Being Too Busy
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It’s only the beginning of April (i.e. not 4 months into the year) and once again, I’m writing this late. As frustrating as that is for me, and probably also for those of you who read this email or keep up with my podcast episodes, it’s even more frustrating because part of the reason I’m writing this late is because I’m sick. AGAIN.
This cold marks the third time I’ve been sick in just over three months. I’ve traveled three times in the last three months and coincidentally each time I’ve either come back sick, or fallen sick right after coming back <please note the sarcasm in the last part of that sentence>.
I was in Austin at the beginning of March, finally spending time with two of my favourite humans on this planet, and ended up spending the last two days of my time with them fighting a sinus infection that ended up having a hold on me for over 3 weeks. It was brutal and painful and I was so excited when I was finally healthy again… for all of 10 days.
Thankfully, this time around I’m only dealing with a cold. And while that may seem like a strange thing to be grateful for, after 3 weeks of face pain, sinus pressure, coughing and not being able to sleep through the night, a cold is a reprieve. Regardless of the fact that the cold is a significant improvement over the sinus hell, as I’m sure you can imagine, being sick 4 of the last 5 weeks is certainly less than ideal. In fact, I’ve had to make so many adjustments to my schedule and my life to compensate for how I’ve been feeling on a day to day basis, it’s not even funny.
I know I am incredibly fortunate to be able to shift my schedule as necessary and to make the space for myself to heal. When I do that, miraculously, nothing falls apart. I might get a bit behind on getting podcasts out or creating content or replying to non-urgent messages but, overall, things remain fairly consistent and stable. But honestly, that wasn’t always the case and I absolutely had to learn this lesson the hard way.
In my younger years (ahem), I was a chronic overscheduler. Especially given I have a terrible time estimating the amount of time it’s going to take for me to do anything, even if it’s something I’ve done multiple times before.
Like many people with ADHD, I either way overestimate or underestimate the amount of time I need and, in order to compensate for that, I would schedule myself silly for years. My days were full of things to get done, to do lists, meetings, places to be, and any number of other things that filled my time. And at the end of every day, as it turned out, I accomplished far less of what had been on my docket that day than I felt comfortable with. So I found myself in this pattern of attempting to tackle my list of things to do, feeling disappointed that I barely scratched anything off the list I had made, attempting to do even more things so I would feel less disappointed by my lack of productivity, burning myself out from trying to do all the things and doing nothing except attempting to turn my brain off for a bit, feeling disappointed I had wasted all that time “resting”... rinse and repeat.
As you can probably imagine, that’s definitely not the healthiest of patterns to be in. We live in a world where we are often told that how much we do, or how productive we are, is an indication of how valuable we are or what our contribution to the world may be (spoiler alert: this is 🐄 💩) and as a result we overschedule ourselves in order to attempt to do it all, never pausing to recognize the problem for what it is.
A few years ago, based on certain circumstances in my life at the time (a sick mother, a challenging family situation, etc), I was put in a position where I had to start leaving a LOT of space in my schedule for the unknown. At that time, I was spending more of my time dealing with things that I couldn’t have predicted and were out of my control, than I was dealing with things that I had planned and on my calendar. And while that was a particularly challenging time of life, it was also one that taught me, without a shadow of a doubt, that overscheduling serves no purpose and leaving time in my day/week/month/year for the unknown and the unpredictable is more important than I ever thought.
As leaders, we must recognize the fine line between ambition and overcommitment. The lessons I've learned, and I’m sure many of you have as well, underscore the necessity of mindful scheduling and the value of flexibility. How can you, as an executive or leader, apply these insights to not just manage, but thrive in your roles? Embracing the unpredictable, allocating time for the unforeseen, and prioritizing well-being are not just strategies for personal health, but are also essential for sustainable leadership. Let's challenge the conventional metrics of productivity and redefine success in terms of balance, adaptability, and well-being, paving the way for a healthier, more fulfilled professional journey.
Our guest in this episode of Leading Through Crisis is author, speaker, and corporate performance expert, Peggy Sullivan who talks to us about time poverty (aka being too busy) and what we can do about it.
According to her research, 78% of people end the day feeling like they didn't have enough time.
We discuss:
- The dangers of multitasking
- Being busy vs productive
- The importance of values
- How to get off the hamster wheel
- Peggy's 3-Step Busy-Busting Process for taking micro action to change your habits
Want less stress, more spaciousness, and "more good stuff in your life"?! Join us for a conversation about our most important asset: time.
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Peggy Sullivan is an author, keynote speaker, and corporate performance expert dedicated to eradicating Time Poverty (not having time for what is most important). Her research, as presented in her proprietary 2023 Busy Report, reveals that 78% of people are over the top busy and that over-packed schedules lead to burnout, decreased productivity, and unhappiness.
As a busyness addict in recovery, Peggy has found that there is a huge price tag that comes with busyness. Her book, "Beyond Busyness: How to Achieve More by Doing Less," provides actionable strategies and introduces her 3-Step Busy-Busting Method. This process helps people achieve peak performance, self-care, and happiness without compromising one for the other. Recognized by Forbes, FOX, CBS, and NBC, Peggy's data-driven strategies have helped individuals from global organizations like Bank of America, Google, Merrill Lynch, and BlueCross BlueShield break the cycle of busyness.
Peggy, also the founder of the nonprofit organization "SheCAN!", delivers her powerful message through speaking engagements and corporate consultations. She covers various topics, from breaking through the busyness trap to personal happiness as your superpower. Her mission is to help you take back control of your life and find the sweet spot between productivity and happiness.
To learn more about Peggy and her work visit peggysullivanspeaker.com or connect with her on LinkedIn (linkedin.com/in/peggyasullivan/), Facebook, or Instagram (@peggysullivanspeaker).