Are You Too Busy Being Busy?
Karen Gately (pictured below), is founder of HR consultancy Ryan Gately and author of two books The People Manager’s Toolkit: A Practical guide to getting the best from people and The Corporate Dojo: Driving extraordinary results through spirited people. In this guest post, Gately takes a look at our “cult of busy” and shows the value in slowing down…
“Gidday mate – how’s it going – you busy?” “Yeah, really busy. You?”
Boarding a plane this morning I couldn’t help but over hear these all too familiar words. Apart from the very Aussie accents involved, what caught my attention was how often I hear that conversation. Everywhere I go I hear people talking about how busy they are. My clients tell me they’re busy. Too busy in fact to do the things they know they really need to – if only they had the time.
The simple truth is we choose how we invest our time, energy and resources. While of course the world is full of external pressures to deliver, how we choose to respond is key. For most of us there are likely to be times when we need to dig deep and get something across the line by working long and hard. But if maintaining that pace is an everyday demand of your role or employer, then the simple reality is something needs to change.
For far too many years I bought into my own stories about how busy I was and how little choice I had in the matter. Then my Mum set me straight; as good Mums tend to do. Rolling her eyes at me while I complained of my ultra-busyness Mum said “Karen, if you weren’t busy, you’d make yourself busy”. Apparently, it was obvious to my mother that my at times out of control approach to life was of my own making.
Performing at your best and maintaining physical, mental and emotional health simply aren’t possible if you’re constantly doing too much. Being driven, focused and hardworking even, are unquestionably important to success. But burning yourself out and sacrificing the things that matter in your personal world never leads to a thriving life – in or out of work.
Breaking the back of ‘busy’ is up to you. Among the most important lessons I have learned about creating balance include these four things:
Stop seeing busy as a badge of honour. So why do we keep telling people how busy we are? While of course everyone is different, for many I have observed a sense of pride and self-worth in being in high demand. The reality is however that the vast majority of people are busy. Being busy isn’t what matters, being effective is. I’ve spent many years being busy getting not a lot of important things done.
See yourself. What are your busy doing? How much time do you waste? Whether its double handling, procrastinating or even just being stubborn, in what ways do you undermine your own productivity? How much of your own time and energy do you waste when you could just be getting on with getting the right things done?
Do what really matters. Make decisions about what you’re going to do, but also what you’re not. There is a myriad of things we can choose to invest in on any given day – but are they the things that will really allow you to achieve the goals you are striving for.
Ask yourself whether you are balancing the priorities you need to deliver on today, with the seeds of success you need to plant for tomorrow. Recently a CEO told me he doesn’t have time to focus on the effectiveness of his Executive team because in the absence of a sales manager he needs to drive sales growth. This is a highly profitable business who are experiencing substantial growing pains. Maturing this organisations leadership capability and operating model is essential to creating a sustainable future of success; and yet this CEO is too busy to focus on that.
Get over yourself and out of your own way. Does it really need to be you delivering on a particular outcome? It’s common for the people I work with to be crossing the boundaries of their own role and into that of their teams or colleagues. While you may be the most experienced or even the one with the client relationship, does it really need to be you who does the work on this occasion? If you’re a perfectionist or control freak, recognise those things in yourself and learn to let some things go and allow other people on the team to do their job.
Latest News
The Mars Agency Announces Latest Findings Of Retail Media Report Card
The Mars Agency has developed a scorecard that assesses the capabilities of leading platforms across key criteria required to optimally plan, execute, and measure effective retail media programs. The scorecard aims To help brands efficiently evaluate their spending options across retail media networks in Australia (and New Zealand). With spending on retail media advertising in […]
‘It’s The Lesser Of Two Evils’ – NRL Eyes US Betting Market As Aussie Regulators Circle
US betting firms will be delighted by the circa 50,000 Americans who could soon watch the NRL on their favourite app.
A-League In Deep Discussions With New Partner To Keep Games On TV After Production Company Enters Administration
The A-League's insatiable appetite for scoring own goals continues.
TV Ratings (27/03/2024): Jungle Members At War Over Concealed Lipstick
A heated argument between two jungle members did the numbers for Ten last night, with I’m A Celeb obtaining a total national reach of 1,282,000. Fans were delighted as Candice Warner and influencer Skye Wheatley got into it over a stick of lipstick, leading Warner to dub the Instagram star “selfish.” Wheatley, best known for […]
Is The Australian Music Industry In Trouble? Inquiry Launched Following Splendour Cancellation
Earlier this week, an inquiry was launched into the challenges and opportunities currently facing the Australian live music industry in the wake of multiple festival cancellations. On 25 March 2024, the Minister for the Arts, the Hon. Tony Burke MP, asked the Committee on Communications and the Arts to inquire into and report on the […]
Liana Dubois, Leandro Perez, Aimee Buchanan & More Gather For Inaugural Compadres Leadership Event
Didn't get the invite? Perhaps you're not as important as you thought.
Cathay Captures The Unforgettable Thrill Of Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Rugby Sevens, Via Publicis
Nobody does rugby like Hong Kong, apparently. Certainly nobody does it as badly as Australia.
