In 1930 an economist made a prediction. His name was John Maynard Keynes . Keynes, as in the founder of the Keynesian Economic theories still used today.
Keynes predicted that productivity will continue to increase and in 2030 we would only need to work 15 hours per week. In fact, in his essay his biggest concern was related to the lack of purpose we will face as a species when we had so much time on our hands.
Keynes was right about productivity but despite being more productive than ever, we are busier than ever. We work longer hours and feel busier outside of work despite so much of our household activities being automated or outsourced.
Where did we go wrong? Why are we so busy?
In this episode we talk to Julie Hyde about the 8 types of busy, their root causes, their impacts and how they can influence how we lead. We discuss how to break free from being busy with a particular focus on people pleasing and micro-managing.
Julie is the Founder of Julie Hyde Consulting. She is a speaker, podcast host and author of Busy? Take control, get relevant & become an influential leader. Julie helps organizations to improve their leadership capability. Julie is passionate about empowering leaders to be powerful role models who lead with their heart and enable others to shine. She also hates the word “busy”.
We hope you enjoy this insightful conversation with Julie Hyde.
You can connect with Julie via LinkedIn or her website.
You can listen to the episode on Apple, Google, Spotify, Stitcher or Simplecast.
Show Notes
2:27 – Using “busy” to describe how you are doing.
4:28 – are we really more busy now?
7:18 – is obsession with busy cross-cultural?
8:27 – impact of COVID on being busy.
11:40 – addicted to busy.
14:01 – sleep is usually sacrificed when we feel busy.
15:58 – what are we busy doing?
17:48 – shifting our mindset from efficient to effective.
22:06 – I don’t have time for this!
24:49 – being on the other end of busy.
30:06 – saying “no” to focus on your priorities.
33:19 – improving communication about urgency of tasks.
36:37 – people pleasing is one of 8 types of busy.
39:45 – how to get better at saying “no”.
43:29 – your loved ones pay the price of your people pleasing.
46:16 – how to avoid micro managing people.
49:26 – delegating vs protecting team from overload.
55:09 – transition from technical expert to managing people.
59:01 – focus on strengths or weaknesses?
1:01:10 – story of “busy Gary”.
1:04:35 – fear of judgement is what keeps us busy.
1:06:59 – connect with Julie.
Links to references
Keynes’ 1930 prediction about 15 hour work week
A full work day in 1970 can now be completed in 1.5 hours
Leanne Ferret A Brash – psychologist: addictive nature of busy
Australians don’t get enough sleep
Study done in USA of not trusting the excuse of being busy
Naomi Simpson, founder and CEO of Red Balloon
Only thing good leaders have in common is intentionality
Key Quotes
“‘I’m busy’ has become the default for most people”
“We all have the same amount of time in the day…people use it differently”
“We have become Human Doings rather than Human Beings!”
“We can lose sight of what is purposeful and meaningful for us.”
“Sleep is sacrificed thanks to our business and research says 57% of Australian Adults don’t get enough sleep”
“Sleep is so important for us to perform at our best…yet we don’t seem to value sleep”
“What are you busy doing?”
“Some people think busy is a good thing, some think it’s a negative thing”
“Get it out of you head, get it on paper, what are the top 3 things that are priority for you?”
“What are the top 3 things that if I got that done today, this is a massive step forward for me”
“Being on the other end of busy is not a great message….we are telling people that they are not a priority”
“We need to be conscious of what we are role modelling”.
“People are starting to not trust the excuse of busy”
“Sometimes are best laid plans are going to be blown out of the water because life happens”
“We cannot do everything all at the same time.”
“People pleasers get to a state of complete overwhelm
“People pleases can do things out of a misguided sense of obligation”
“It needs to be about you first so that you can then go about serving everybody else better”
“What do you want to be known for? Do you want to be known for being busy?”
“Delegation is not abdication”
“Delegate with a timeframe and a check in point in between”
