So many of us are busy at work and the days keep flying by without us ticking projects off the to-do list. Have you wondered where all the time is going, how you’re always so busy, and yet the big things just aren’t getting done?
So many of us are busy at work and the days keep flying by without us ticking projects off the to-do list. Have you wondered where all the time is going, how you’re always so busy, and yet the big things just aren’t getting done?
Modern Mentor is hosted by Rachel Cooke. A transcript is available at Simplecast.
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Hey, it’s Rachel Cooke, your Modern Mentor. I’m the founder of Lead Above Noise—a firm specializing in helping teams and organizations create better working experiences that deliver better results.
So, how are you doing these days? Lemme guess. You’re busy, right? Ugh—we are all always so darn busy. Wondering how to whittle down our to-do lists and just get more done.
I have some tough love to deliver. You may be procrastinating. I don’t mean falling down social media rabbit holes. But a more secret, invisible to the naked eye kind of procrastinating. Disguised as something else.
I see it all the time. Sometimes even in the mirror. So let’s talk about some of these super-secret procrastination traps you might just be falling into.
1. Procrasti-learning
Ever heard of this one? Is it a made-up word? I assume so. But is it really happening on the regular? Sure thing.
I’m super guilty of this one. It’s when we spend so much time learning something new that we forget—or put off—the actual doing of the thing.
For some, it’s going down a rabbit hole of TED talks (just one more). For others, it may be pursuing a certification (I can’t possibly do the thing until I’m fully certified!). Or it may be reading just one more book, listening to one more pod, or getting just one more expert opinion.
Learning is this virtuous thing. Nothing like doomscrolling or watching endless IG reels. Learning is always a good thing, right?
And yet the truth is, not always. Learning is wonderful. But it should be serving a purpose. You—and yes, I—have to be disciplined about saying “OK. I’ve learned enough to just get started. I have enough info to take the first steps. Now it’s time to shift into doing mode.”
You can always return to learning later. But one great place to reclaim productivity is by putting boundaries on your learning.
2. Saying yes to all the meetings
This is another one I see. I know. Your calendar is full of meetings. So how could you possibly get the thing done?
But here’s the thing. We all owe it to ourselves—and to our teams and customers—to be discerning in which meetings we attend. Because not every invite is a thoughtful or strategic one.
We all need to be more fearless in this way. I’m not suggesting you hit “decline” and run. But a clear and simple message to the host like
· My top priority is X other project right now, OR
· Jake from my team will be there and can provide the updates, OR
· I’m not able to attend, but let me know if there’s an ask of me…
…will often do the trick.
And if yours is a culture in which a decline doesn’t feel safe, then start by just planting the seed with your boss.
“Given all I need to deliver by next month, I wonder if we could look at my schedule together and determine whether all the meetings on there make sense for me to attend.”
It may start with just one meeting. Just one hour of your time back. But prove how much more useful you can make that time, and you’ll be declining with confidence before you know it.
3. Just one more edit
This is a painful one. Most of us need to be better about declaring something as finished—or at least good enough—and hitting send.
Editing, revising, polishing—these are useful to a point. But unchecked, these become mechanisms for procrastination.
Working on something client-facing? A proposal or a newsletter? Yeah, give that one extra attention.
But a rough draft for your boss? An email to your team? An internal dashboard? I’m not suggesting you be careless or sloppy. But do a draft, polish it once, and hit send with an acknowledgment that it may still be in draft form.
We can spend ages rereading, reformatting, playing with different views—when really what we need is to hit send and move on.
4. Starting from scratch
This is another time-suck. Because if we’re putting something out there, we want it to feel like our own.
But whatever the thing is you need to do, start by asking yourself: is there something already out there I can repurpose rather than starting from scratch?
Whatever you need to deliver—the customer report, the inventory plan, the patient survey results—where is there a template you can use to just get started?
Ultimately you get more extra points for speed and efficiency than you do for building the thing on your own.
5. Rallying support
And finally. When you know you just need to pitch the idea. Or suggest the process change. Or ask the big scary question.
But you want to make sure you have support behind you. Like all the support.
Ask yourself—how many and which voices do I really need in my corner?
My client, Jesse, has been struggling with this one. He runs an internal consulting team for his company and he has this idea to reinvent how they run their engagements.
Actually, he first had this idea 6 months ago. And since then, he’s been “running it by” his colleagues for support. He’s run it by 17 of them so far.
In our last call, I had to finally hit him with some tough love. “Jesse. The first 5 people you spoke to loved your idea. The last 12 have been nothing but procrastination. You’ve gotta pitch this one.”
Have you been there?
And there you have it. So if you’ve been wondering where all the time is going, how you’re always so busy, and yet the big things just aren’t getting done? Maybe you found a spot of insight in this episode.