Interview: How Google's productivity guru — Laura Mae Martin — is bringing generative AI into her practice

We sat down with Laura Mae Martin, Google’s executive productivity advisor, to discuss her new book, “Uptime: A Practical Guide to Personal Productivity and Wellbeing,” which goes on sale today. Martin shares insights on how to make the “new way of work” work for you, and explains how generative AI productivity enhancements can help you maximize your “Uptime.”

Let’s start with the title of your new book. How do you define Uptime or “flow,” and how is that different from simply working harder and getting things done?

“Uptime” is about creating a balance and developing practices to support long-term success while avoiding burnout. When your intentions match your actions, you experience flow, and feel “in the zone.” That’s different from being busy for the sake of busy-ness. “Uptime” is about focusing on your interests, intentions, and priorities — making the space to seamlessly execute, and finding wellbeing for yourself.

Productivity isn’t just about efficient execution. It’s also about widening your vision and thinking deeply about personal and professional challenges. How do you help executives carve out space to develop their visions and think creatively rather than just focusing on daily tasks?  

Moments of calm can help us recharge, make new connections, and solve problems in innovative ways. I coach executives to build in vision-development time by scheduling small periods of intentional downtime, like a workout, a walk with the dog, or a device-free evening. When they schedule space in their calendars it also clears space in their heads for new inspiration and ideas. I help them rethink their calendars, shorten meetings, and give themselves the breathing room they need to think big. For example, after a day of back-to-back meetings, they may set aside time to synthesize the information, think deeply, and capture their insights.

You don’t need a week of vacation to recharge. Lunch away from your desk, a solitary walk after work, or an unplugged long weekend can be just as effective.

You suggest that we think about our time as a jar, define our top three priorities, or “big rocks,” and then place them in the jar first. Why is it important to define your top three priorities in this way? 

The sharper you can define your priorities and communicate them, the easier it becomes to accomplish them. That’s why it’s important to define your top three, communicate them to your team, and get feedback. You’ll align with your manager, and your direct reports can connect your priorities to their goals and key performance indicators (KPIs). Look at your calendar and make sure you’re spending most of your time on your top priorities. Once you’ve made that mental contract with yourself, it’s easier to set boundaries. 

If you’ve already filled your jar with “rocks,” you can take on small commitments by sprinkling some sand around them. It's good to get the rocks (top priorities) in first so you know where there’s room. You should also consider both personal and professional rocks when deciding what you need to spend the most time on at the moment. After all, there’s only one you, one jar. 😊

In general, how is generative AI changing your productivity advice, if at all? 

Like any tool, it's important to first assess what AI can do for you. Review the training, examine the settings, and look at sample prompts. You can even ask AI what you should ask it to do. It’ll give suggestions! Investing a small amount of time upfront to learn the power of AI — like Gemini for Google Workspace — will pay long-term dividends. I'm excited about how Gemini for Google Workspace supports generative AI productivity enhancements for Gmail, Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Meet. Take a look at your to-do list and determine which of your regular activities AI can help you streamline, and iterate from there. Your first question when starting tasks should always be, “How can AI help with this?”

Could you share some examples of how Gemini is being used to streamline specific work tasks and how it can create more time for higher-value tasks?

I’m starting to see executives lean more and more into using generative AI on a daily basis. They’re using it to summarize email threads and long documents, take a first pass at points for a keynote talk or presentation, or do research for a project they’re leading. For example, you can go to gemini.google.com and ask for specific sources and then cross-check the prompt responses with internet results. That provides executives with greater faith in the data and insights they’re gathering. 

Here are some other examples of how executives are using Gemini:

• Run better meetings. Gemini can help develop an agenda based on your inputs, wordsmith your prework, or streamline your follow-up emails to make them more succinct. Use it to find external examples to draw parallels or research on what you’re presenting. Post-meeting, it can identify action items within a meeting transcript.

• Send emails to customers and manage your email inbox. Gemini can summarize email threads for easy scanning, draft outreach emails that set the right tone, and help with edits. 

• Summarize key points. Paste in data from Google Forms or any document or survey that you need to read through. Gemini will read it and give a summary of the information, including overall themes, the tone of the comments, suggestions for improvement, and general feedback.

• Carve out time to work on strategies and big ideas. By performing key tasks, like those described above, Gemini leaves you more time to be strategic and focus on big-picture thinking. 

How can Gemini be a thought partner?  

Imagine I’m planning a 100-person event. Gemini can help me structure the project plan. I could ask, “What questions should I be thinking about when I start to plan this event?” Gemini might suggest that I consider the goals of the event, the best format, logistical questions, preparation, and even follow-up tasks. Then it’ll help me execute each of those tasks. Gemini is an effective extension of my team.

You write about how you’ve sent weekly productivity emails to 50,000+ Googlers for years. Where can we find tips on how to be more productive in Google Workspace?

Google Workspace Productivity Tips is a YouTube channel that addresses questions you might have when using Google Workspace applications. The videos are roughly 80 seconds each, and they walk you through tips and tricks to optimize your experience with Google Calendar, Google Docs, Google Slides, and more. They're the delightful small things that make our products so great, in an easy-to-follow video format. I’m also about to start a monthly productivity advice column called “Because you asked” on the Workspace blog and I’ll be sourcing questions from users and readers.

Your own story is a testament to the productivity tools you describe in “Uptime.” You’re a full-time working mom of three young children who’s just published her first book! What tools were most helpful to you when scheduling the time to write “Uptime”?

I found several tools especially helpful for completing “Uptime.” I used “hot spots” — I had a specific location for editing and another for writing. Sunday nights were for planning the week ahead and making my “Weekly List” of things to complete. I blocked out “points of control,” small time slots throughout the week for resetting. I also tried to be realistic about how much I could get done based on the time of day and my energy levels. We only have so many “energy points” to spend throughout the day. 

I suggest that everyone start their day on their own terms. I reserve the first 30 minutes just for me, before the rest of my family is awake. I may meditate, work out, write in my journal — whatever I want that morning. 

“Uptime: A Practical Guide to Personal Productivity and Wellbeing” is out today. You can purchase the book now at Laura’s website, with links to all the major booksellers.