In need of a team pick-me-up? These 6 talks will turbocharge your output -- personally and collectively.

Ever wished you could stop procrastinating and just be as efficient as a machine? Since you're a human, that's not going to happen -- but that's OK, says entrepreneur Dan Shipper. Here's how you can use awareness, observation and experimentation to clear your own way to getting more done.

Modern work -- from waiting tables to crunching numbers to designing products -- is about solving brand-new problems every day, flexibly and collaboratively. But as Yves Morieux shows in this insightful talk, too often, an overload of rules, processes and metrics keeps us from doing our best work together. Meet the new frontier of productivity: ...

David Grady is on a crusade to help you take back your calendar.

Video is ubiquitous. Companies use it for entertainment, marketing, training – and customers generally expect it. Mark Halliday describes "Studio in a Box," a program he put together which allows State Street employees to make professional-quality videos of their own.

Life is long, and so is this list. A treasure trove of how-tos (from tying your shoes to finding work you love) to bookmark, download and return to again and again.

From the EG conference: Productivity guru Tim Ferriss' fun, encouraging anecdotes show how one simple question -- "What's the worst that could happen?" -- is all you need to learn to do anything.

You've got a long list of things you want to do, but there's just one problem: you can't seem to get -- or stay -- motivated. Social psychologist Ayelet Fishbach is here to help. She offers insights on the science of motivation along with tips and cognitive tricks to help you reach your goals while staying happy, healthy and engaged. (This conve...

During the 1600's, the exotic tulip became a nationwide sensation; some single bulbs even sold for ten times the yearly salary of a skilled craftsman. Suddenly, though, the demand completely plummeted, leaving the tulip market in a depression. What happened? Prateek Singh explains the peak of a business cycle, commonly referred to as a mania. [D...

In a peek into their sprawling metaverse, Particle Ink dazzles with an interdimensional performance combining augmented reality, dance and video projected onto the TED stage.

BCG's Rainer Strack advocates for companies to adopt a "people advantage" -- because employee-centered thinking can go a long way.

What do we mean exactly when we say we're wasting time? Doing something that doesn't help us acquire new skills, money or status? Stop-motion animator Alexander Leitner explains how "productivity" is relative and that the many seemingly unproductive things we do during the day can be just as crucial to our wellbeing as the "important" stuff.

In this short talk, Arianna Huffington shares a small idea that can awaken much bigger ones: the power of a good night's sleep. Instead of bragging about our sleep deficits, she urges us to shut our eyes and see the big picture: We can sleep our way to increased productivity and happiness -- and smarter decision-making.

Tim Ferriss is an early-stage tech investor, best-selling author and podcaster.

What can we learn from the world's most enduringly creative people? They "slow-motion multitask," actively juggling multiple projects and moving between topics as the mood strikes -- without feeling hurried. Author Tim Harford shares how innovators like Einstein, Darwin, Twyla Tharp and Michael Crichton found their inspiration and productivity t...

Great talks to watch when you should probably be doing something else.

When you're enjoying yourself and time passes quickly, that is an experience known as "flow." Musician Diane Allen explains how to find your own flow and ways to design for it in order to reach your fullest potential.

The world is changing much more rapidly than most people realize, says business educator Eddie Obeng -- and creative output cannot keep up. In this spirited talk, he highlights three important changes we should understand for better productivity, and calls for a stronger culture of “smart failure."

Today's AI algorithms require tens of thousands of expensive medical images to detect a patient's disease. What if we could drastically reduce the amount of data needed to train an AI, making diagnoses low-cost and more effective? TED Fellow Pratik Shah is working on a clever system to do just that. Using an unorthodox AI approach, Shah has deve...

When Nicolas Bourbaki applied to the American Mathematical Society in the 1950s, he was already one of the most influential mathematicians of his time. He'd published articles in international journals and his textbooks were required reading. Yet his application was firmly rejected for one simple reason: Nicolas Bourbaki did not exist. How is th...

Success can mean: feeling that tingle of excitement about what you do, sticking with what matters through hard times, living a life you can feel proud of in retrospect. These talks say it all.

An epidemic of bad, inefficient, overcrowded meetings is plaguing the world’s businesses — and making workers miserable. David Grady has some ideas on how to stop it.

Why do people feel so miserable and disengaged at work? Because today's businesses are increasingly and dizzyingly complex -- and traditional pillars of management are obsolete, says Yves Morieux. So, he says, it falls to individual employees to navigate the rabbit's warren of interdependencies. In this energetic talk, Morieux offers six rules f...

Out of fresh ideas? These inspiring talks offer the kick-in-the-pants you need to unleash your creative spirit.

In her book "Gamestorming," Sunni Brown shows how using art and games can empower serious problem-solving.

In this engaging talk from the EG'08 conference, New York Times tech columnist David Pogue rounds up some handy cell phone tools and services that can boost your productivity and lower your bills (and your blood pressure).

Journalist Carl Honoré believes the Western world's emphasis on speed erodes health, productivity and quality of life. But there's a backlash brewing, as everyday people start putting the brakes on their all-too-modern lives.

Our obsession with productivity -- to-do lists, life hacks, morning routines -- is making us less productive, says digital anthropologist Rahaf Harfoush. She explains why we need to redesign our workday around creativity -- not just efficiency.

It sounds counterintuitive, but by 2030, many of the world's largest economies will have more jobs than adult citizens to do those jobs. In this data-filled -- and quite charming -- talk, human resources expert Rainer Strack suggests that countries ought to look across borders for mobile and willing job seekers. But to do that, they need to star...

What's a company's purpose? It's not the same as mission or vision, which change when leadership changes. Strategist Ashley M. Grice explains the power of purpose to push boundaries of innovation and bring clarity to every aspect of an organization, from the top floor to the shop floor.