible independent is used to working across diverse teams to complete projects. If scope and specs shift, they flex in tandem, used to the variables which bring change. Because those plates? They can spin at different speeds and different directions, all at once. Self-awareness: Independents are also self-aware. They know what theyre good at, and they know how to sell their skillset, their credentials and their experiencebecause ideally, they never stop doing it. Successful indies dont undersell themselves because they understand that their reputation is not something they should bargain away. Whether a monthly retainer or a one-off project, they know their rates, and they stick to them. They also know that you reap what you sow. Theres a direct correlation between what you get out of something, and what you put into it. Indies know where their value lies. Resilient: Most of all, successful independents are resilient. Freelance work comes with its fair share of rejection. By staying savvy and thick-skinned, independents can not only survive but thrive through job market instability because they accept work when theyre able and hustle the rest of the time. I like to think of things in terms of baseball oddsif you are successful at one-third of your at-bats, youre doing a hell of a job. A TWO-WAY STREET Life as a successful freelancer is a two-way street. Independents understand that the way their work benefits not only them, but the companies that contract with them. Freelance talent enables companies to pull in higher level talent across various degree fields for less than the total cost of full-time employees. Plus, theyre able to invest in and tap talent when they need it, skipping the whole hire/layoff cycle which typically accompanies a challenging economic climate.  In the end, everyoneincluding large companiesbenefits from the flexibility of an independent mindset. Justin Tobin is founder and president of Gather.


Category: E-Commerce

 

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