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How I Escaped the Always-On Work Trap That Nearly Destroyed My Business
The counterintuitive lesson that transformed my business.
Two years ago, I was on vacation in Da Nang, Vietnam, finally getting some well-deserved time off.
My phone rang at 6 AM local time.
It was a client with a Facebook ad issue. The platform’s AI had cropped their ad image slightly, cutting off a corner of their product. They were concerned about the image of their brand being ruined and wanted my immediate input.
I spent 30 minutes on that beach troubleshooting the issue and reassuring them everything would be fine.
The problem was solved quickly. The client felt supported. But something about that moment made me realize I’d been approaching client service all wrong.
I was confusing being available with being valuable.
And that confusion was hurting both my work quality and my clients’ results.
The trap of instant availability
Here’s what I realized during that phone call:
I’d accidentally trained myself to be reactive instead of strategic.
