Skip to main content

The being busy trap

Image
By


Today’s walk along the road was achieved by careful timing and watching the clouds to avoid the rain. I found myself wondering about a conversation I had last week about the language we use in work situations relating to how busy we all are.  


I caught myself saying that I had ‘back to back meetings all day’ not sure if I was looking for admiration or pity. 


The fact that I could feel the uncomfortableness of the fact, combined with an annoyance with myself for getting into this situation collided and I adopted a resigned to accept it outlook. 


With the time to reflect today – I wonder how often I willingly allow myself to get into the too busy being busy mode. 


The day goes so quickly – for sure ! Some around may marvel at my revolving office door and the constant foot fall …. 


When I reflect on what I achieved during my day of meetings it is clear little or any of it could truly be called ‘deep work’ – in contrast to what is described as ‘shallow work’ – those non-productive meetings, constant interruptions and non-stop emails ‘just for information’ which force us to ‘multi-task’ which we know reduced productivity by 40%! 


Just imagine if you could increase your meaningful and impactful work by 40% just by making the space to focus on the activities that actually matter.


If you can identify with my week – This useful audit of your time is worth doing. Honestly ask yourself the following questions

 

1 - How much of your time is spent running the day to-day versus shaping the future?

 

2 - How much of your time is spent reacting to what others in the organization bring to you, rather than driving the top team’s agenda?

 

3 - How often do your strategic discussions lead you to make hard choices about your company’s future?

 

4 - How much time do you spend reviewing actions after the fact versus proactively shaping actions and a direction?

 

5 - How often do you spend time debating who is responsible for solving an issue rather than addressing it?

 

6 - How often do you and other members of the leadership team work together on issues?


Ok - time to go before the rain starts again and I have a lot to do !


https://www.cross-house.ie

 

Labels:

Comments

  1. Pilar Nogues18 March 2023 at 21:30

    Really good article and powerful questions to spend time on and answer honestly. They bring clarity and perspective to how we spend our working hours.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Leading and working with Gen Z in a clinical workplace

By
As a nurse manager, leading a team of Generation Z staff members can present unique challenges. However, with the right approach, you can effectively manage and motivate this generation to provide high-quality patient care. Gen Z. literally were born holding a smart 'phone ! As the generational group born from 1997 they are now in their early twenties and some are likely to be part of your team already. First, recognize that Generation Z values transparency, collaboration, and feedback. Regularly communicating with your team and providing opportunities for open dialogue can help build trust and foster a positive work environment. Additionally, consider providing regular training and development opportunities to keep your team engaged and motivated. Generation Z staff members are eager to learn and grow in their careers, so investing in their professional development can lead to a more productive and satisfied team. Finally, embrace technology and utilize it to streamline processes ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Thinking about teams ....

By
  Today's walk was the first where a coat was necessary for a long time ... with a storm at my back I headed back along my familiar road and was reflecting on the common theme that featured with a number of those I had been coaching this week. Team performance and how to 'get' teams to function effectively was the key challenge facing people this week .... I don't know why but a return to 'office working' or implementing hybrid models of working is my suspicion.  When thinking about and discussion team working I frequently go back to my preferred definition of a team by Katzenbach and Smith (1993)  A team is a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, set of performance goals, and approach for which they  hold themselves mutually accountable While one of many definitions of teams, this is my preferred - mainly because it reminds me of how seldom I have actually being part of or led a team or teams that fully meet th...
Post a Comment
Read more

Cognitive Biases and Their Impact on Decision-Making: A Guide for Leaders

By
Cognitive biases are a set of mental shortcuts that our brain relies on to make decisions quickly. Although these shortcuts can be helpful in certain situations, they can also lead to errors in judgment and decision-making. As a leader, it is important to be aware of these biases and actively work to counteract them. One common cognitive bias is confirmation bias, which is the tendency to seek out information that confirms our existing beliefs and ignore information that contradicts them. As a leader, it is important to be open to new ideas and perspectives and to actively seek out feedback from others. Some others that you may experience are; The halo effect, which is the tendency to judge someone based on a single characteristic or trait. This can lead to overestimating someone's abilities based on a positive first impression or underestimating them based on a negative one. As a leader, it is important to evaluate people based on their actual performance and not just their percei...
Post a Comment
Read more