Many moons ago at the start of my career, I was fortunate enough to work for a fantastic boss, Hugh Humphrey, who understood the importance of personal effectiveness for success.
He invested significant time mentoring me, along with a few others.
Most of us were bright-eyed and bushy-tailed rookies, in the early stages of our careers or in our first roles as functional leaders or line managers.
We faced the same core challenge most newbies face at work: Understanding the difference between being busy, being productive, being efficient, and being effective, and using that insight to fuel our success and organizational impact.
Hugh’s mentoring played a huge part in this.
It was a crucial aspect of the wider management development programme we were on.
And for me in particular, another significant part of the programme was the one-to-one on-the-job coaching I got.
My time with Hugh in our mentoring sessions was like sitting with the elders under the village tree, soaking up their wisdom. A generally pleasurable experience.
Whereas, my time with Carey Edwards, the external work coach, was … let’s just say it was something else.
Monkey enlightenment
Carey shadowed me from the start day of the workday right through till I left to go home.
He was like a monkey on my shoulder on those coaching days, constantly pushing me to challenge my decisions, my thinking, my actions, … everything!
I doubt I’ll ever forget his probing questions:
“Why are you doing X right now rather than Y?” “What do you intend to achieve today?” “Why do you want to phone her rather than walk to her desk (or vice-versa)?” “Is this particular thing the most important thing to do this morning, and why do you think so?” “How does this activity you’re doing now help you achieve the objectives Hugh has given you?” “How long has this task taken you, and did you have a plan for how long it would take?” “Will the time you just spent chatting with XYZ person help you achieve what you said you wanted to achieve today?” … And on and on.
It was amusing at first.
Then it got irritating, progressing to the point where I wanted to yell at him to f*ck off and leave me alone.
And then, slowly, it became enlightening—when I learned the power of effectiveness, focus and personal discipline.
The deluge
That enlightenment saved me from being a busy fool.
And the salvation continues to this day, with the benefits flowing into every aspect of my work and how I manage myself, especially on client assignments.
I’ve become religious about my time and attention.
Constantly reminding myself that they can’t be remanufactured helps me deal with the deluge of tasks, demands, desires and distractions that beset us all today, even beyond normal working hours.
It’s non-stop emails, phone calls, notifications, WhatsApp group chats, meetings, Slack messages, Zoom calls, etc.
Our modern-day working culture and personal choice of habits have combined to create what the Financial Times (FT) called the “infinite workday”.
The term may have been coined by Microsoft in its recent work trend report, which the FT article is partly based on. In any case, it’s very apt.
The revelations show why so many of us feel swamped and fatigued by the deluge.
For example:
- The average employee gets 117 emails per day
- We’re interrupted every two minutes by messages, notifications, etc.
- Many of us are plugged in as early as 6 a.m., often diving into our inboxes
- And we’re still swimming in emails and other messages as late as 10 p.m.
Clearly, we’ve become tethered to our work, primarily by the chains of modern technology and our digital devices.
True salvation
The rise of remote- and hybrid-work hasn’t helped, as it has blurred the boundaries of “office/work” and “home/personal life” for many. And that, too, has been enabled by the very same technology that keeps us constantly connected and always available.
Now, the latest tech in town—artificial intelligence (AI)—promises to offer relief.
Hmm.
That’s likely an illusion.
AI tools can indeed help us in many ways if we use them wisely.
Transcribing meetings, analyzing myriad data, summarizing emails, creating and optimizing work schedules, drafting content, and automating routine or repetitive tasks are just a few examples.
But AI isn’t our saviour from the deluge.
It may enable us to work faster or more efficiently, but not necessarily more effectively or strategically.
If the work you’re doing is the wrong work, then AI will simply speed that up, e.g., by giving you the ability to respond to more emails. You might become more productive and efficient. Yet you could still be a busy or less-busy fool.
AI won’t save you from yourself.
True salvation doesn’t come from more tech. It comes from understanding, rethinking and strengthening your personal effectiveness.
You could start by applying the spirit of Carey Edwards’s questions to everything you do in your workday.
You must also reclaim control of how you work, and set appropriate boundaries.
Becoming the controller
Responding to emails and messages quicker doesn’t mean you’re solving important problems or delivering meaningful results. Saying “no” to invitations for pointless meetings or similar low-value requests won’t end your career. Trying to do several things at once by multitasking will rarely improve your effectiveness. Refusing to address work issues outside working hours—even if it’s a message from your boss—won’t cost you your job; if it does, and the issue wasn’t a genuine emergency, then you were probably in the wrong job or organization. Completing a million urgent things of trivial importance each day won’t impact your success and fulfilment as much as tackling three highly important and urgent tasks.
Fundamentally, you must use your personal discipline to wean yourself off the ineffective habits you’ve developed.
And start practising self-leadership to prioritize your time and focus during work hours on the specific tasks that drive your work goals forward.
I’ve written and spoken extensively on this theme, so I won’t repeat myself here—you’ll find lots of valuable insights and extra tips in my Articles & Media and in Career Dreams to Career Success.
Put the advice to good use and you’ll thrive and succeed; the deluge will stand no chance against you!