Cocogun Nabs Christine Watts, Kirsty Reynolds & Shev Tan Bolstering Management & Creative Teams
Cocogun bolsters its team with new hires. Committed to purchasing a bigger sofa, too.
The Media Store’s Jacquie Alley & Sam Cousins Take The Plunge With Pro-Bono Work For Cure Cancer
B&T chats with The Media Store bosses about their great pro-bono work and sponsored swim.
Hawke’s Brewing Co. Taps Rocket Comms For PR Agency Following Competitive Pitch
We're expecting Rocket Comms productivity to crash in spectacular fashion following this win.
Spotlight On Sponsors: Patties Serves Up A Taste Of Home For Olympians & South Sydney Rabbitohs Recommit To Gambling Reform
While the Rabbitohs commits to gambling reform, B&T reckons the team should commit to a decent auto sponsor.
Google: “Inevitable” That Bad Actors Will Abuse Ads Platform As Advertiser Account Suspensions Double
Google maintains it's simply impossible for it to entirely stop bad people placing & paying for ads using its service.
Quantcast Expands APAC Sales Team With Appointment Of News Corp Account Manager
No pressure at all when you are appointed as a client success manager.
Publicis Sapient Tests Microsoft-Powered Gen AI Search Tool With Homes & Villas By Marriott Bonvoy
Given Gen AI's record for mangling stuff, B&T cannot see the problem with letting it decide your next holiday digs.
Volkswagen & DDB Group’s “Roo Badge” To Reduce Kangaroo Related Road Collisions
Watch out for RooBadge as Cannes Lions' most debated campaign this year.
Twilio Launches Unified Profiles & Agent Copilot Features To Boost Productivity & Engagement
Agent Copilot sounds like James Bond's less interesting cousin.
Reebok & Honda Among New Clients For onetwo agency
OneTwo finally lives up to its name with this double billing.
Ogilvy Report: Throw Out The Social Strategy Rule Book, The Rules Of The Past No Longer Apply
B&T was puzzled that all 'influencers' aren't, effectively, 'virtual', but here we are.
WhiteGREY & AKQA Merge In Australia, Lee Simpson Departs
Fortunately, the combined agencies aren't opting for a trite portmanteau for the new name.
Splendour In The Grass 2024 Music Festival Cancelled!
Music fans all over the country reportedly relieved they can pack away their rain coats and gumboots for another year.
TV Ratings (26/03/2024): “Fairy Bread, F***ing Disgusting”: Gordon Ramsay Slams Aussie Food In Food Stars Launch
Ramsay not one for mincing his words, even when it comes to minced meat pies.
Paramount+ International Boss Doubles Down On Aussie Content, Says Ad-Tier will Grow Audiences And Revenue
Good news as Paramount will not be binning I’m A Celebrity for re-runs of Frasier.
Brent Smart: Telstra Pushing For 50-50 Brand-Performance Split But Warns Numbers ‘Won’t Look Great’ Initially
The old brand vs performance debate continues. But here, Brent is firmly sitting on the fence.
Crowded House, Tones And I & Dom Dolla Win Big At The Shure Rolling Stone Music Awards
B&T staffer reports back with humdinger of a hangover & feeling seriously uncool after mixing with music types.
Opinion: Dyslexia “A Hidden Gem” For Brands & Agencies
Dyslexics offer underappreciated benefits in the corporate field, according to this op-ed.
David Jones Taps Criteo To Power Online Retail Media Arm
Want to see ads for things you probably can't afford? David Jones has got you covered with new retail media play.
oOh!media Sets Up Team To Target Business Audiences Across Airports & Offices
oOh! wants brands to harass you every minute of your next business trip.
QMS Launches Australian First DOOH & TV Partnership With Samba TV
Samba TV, of course, is not a channel dedicated to dancing. Much to our dismany.
Slew Of New Hires At Amplify
Four new faces join the Amplify offices. Team say desk scarcity becoming "acute".
Adobe Announces Content Authenticity Initiative Expansions To Counter Deep Fakes
Try as they might to enlighten them, we suspect Trump supporters will continue to watch and believe Fox News.
The PR Group Appoints TechCrunch Senior Reporter Catherine Shu As Director Of Content & Media
Catherine Shu makes the bold leap from journalism to PR. Says inevitable pay bump was "unrelated".
HERO Nabs Ebony Santin From AMPR
Rumours Santin cleared out the stationery cupboard before departing are as yet unconfirmed.
Karena Noble Checks Out Of EVT Hotels & Resorts To Launch Comms Consultancy
Noble still managed to squeezed in a continental breakfast before departing.
Canva Acquires Design Platform Affinity To Bring Professional Design Tools To Every Organisation
Canva & Adobe face off continues. We're not picking sides but keenly aware that Canva's office is next door to ours.
“Lean On Our Team To Help You Find An Audience”: Why Understanding Audience Engagement Is Essential In Journalism
Engaging the audience is critical to journos, apparently. We'd thought self-loathing & alcoholism were key.
Adobe Summit: Major Gen AI Developments, Data Concessions & Partnerships
What happens in Vegas stays there. Unless it's the Adobe Summit and then you get to read about in B&T.