Busyness has become endemic and as a result we’re struggling. An endless to-do list and frantic demeanour has become a marker of success at work and something to which we often attach our self worth.
And this need to be busy is not all in our heads; the reality is we're often being asked to do more with fewer resources. Especially in the current economy, it’s like we’re being squeezed for productivity and it’s having disastrous consequences on our effectiveness but also our health.
At the same time our working hours are increasing, our health outcomes are getting worse, and it might not be a coincidence. Recent data from Massey University reveals that one in two employees, or 57% of the workforce, fall within the high burnout risk category. This indicates a massive increase since December 2023, when the rate was 25%.
But does high achievement have to go hand-in-hand with burnout? Could it be possible to get the same amount or work done in fewer hours, and still have energy and hours to spare at the end of the day? To be busy yet effective?
It's over a decade since I was told by my doctor that I needed time off, I was burnt out. My first thought as I left their office was “I’ve not got time for this! I’ve got too much to do to stay at home nursing burnout!” Turns out I didn’t have a choice. That's the nature of burnout, your body and brain give up.
I’d been trying to do more, get the to-do list done and deliver on my constantly expanding job description. Covering a vacancy, leading three teams not one, frequent commutes from Hamilton to Auckland’s head office and countless meetings. I wanted to be the amazing employee who could do all that but it just wasn't an option. I had to find another way.
Fast forward ten years, running my own business still means I’m busy but that looks a lot different to how it used to. I’ve mastered the art of slowing down to speed up and can focus on value and impact over busyness and hours worked. Productivity takes on a whole new meaning when we look through the lens of less-is-more and, for me, focus has been the key. The ability to tap into a deep work state.
In our distracted worlds we’ve lost the art of focus. Like Julie, a Christchurch-based CEO at a not-for-profit organisation. She told me one winter morning that she felt like she might need to hibernate for the season, she was so exhausted. “I’m spread so thin over so many things, I just don’t feel like I can concentrate on doing any of them well. I’m working all hours but still feel miles behind,” she said.
Daniel was similar. Newly promoted to a leadership role which involved a relocation to the city for an organisation in the midst of a large transition; “The goalposts are constantly changing and I feel like I need three pairs of hands to keep up,” he said. “I don’t mind working hard, I like my job, but I can see the impact it’s having on the team and I can’t help them because I’m also drowning in work.”
Sometimes focusing on one thing at a time, and doing it well, rather than spreading ourselves thinly across a range of tasks means we do a better job and become more effective over all.
In his book Deep Work, Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World, Cal Newport, a professor at Georgetown University, describes the concept as "professional activities performed in a state of distraction free concentration".
Newport's book was written in 2016 – since then most of us have acquired a plethora of new distractions, with an ever-widening range of messaging and social media platforms competing for our attention. But his premise is more valid than ever: the best work is done one task at a time, without distraction. And that way, it takes less time.
Deep work is the ability to focus without distraction on a cognitively demanding task. It’s a skill that allows us to quickly master complicated information and produce better results in less time. Deep work is also about carving out the thinking space to come up with our best ideas.
There’s so much vying for our attention, multiple chat channels, email notifications, back-to-back meetings and still even the occasional phone call. While all these distractions are officially "work" they make it hard to get anything actually done. We can waste so much of our precious time managing these interruptions and demands on our attention. Working from home, which was supposed to decrease such distractions, often just adds fresh ones. The dog is asking me for her walk as I write!
According to Newport, deep work makes us better at what we do, but we’ve lost the art of going deep – or we don’t allow ourselves the space it requires.
This is one of the reasons I schedule retreats for myself. I go away to plan my year ahead. I go away to write. It’s usually just me in a rural Airbnb somewhere. I put my phone away, turn my notifications off and don’t check emails. This allows me the space to think, to create and to do deep work.
We don’t have to go on a retreat or even leave the office to do deep work though. All we need is an environment within which we can focus. Here are some ways to make that more achievable:
Give yourself time to let your brain slow down. It's unlikely to snap straight from pinball-machine mode to deep work. Let yourself be understimulated (which often feels like boredom) for a few minutes.
Set a duration, which means you intentionally allow yourself to focus on one task for a certain (and generous) amount of time, without feeling guilty or panicking that you're ignoring other tasks.
Turn your phone on to silent; avoid all notifications; let your voicemail pick up calls and return them later.
Get yourself set up with a glass of water, your laptop charger plugged in and any other potential distractions sorted.
Block time-wasting temptations such as the internet and social media sites. (If you don't trust yourself you can temporarily disable the internet, or there are paid apps such as Freedom which enable you to disable particularly problematic sites, such as Instagram, for specific blocks of time.
Work at home, with the office door closed, on days when you're tackling cognitively demanding tasks.
If you have children, schedule this time in school/daycare hours, or organise alternative childcare (telling even the most independent kids you're "busy" is unlikely to stop their interruptions.)
Pay attention to what helps you concentrate and create that environment. For some that means playing music, for others it means no music at all. Others might be affected by lighting.
And my final tip? Prioritise your wellbeing over your to-do list. Regular breaks, good sleep, nourishing meals and a happy outlook mean you'll stay cognitively sharp and increase your chances of focus and deep work. That means you no longer try to do everything in a half-baked way, with the constant risk of burnout and the wheels falling off. Instead, you do a few things really, really well and maintain your strength and health. And that's the path to doing more in less time.
See the TV interview below.