Let’s face it, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by phone calls, emails, office politics, deadlines, and personal life demands. All of these drains on our attention make it difficult for us to focus, be creative and invest in relationships that are truly important and worthwhile. It’s difficult as a leader to motivate others when you’re stressed, to encourage others when there are many distractions, and to engage in meaningful conversations when everything seems to be interrupted.
Instead of trying getting stressed about what you might be missing or not doing well, simplify simply:
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• If you receive a lot of newsletters and bulletins, unsubscribe to one at a time. As they come in, check to see if you are really paying attention to the their content, if not unsubscribe

• All those annoying little programs that start up when you launch your computer and you don’t’ use, one by one, day by day, have them no longer automatically launch on start up. They are needless annoyances

• Pay attention to cycles. If you find that Mondays tend to be filled with meetings, intentionally block our time later in the week for other responsibilities. Don’t expect to be able to work on things that require deep thinking on Monday. Your brain just isn’t in the right spot

• Only hold meetings that are absolutely necessary and only invite the  people directly involved in the decision-making

• Remove one task from your responsibilities. People have to-do lists. Do you really need to do all of those “dos”? Maybe you can delegate. More often than not it is just busy work and doesn’t need to get done. By stripping away the busywork, and the time sinks one at a time, you can uncover what is essential to thrive, be productive and innovate 

Productivity doesn’t equal time sitting behind computer or hours worked. Start paying attention to your day – when do you feel focused, when do you feel distracted, when do you feel tired. Change one thing in how you organise your day to better align with your own rhythm. Experiment. Play around with scheduling
When distractions are carved away, people can see the work they really need to do to accomplish their goals. When the weight of being overwhelmed is removed, suddenly there’s all sort of energy and passion for the work. Simplifying all at once can be daunting. Strip away the busy and allow the productive to emerge.  

I was enjoying a coffee with a friend of mine. We were reflecting on some of the changes we’ve been experiencing in the past few years. Some of the changes were easy and empowering. Other changes were more difficult to process as they demanded that we confront ourselves. This led us to talk about wisdom and how people can acquire insight.

I reflected some more on our conversation. Life’s lessons aren’t always obvious. They very much come in the form of heavy weights pressing down on us. Sometimes we can lift the weight and emerge stronger. Other times we ignore the load and remain stuck, burdened by what we can and cannot see.  

As leaders we must first lead ourselves. And leading ourselves means finding the courage to try to understand the weight that fell on our heads. Once we figure out its significance, we gain wisdom. Wisdom doesn’t come easily. Once the weight of wisdom is lifted, we grow stronger.