All that time Gloria spends doing nothing isnt wasted time. Its slack: excess capacity allowing for responsiveness and flexibility. The slack time is important because it means she never has a backlog of tasks to complete. She can always deal with anything new straight away. Glorias job is to ensure Tony is as busy as he needs to be. Its not to be as busy as possible.

If you ever find yourself stressed, overwhelmed, sinking into stasis despite wanting to change, or frustrated when you cant respond to new opportunities, you need more slack in your life.

Source: Efficiency is the Enemy

An interesting observation, but I suspect it may be a tough sell for many people (even if it’s correct).