Modern WisdomDoubling Facebook's Workforce Productivity & Fixing Your Calendar - Tim Campos | Modern Wisdom 248
CHAPTERS
- 0:00 – 0:32
From information overload to better collaboration tools
Tim frames modern productivity as a battle against cognitive limits rather than a lack of technology. He argues we now need tools that streamline what we consume and decide on, because information surplus is the default state.
- 0:32 – 1:38
Why Tim Campos focused on productivity (engineering → CIO at Facebook)
Tim explains that productivity has been a throughline across his career, from software engineering to leadership roles. As Facebook’s CIO, his explicit charter became workforce productivity at scale.
- 1:38 – 3:58
The evolution of work tech: ditching paper-era metaphors (files, email, slides)
Tim contrasts early office automation—digitizing paper processes—with today’s move toward native-digital workflows. He argues many tools still carry outdated metaphors that add friction.
- 3:58 – 6:49
Upgrading communication and presentations: immersive storytelling + filtering
Chris shares an example of using VR to deliver a high-impact pitch, illustrating new ways to convey ideas. Tim ties this to the need for better tools that compress complexity and help people decide faster.
- 6:49 – 12:51
Email is broken: noise, ranking problems, and why it won’t fully die
Tim calls email one of his biggest productivity pain points due to the assumption every message must be processed. He contrasts it with algorithmic feeds and gated tools like Slack, while noting email’s unique value: a global directory.
- 12:51 – 16:48
Productivity is social: your system must interoperate with everyone else’s
They discuss how personal optimization hits a ceiling when you depend on other people and legacy systems. Tim explains Woven’s hardest challenge: improving calendars without breaking collaboration with non-users.
- 16:48 – 20:16
How Facebook ‘doubled productivity’: metrics and compounding micro-optimizations
Tim explains Facebook tracked revenue per employee (plus other measures) and made workforce productivity a relentless focus. Improvements ranged from milliseconds at turnstiles to automation in recruiting and reviews, compounding over time.
- 20:16 – 23:10
Automation mindset: the ‘lazy engineer’ principle and eliminating repetitive work
A humorous story about a developer automating his job prompts Tim to argue that avoiding repetitive work is a hallmark of strong engineering. He shares his own early-career example of automating an intern role to reclaim time.
- 23:10 – 28:50
Time management fundamentals: respect scarcity, define goals, and time-block
Tim lays out first principles: time is finite, so you must decide deliberately how to use it. He describes mapping life goals down to weekly actions and using a ‘normative schedule’ with protected time blocks.
- 28:50 – 33:40
Reactive vs proactive time: maker/manager balance and avoiding long-term regret
Chris worries about Parkinson’s Law and a future of digital-regret on the deathbed. Tim reframes time as proactive (maker) vs reactive (manager), arguing reactive time must be boxed so maker time can produce outsized value.
- 33:40 – 41:50
Where people go wrong: planning too late, short horizons, and the power of reflection
Using Woven’s event data, Tim notes most people schedule only a few days ahead—evidence of reactive living. He proposes pairing planning with daily reflection to learn, recalibrate priorities, and still get the emotional reward of progress.
- 41:50 – 46:33
Woven’s approach: real-time calendar analytics, ‘home’ dashboard, and minimum viable information
They connect modern UX trends (wearables, iPhone-era simplicity) to productivity tools that summarize rather than overwhelm. Tim explains Woven’s ‘home’ view surfaces next actions plus weekly analytics to reduce friction and shorten cycle time to insight.
- 46:33 – 52:46
Calendar meets tasks and AI: smarter events, draft events, and proactive scheduling
Tim argues events and tasks are tightly linked—time blocks are tasks, and shared tasks are events. He describes Woven’s future direction: turning draft events into task management and making calendars proactive by connecting agendas, actions, and follow-ups.
- 52:46 – 56:22
Closing thoughts: desire for more time, daylight savings effects, and Woven trial
They end with reflections on everyone feeling time-poor, including anecdotes about gaining/losing time through daylight savings and travel. Chris shares the Woven trial link and Tim reiterates the company’s mission and onboarding support.
