During my first six years of leading executive peer groups, several themes have consistently arisen.
One frequent theme I hear from CEOs, business owners owners and key executives: I’m working too much, jeopardizing my family, my health, my health and — ironically (because too much work can be counter-productive), even my business.
How does this happen?
Here’s one small, but frequent way
people overwork: one more thing.
When I do it, it sounds like me, saying to myself: “I’m just going to do one more thing.”
Often, I’m sitting in front of my computer — at my desk, or in a coffee shop — or with my smartphone in hand, and I finish the task at hand. I glance at the clock and I know that I’ve done enough, and I have a place to go, a man to see about a horse, and I suddenly develop a case of Butt Glue. I don’t move. I think, “I’m just going to do one more thing.”
- I look at my To Do List and start to tackle one more thing.
- I visit my inbox and start to reply to one more thing.
- I check my calendar and start to fiddle with the future.
Or I open a new box, fresh from Pandora (the first woman on earth according to Greek mythology, not the music service):
- I check the news. (Here’s how that’s going.)
- I check social media. (I check to see if anyone commented on my recent post. More on this at the end.)
- I check my photostream to delete duplicate photographs.
What Would Happen If I Didn’t
Do One More Thing?
Here are the things that might wait for another day:
- Responding to folks who are waiting for replies that might be important to them, but aren’t essential to me.
- Emptying the inbox.
- Getting caught up on my essential email. (I think I’ll do that now. I like to live at Inbox Zero.)
- Write a poem.
- Prepare for something that can wait.
- See what payments have cleared my checking account.
- Check on the national buffoonery.
Oh, and this would happen today and now:
- Meditation.
- Exercise.
- Tea with my beloved.
- A moment to think about what’s important.
But first, one more thing.
Nope. Not one more thing.
What A Coincidence!
As I’m typing this, without my telling him this topic, Matt Slaybaugh, my friend, creative mentor, and human writing prompt, says, “I edited the apps on my iPhone to make it a Distraction Free iPhone.” What a coincidence! He didn’t know my topic today. I’m going to do the same now.
One More Thought:
A Catalyst For Not Doing One More Thing.
Here’s what sparked me to cut my social media consumption to nearly zero.
Acacia Duncan, a coaching co-mentor, friend, and creative role model, said, “I noticed I was constantly checking whether people had commented on my Facebook posts.”
Ouch. I was doing that compulsively. I abruptly ending that grind — and recovered so much of my life.