How is time like closet space?

Today is the first work day with all three of my kids away at overnight camp.?

The house is completely quiet.?

There are no half-full water glasses lingering on my kitchen counter.?

No last-minute jaunts to the store to get “one thing I need to pack!”

Just silence.

And, what feels like a vast amount of time ahead of me.

As someone a bit obsessed with time and making the most of it, this situation is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, I’m hyper-conscious of the fact that I should be planful, and use this time wisely. On the other, the very thought of doing so counteracts that indulgent feeling of letting time just happen.

So, I’ll turn to the wisdom gleaned from The Difference Lab :

1. Embrace both planning and just being. But be intentional about both. I have a plan to focus on my priorities, at work and outside of it.? Otherwise, it’s human nature to do the urgent over the important. My “just being” time will be quality time with my husband (no side-by-side scrolling), my friends and me. Period. If it doesn’t fit into one of those buckets, bye-bye.
2. Break the closet space law. Never heard of this one? You know it intuitively: if you’ve got space in your closet, it tends to get filled. Unscheduled time can be that way too. Now that my mind is juggling less, I’m going to give myself the space to say, what do I not want to be doing anymore? What gets in the way of me really focusing on what matters? And – like a good closet purge – I’m going to subtract it. Tip: write down what you’re subtracting so you don’t revert to old habits come fall.?
3. Tame my inner voice. As Ms. Productive, I love the sugar rush of checking things off my list. My inner voice says, “Got 15 minutes? Don’t waste it. Do more.” But somewhere in there, I know it’s not about checking off the to-do list. Rather, it’s about getting to the things that really matter.

Whether you’re making time in your life or space in your closet, the key is to fill it with things that are valuable to you.

STOP CRAMMING IT ALL IN

Have you heard of Parkinson’s Law? It’s our tendency to have work expand to fill the time available for its completion.?

Just the other day, a client in our Intentional Subtraction for Teams program shared that they were inspired to drastically cut the duration of their brand planning cycle, which had always been three months long. Their theory is if three months has been allocated, it gives the cue that the work should take three months to do.

But if they cut that allotment to three weeks – or hark! – days, the output would be similar, yet they will have subtracted a significant amount of unnecessary “work about work.”??

To what are you allocating so much time that it’s signaling it’s supposed to take a huge amount of time?

BITE-SIZED INSPIRATION

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??? WHOOPS: Had a downright embarrassing moment at work? Don't sweat it. The Harvard Business Review offers some sage advice about how to get past it and keep your head up. Pocket also curated a selection of must-read articles about embarrassment and shame.?

??? AIRPORT FOOD?: Are the days of bad airport food gone? Maybe so, according to Conde Naste Traveler. The publication rounded up 37 of the best airport meals around the world. Take a peek before your next jet-setting adventure!?

??? ZZZZZZ: Got a vacation on the horizon? Here's how to take the perfect nap, according to Time. Hilariously, this writer took naps at work. And while we're not necessarily advocating for that approach, the article offers some great tips and fascinating research on the benefits of napping.?

WHAT WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT

Impacting:

Last week we ran an “Introduction to Intentional Subtraction” session. Immediately afterwards, one participant reached out to excitedly share they had already subtracted something.

He said, “I realized I have ridiculously large stand-up meetings with my team every week. We got into the habit during COVID. I cut attendance to leaders only and plan to cut frequency, too. The applause was deafening.”

What we’re reading about:

The Coordination Tax. Bear with us, it’s way better than the name suggests! Just when you thought we’d reached our collective taxation threshold, along comes another one: The Coordination Tax. This tax is almost incalculably costly. It’s the time and energy it takes to coordinate with colleagues. This diverts us from spending time on the knowledge work we’ve been hired to do.

This Wall Street Journal article dives into what’s taxing our headspace and calendars, and explores the systems and policies some companies are experimenting with to minimize its impact.?

Thanks for reading!

In my 20+ years as a communications leader and convention-challenging entrepreneur, I fine-tuned my ability to focus on the most valuable things to me, and to my work. I joined The Difference Lab as a way to help others do the same.

Be well,

Amy Laski, Chief Strategy Officer at The Difference Lab

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