July 4, 2018

We are all too busy

According to a recent article in The Observer 75% of teachers are suffering from serious stress at work. Sadly, I wasn’t too surprised to read this. What was more surprising was that 62% of the entire working population of the UK reports serious, work-related stress. That can’t be good.

There are plenty of clever articles online about why we all seem to be getting busier and busier. This one, in The Economist, is worth a read. But you probably don’t need The Economist to tell you that a combination of technological and social pressures are keeping most of us busier than we would like. It’s everywhere you look. Including the mirror…

Solution one: delete

If you have too much to do, the first solution is blindingly obvious: do less. Delete tasks from your list. Agree to less. Don’t check your social media. Don’t sign up for more emails. Don’t reply to everyone who mails you. Don’t read any more of this blog. Just stop. Now.

Solution two: delegate

The second solution is to give your stuff to someone else to do. This is what inspired this piece. It struck me that all of my clients have one thing in common. They are all very busy people. And my service, at its crudest, is about renting out my thinking time, and thinking about things on their behalf.

If you’re not too busy, do feel free to add your own thoughts below: