The more tightly scheduled you are, the less likely you will be open-minded.
I found myself recently with a calendar jam-packed with meetings, some starting as early as 5am to accommodate clients in the European time zones, and most back-to-back with very little breathing room throughout the day. My EA had even put in a noon buffer every day for lunch, but even that was being “eaten into” when there was nowhere else to squeeze in a meeting.
This tight schedule doesn’t just impact me. My team started making comments, such as, “I know you are so busy, but can you just sign off on this one item?” or, “Can you squeeze in a call with me this week?”
And then I found they didn’t want to meet with me, preferring to email their questions and wait for answers.
When your schedule is that tight, it impacts the way you interact with others. I tend to prioritize getting the answers I need, so I may skip the conversation, the exploration, the open mind to a possible different solution. No one wants to be on the receiving end of that person!
Moshe Bar, well-known neuroscientist, published an article in The New York Times in 2016 called, “Think Less, Think Better.” You have to love the title! The essence was that, when we have too much in our brain, we default to the predictable―the tried-and-true solutions we know―the “comfort” of something that worked in the past. This results in less openness to ideas, less exchange, less exploration of what can be possible.
While a cluttered, jammed day (and brain) make you lose out on creativity and innovation (and growth), they also impact everyone you interact with in a negative way. People don’t want to be with you.
Being intentional about “space” in your day is critical, to not only leadership, but humanness. And, it’s especially critical to your health. By processing so many things in one day, I found my ability to remember what I did decide on was impacted, and my team would have to remind me of the decisions I had already made.
Today, I hold every Friday as a “non-meeting” day. This allows me to decide what will happen on Friday. I still have meetings, but they are ones I want to have in the open space, and Fridays allow me the space to work on things without a timeline. This gives me the ability to come up with new presentation content, ideas to evolve the business, or to just explore articles and speakers online, which will always inspire me to do something unplanned! And that feels good. As a result, my team gets my better thinking and my open mind.
Start with one hour a day of scheduled thinking time. Graduate to a half day or full day. And when you build the habit, I encourage you to do what I now do. Courtesy of Bill Gates and his “think week” concept, where he totally unplugs and creates space for free-thinking and creativity once per year, I’ve incorporated this idea into shorter, multi-day “think sessions.”
The outcome can be much bigger than more effective decision-making or relating more effectively to your team. According to Moshe Bar, it changes the quality of our lives. Our ability to unburden our mind in ritualistic ways (such as meditation, think weeks, etc.) brings us a magnified experience of our world and of our own mind
So, open your schedule and open your mind – Happy Thinking!
About the Author
Carol Seymour: Global Executive, Speaker, Author and Founder of Signature Leaders
Carol Seymour is a sought-after business leader and seasoned global executive of large and mid-cap size companies and private-equity backed turnarounds. She founded Signature Leaders in 2013 which focuses on accelerating women into next level leadership and helping leaders create greater impact and influence. Signature Leaders was recognized last year as one of Inc. 5000 “Fastest Growing Private Companies”.
The Signature series of leadership offerings support the growth of women from Manager level up to and including C-suite executives. Today, more than 3000 global leaders across 6 continents have experienced a Signature program. Signature Leaders partners with more than 140 market-leading companies for their selective investments.
Carol is also a Founding Member of Paradigm for Parity and named one of the Top 40 Women Keynote Speakers for 2020 by RealLeaders Magazine.
Carol resides in Cashiers, NC. She has two married children, three granddaughters, and a grandson.
