Why you’re trapped to be busy instead of being productive.
Stop working — start creating.
We’ve all experienced the power of being in the zone. Everything runs smoothly, and you’re energized and feeling alive. Ideas, text, and words flow. You have a powerful perspective on things, and work is all of a sudden fun again.
Now ask yourself. How often do you feel empowered, energized, and creative during office hours? If someone would ask you where your favorite place on earth is, how often would the answer be “the office.”
Don’t get me wrong. I have nothing against offices. But I do have a personal battle against the insanity of being busy.
One of the world’s most inspiring leaders and entrepreneurs is in my books the founder of Patagonia, Yvon Chouinard. His management philosophy “MBA — management by absence” is one of the most radical and perspective-changing philosophies in the business world.
I’ve spent more than ten years reading, managing, and giving lectures about leadership. As I became a manager for the first time at the age of 19, I have found few rewarding and productive leadership modules coming from the traditional management literature.
“MBA” — might be too good to be true. But there’s something in its essence that we all can learn from — especially entrepreneurs managing people for the first time. I read a quote from Yvon once claiming that you can’t hire someone and then don’t trust them doing their job. He also states why it’s essential for him not to be attached to the desk:
“Mainly, my job is to be on the outside and bring ideas into the company and forge change. Most people hate change — it’s threatening. I thrive on it.”
-Yvon Chouinard
So, what do people like Yvon Chounaird teach us? Well, a whole lot.
First of all:
1. Let go of your ego.
You’re not that important as you think you are. My good friend Gustaf Josefsson usually shows people a map of the universe when people tend to suffer from megalomania.
Remember why you started your business or why you, in the first hand, wanted to become a manager. I tend to meet managers trapped in feeling sorry for themselves for working too much or having too much responsibility. Well, you probably weren’t forced to take the manager job. And you probably had an idea of what you wanted to create and develop taking that job. Let your team do what they do best and help them achieve that. The rest of the time, create space for reflection, learning things, and developing so that you can have the ability and energy to help your organization take the next leap.
2. Stop working overtime too often.
We’ve all been there. It’s easy to negotiate with yourself when it comes to choosing things that make you feel good such as exercise, quality time with friends and family, being in nature, reading, writing, traveling, or just being. And it’s pretty easy choosing:
- Working overtime.
- Lying in bed with the Ipad or the laptop.
- Checking emails before you go to sleep.
- Having business calls just after dinner.
- Even staying at the office until it’s way past dinnertime.
Well, that’s not just stupid and boring. It’s not productive. There’s science backing that when you start working overtime, you lose both short-and long-term productivity.
3. Understand and accept that most things you do are not that important.
I know that this one hurts. You’ve earned a degree. You’ve worked your ass off to come to this position. You’ve sacrificed a lot to do what you do.
I can’t emphasize this enough. Meeting managers, start-ups, entrepreneurs, freelancers, and so forth, my main concern is people putting a lot of time into doing things that don’t have the output they thought. When it comes to being an entrepreneur and manager, focus on the 20% that creates value, and you know what — let go of 80% of the things that consume your time, energy, and focus.
Start by looking at your schedule. What have you filled your following two weeks with? Ask yourself three questions on each of the scheduled items:
- Is it fun and rewarding?
- Could anyone else do it?
- Does it help me create value for myself and others?
=If(1=no, not really; cancel; keep it).
If you still have to do some things that don’t qualify, ask yourself: How could the intention for that meeting change so it becomes more rewarding, fun, and valuable.
Finally, I’d like to invite you to create space in your calendar for reflection. Put in two hours of weekly “administrative time” so that your boss (if you have one) doesn’t ask where you are. And spend that time with a friend, on a yoga mat, eating pancake breakfast at home, walking in the forest, or visiting a museum. Yes, during office hours.
Because in the end of it all– who will praise you for working a lot?
