Seven Hacks for the “Too Busy” Syndrome

I proudly cut my teeth working in NYC. Working late was an expectation and badge of honor. If you’re busy, people must need you. You’re important. You matter.

When I returned to the west coast to launch my then-company’s new office, it took me years to detox from busy. I suspect my intensity drove away good employees (sorry) and the very colleagues and clients with whom I was aiming to build trust. Busy comes at a cost.

As someone whose mission is cultivating creativity, the biggest kicker was realizing how “busy” is a creativity--killer. Multitasking chipped away at my ability to focus. It led to missed human connections. So I concentrated on growing from busy to mindfully creative. Along the way, I identified seven hacks for the “too-busy” syndrome:

1.     Protect learning time as sacred. Although challenging, time dedicated to learning is fuel. Nowadays, prioritizing growth should be as essential as consuming air, food or water. If you’re not taking time to learn, you’re actually going in reverse.

2.     Schedule meetings for 20 or 50 minutes, rather than 30 or 60. Ever have a day when you’re in back-to-back meetings? Like all work, meetings expand to fill the time available. Try ending meetings early, and instead use time to synthesize information, reflect or take action.

3.     Decline meetings where your value contributions are unclear. Think twice before you hit that “accept” button. Are you joining because your value-enhancing role is clear, or just to avoid FOMO? When you’re not essential, a polite “Thanks for keeping me informed – looking forward to a debrief” does double duty: it preserves thinking time for you and streamlines the meeting for them.

4.     Move – or at least get away from your screen. Remember recess? That mid-day kinesthetic activity sandwiched between lessons is by design. We know regular movement is good for our health, but it also does wonders for the brain function, stimulating new insights.

5.     Make the most of your commute time. The average commute time hovers around 30 minutes one-way. Use those minutes to catch up on podcasts, connect with family or friends by phone, or prepare your priority list for the day ahead. These productivity-rich activities keep you grounded on what matters most.

6.     Revisit your short and long-term goals - often. Approaching burnout? Ruthlessly evaluate how you spend your time. Do you spend more time fighting fires than preventing them or, better yet, planting new forests? Dedicate time to advancing your longer-term goals, and you’ll keep the reactive minutiae in check.

7.     Daydream and tap into your stream of consciousness. Children are wildly creative. Through imaginative play, they string together ideas and concepts, processing immense quantities of new information. As adults, we too process enormous amounts of data. Carving out time to imagine what’s possible will save you from busy. It’ll also unlock your capacity for creativity.

Being too busy could keep you from discovering human connections and ideas that are hiding in plain sight. To me, that’s worth hacking.