Lavin Voices
October 7, 2025

Your Calendar Is a “Hidden Market”: How Leaders Can Reclaim Time and Attention

We’re all familiar with markets: you go into a store, you identify an item you want, and you pay the listed price for that item. But did you know that your calendar is a kind of market too? Wharton professor Judd Kessler, author of Lucky by Design, has spent two decades studying what he calls “hidden markets”: markets that don’t rely entirely on prices. And he says that the market for our own time and attention is one that we all get to control. Understanding this empowers us to reclaim control of our workdays, make deliberate choices about where our invaluable focus is invested—and, ultimately, get more done. This week, Judd sat down with us on our podcast, Lavin Voices, to explain 3 steps to understanding “hidden markets” and doing more with our most precious resource: our time.

1. Think of your calendar as a marketplace.

Judd says, “Anyone at a firm is the designer of the market for their own time and attention.” The way you structure your day, respond to requests and set boundaries inherently creates a set of “hidden market” rules. The question, then, is whether these rules are serving you and your strategic objectives… or not.

2. Rethink the first come, first served mentality.

Many leaders inadvertently apply a “first in time, first in right” policy to their calendars, Judd says: whoever emails, calls, or books a meeting first gets first dibs on our time. But this leaves us vulnerable to wasting our time on work that feels urgent, but isn’t actually important.

Consider that recurring meeting you’ve had on Tuesday at 11 a.m. for the past two years. Is it always the most productive use of that slot? Probably not, Judd says. But these ingrained calendar defaults, once set, can persist regardless of how useful they are, consuming valuable time that could be better spent on more pressing strategic initiatives.

3. Move beyond reactivity with the “3 E’s” of time management.

Every hidden market runs on the 3 E’s, Judd says: equity, efficiency and ease.

Let’s apply this framework to something as ubiquitous as email management. Instead of constantly monitoring your inbox, you can establish clear protocols so “market participants” (people trying to get your attention) know when they can expect a response from you.

Try letting people know that you’re only going to check email at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. today. “Then they’re not expecting a response in the middle, and they can optimize against the market rules that you create,” Judd says. This transparency manages expectations, reduces anxiety for those waiting for responses, and allows you to focus effectively.

And the benefits extend beyond personal productivity. They empower your team to optimize their interactions with you, leading to a better experience for everyone involved. As Judd says, “We can be thoughtful about the rules that we establish so that we have a good working experience while still balancing their needs against ours.”

Reclaim your time.

By embracing the idea of your calendar as a hidden market, you move from merely reacting to external demands to proactively designing your personal resource market. This means consciously evaluating meeting requests, setting clear communication boundaries and prioritizing your strategic tasks. You can ensure that your time and attention are deployed to achieve your biggest goals—you just need to understand the market and design it thoughtfully.

Want to hear more from Judd?

The hidden market for your time and attention is just one of many that leaders face at work. Interested in booking Judd Kessler to speak on hidden markets at your next event? Contact us today to learn more!

1. Think of your calendar as a marketplace.

Just like visible markets allocate goods and services, your time and attention are constantly being allocated by a complex interplay of requests, defaults and unexamined rules. Every email, every meeting invitation, every "quick question" is a bid for a piece of your limited bandwidth. Acknowledging this scarcity is the first step towards thoughtful design. Judd says, "Anyone at a firm is the designer of the market for their own time and attention." The way you structure your day, respond to requests and set boundaries inherently creates a set of "hidden market" rules. The question, then, is whether these rules are serving you and your strategic objectives... or not.

2. Rethink the first come, first served mentality.

Many leaders inadvertently apply a "first in time, first in right" policy to their calendars, Judd says: whoever emails, calls, or books a meeting first gets first dibs on our time. But this leaves us vulnerable to wasting our time on work that feels urgent, but isn't actually important. Consider that recurring meeting you've had on Tuesday at 11 a.m. for the past two years. Is it always the most productive use of that slot? Probably not, Judd says. But these ingrained calendar defaults, once set, can persist regardless of how useful they are, consuming valuable time that could be better spent on more pressing strategic initiatives.

3. Move beyond reactivity with the "3 E's" of time management.

Every hidden market runs on the 3 E's, Judd says: equity, efficiency and ease. Let's apply this framework to something as ubiquitous as email management. Instead of constantly monitoring your inbox, you can establish clear protocols so "market participants" (people trying to get your attention) know when they can expect a response from you. Try letting people know that you're only going to check email at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. today. "Then they're not expecting a response in the middle, and they can optimize against the market rules that you create," Judd says. This transparency manages expectations, reduces anxiety for those waiting for responses, and allows you to focus effectively. And the benefits extend beyond personal productivity. They empower your team to optimize their interactions with you, leading to a better experience for everyone involved. As Judd says, "We can be thoughtful about the rules that we establish so that we have a good working experience while still balancing their needs against ours."