Becoming Un-Busy.

Written in Aug 2023 after retiring from a 22 year career.

As a leader, I was guilty of perpetuating a busy culture.  Only now that I am UN-BUSY can I see how detrimental it was to all the goals I was so passionate about.

I realized that my answer to “how are you” was always related to busy.  In the last year of my regular work life, I began each day by deciding how I would answer that question.  Usually one word of intention. Try this on - it makes a HUGE difference in how you "run" your day.

I realized that busy is mistaken as a value or misinterpreted as productive. But according to this insightful piece titled How to Defeat Busy Culture in the Harvard Review it’s actually destroying productivity.

From Harvard Business Review“…studies have shown that busy culture destroys productivity and pulls us away from both our families and deeper relationships with our coworkers.”

I got caught in the busy trap.

In the last chapter of my Whole Foods Market career, I’d allow every moment of every day to be booked - or sometimes double booked.  Rather than setting boundaries > both within the work day and personally.

I would have been far more successful if I had figured out a scope of work that fit well into 40 hours and managed that vigorously.  Instead of feeling that I had to pick up all the extras that didn’t fit on other people’s plates so they could have some form of balance.

I learned that doing everything you can - is not a sustainable answer in a work culture that excels at lofty expectations yet falls short of allocating the resources needed to achieve them.

If I had designed a scope of work that WAS manageable with the resources available - I don't know if the organization would have been happy with the outcome.  The bigger problem is that I wouldn’t have been happy.  After 30 years in fast paced business, I was wired to chase the big harry audacious goal no matter the consequence.

Busy is not a measure of success. There is no busy badge to win in the game of life.  What I’ve learned is that busy becomes a shield.  But what it keeps out is lots of the good stuff.

People saw me as busy and wouldn’t lean into me as a friend or mentor because they didn’t want to add to my plate.

With time to sit and reflect surrounded by nature - the forested peaks surrounding Aspen, the rustle of the white barked trees, and the cool breeze creating a shiver…my brain twisted the script of time.

There are 168 hours in a week. If 40 of those are for work, 56 are for sleep (hopefully) and 14 are for commuting and other chores - we can say there are 40 hours of intention each week. I wish I had spent the same energy planning those as I did work activities.  That would be a key piece of advice I’d give to anyone seeking a more fulfilling life.

AND it’s something I’m working hard to do with my time now that I own all of it.

When BUSY is part of your personal brand it’s an extraordinary effort to manage the tension between busy and balance. If you need an ear or a shoulder…call me, I’m not so busy these days!