I want to give you one idea this week. It's for you if your calendar has been running you lately.
You know the feeling. Back-to-back meetings. An inbox that refills faster than you can clear it. Something on fire at work, something going on at home, and a quiet voice telling you you'll get to the important stuff once things calm down.
They don't calm down. You know that too.
So, here's the idea. Slow down to speed up.
I know. When you're slammed, that sounds like the worst advice anyone could give you. Slowing down feels like time you don't have.
But look at what heads-down actually gets you. You move fast. You stay busy. And a lot of the time you end up right back at the same problem, the same conversation, the same fire. Just a little more tired.
This week I kicked off a new group of senior leaders. Some of the hardest working people I know. I put them in small groups and asked one question. What are you learning about yourself?
Every group came back with some version of the same answer. We never stop to reflect. Our heads are always down. And impatience is what's holding us back.
If that sounds like you, you're in very good company. It was me for most of my career too.
Here's what a little slowing down gives you.
It gives you your thinking back. When you step back, even for a few minutes, you stop reacting to whatever is loudest and start asking what matters. You notice the meeting that doesn't need to happen. You see the one conversation that would change everything if you'd finally have it.
It also opens you up to other people's thinking. Some of your best answers aren't in your head. They're in the people around you. A peer who's been where you're going. A friend who will ask the question you've been avoiding. In that same session, one leader described a problem someone else in the group had already solved. They'd just never had the time to talk about it.
Think of it like the gym. You'd never call a workout wasted time because you weren't at your desk. You go so you're stronger for everything else. Thinking time is the gym for your judgment.
So, here's one small thing for you this week.
Put 10 minutes on your calendar, early in the week, before it gets loud. Close the laptop. Ask yourself one question.
What's the most important thing this week, and am I actually working on it?
That's it. If the answer surprises you, the 10 minutes already paid for itself.
The weeks you don't have time to think are the weeks you need it most. Give yourself the time. You might be surprised how much faster you go.