Have you seen 7th Floor West?

It’s a fake/joke reality show about the behind-the-scenes goings on at Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.  I am very impressed.

Whether or not I like Late Night with Jimmy Fallon or 7th Floor West is beside the point.  I am impressed because I remember when I worked in late night TV, and 7th Floor West is exactly the kind of value-add that I was hired to bring to the proceedings at Ed’s Night Party. In fact, web-exclusive comedy shorts that take place behind-the-scenes of the TV show was one of several ideas that I pitched, had approved, and then got put on the backburner at the last minute with claims that there was no time for it.  Ed’s Night Party used to tape over a three-day weekend, three times a year plus two one-week remote shoots.  Late Night with Jimmy Fallon shoots five nights a week, almost all 52 weeks of the year yet they find the time to make 7th Floor West.

The lesson here is the difference between Urgent and Important.  We’re quite lucky when something is both important and urgent, but very often something is one or the other.  It’s easy to get lost in the tyranny of the urgent, neglecting what’s not biting you in the ass right now but is indeed important.  Tim Ferriss touches on this in The Four Hour Workweek when he explores the choice between getting a video-tape back to the rental place to avoid a $5 late fee (urgent) instead of just paying the $5 and getting the work that’s in front of you done (important).  The Late Night with Jimmy Fallon team respects what’s important and their audience grows by leaps and bounds on multiple platforms.  Ed’s Night Party neglected what’s important and is no longer on the air.

Every time something pops up that makes you feel like you have to rush in quickly to deal with it, take a moment to ask yourself “Is this actually important, or just urgent?”  And if it’s just urgent, think for a moment about what is important that it’s distracting you away from.

Tags: advice, comedy, important, jimmy fallon, late night, meditation, tips, urgent