George Tokoro's "Reason for Tidying Up" Reduced My Overtime by 5 Hours a Week

Come to think of it, there's something unusual about George Tokoro.

Despite having numerous regular TV shows, he never seems busy.

Meanwhile, I'm a 50-year-old manager staring down overtime calculation spreadsheets at the end of the month.

## ❶ Why does he look so "free"?

George Tokoro, born in 1955, 71 years old. He has a secret base called "Setagaya Base," where he tinkers with cars, plays guitar, builds things in the yard, and walks his dog.

Despite his many TV appearances, he's known for a style that basically keeps weekends free. When he appeared on "Jounetsu Tairiku," as soon as he knew his finish time, he'd call his wife to say "I'm coming home" and have dinner with his family.

He should be busy, yet he doesn't look it. In fact, it looks like he's playing all the time.

Then there's me. At the end of the month, I collect attendance data for 10 subordinates, balance the overtime hours, create reports for upper management, and set the schedule for next month. It's 9 PM on a Friday, and I'm still under the office's fluorescent lights.

We're both "working people," so why is the view so different?

The answer lay in something George Tokoro once told his children.

## ❷ "Tidy up now so you can play faster next time"

Apparently, when George Tokoro tells his kids to "tidy up your room," he says something to this effect:

"It's not about tidying up because it's messy and dirty. It's so you'll know where everything is next time you play. Then you can start playing faster. That's why you tidy up."

When I heard this, honestly, a bolt of electricity ran down my spine.

I always thought the reason I started letting AI handle meeting minutes, weekly report reviews, and daily log organization was because I "wanted to take it easy." I was wrong.

"I was tidying up current chores to create time to play next."

For a manager, "play" is small talk with subordinates, time to think about next month's strategy, and the mental margin to notice when someone isn't feeling their best.

In fact, since I started offloading the weekly report reviews for my 10 subordinates to AI, I've saved an hour every week. What did I do with that hour?

I had coffee and chatted with my subordinates. That's where the "Actually, lately..." things—the ones not written in the reports—came out.

That was time I could "play" because I had tidied up.

## ❸ "It's fun because you improvise within constraints"

George Tokoro is also someone who thinks like this:

Some people try to look cool by saying, "I don't want to be bound by frameworks; I want to be free," but he says it's fun precisely because you improvise and create within rules and frameworks.

Isn't that exactly what management is?

We managers are surrounded by constraints. No budget. Not enough people. Pressure from above on the numbers, and complaints from below. I've never once been told, "You're free to do whatever you want."

But according to George Tokoro, those very constraints become the playground.

I'll share just one small hack I did.

I asked the AI: "Extract just one point from my subordinate's weekly report that I can praise during next week's 1-on-1."

That's it. Just adding that one comment after "Good morning" on Monday changes the look in their eyes.

Zero budget. No extra staff needed. I just added one tool—AI—within the framework.

What George Tokoro does at Setagaya Base has the same structure. He doesn't use off-the-shelf products as they are; he modifies them himself to make them unique. He doesn't buy a 100-point finished product. He takes a 70-point item, adds his own ingenuity, and makes it 120 points.

Using AI in management is exactly the same thing.

## ❹ The true nature of a "manager who can have fun"

George Tokoro says, "People who can find enjoyment find everything interesting. People who hold onto dissatisfaction will be dissatisfied no matter how much money they have."

The reason managers stop finding enjoyment is probably simple: they just "don't have time to enjoy it."

Buried in chores, their perspective narrows, they fail to notice changes in their subordinates, and their work devolves into mere drudgery.

AI is a tidying tool for reclaiming that time to enjoy things.

I can't live as lightheartedly as George Tokoro. I don't have a Setagaya Base. Instead of a secret base, I have a vast office.

But just by changing that one comment to a subordinate on Monday morning, this job becomes a little more interesting.

Tonight, let AI tidy up just one thing for you. Tomorrow morning, you'll have a little time to "play."

George Tokoro is 71 and still playing.

I'm 50, and I've only just started remembering how to play.

I write every day about clearing away managerial "busyness" with AI to create mornings you can actually enjoy. Follow me, and you'll receive the next part of my tidying journey tomorrow.

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