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OPINION
Prioritizing for productivity
W e’ve all heard it, said it, or felt it: busy. Whether it’s attending an industry organization event, on an internal conference call, or talking with clients, it seems like the leading question tends to be, “How are you?” which is quickly followed by the answer, “Good, but busy.” Shed the word “busy” from your vocabulary to focus on the priorities that will have the greatest positive impact on your firm.
Duncan Robertson, CPSM
This four letter word might be the most common and subjective word in our professional dictionary, because we overuse it and water it down without really considering the actions or tasks behind the “busyness.” In an article published by Fast Company , performative busyness is described as, “Work that isn’t necessary but is done to appear visible.” According to Merriam-Webster, “busy,” as we commonly use it, is described as either being engaged in action or full of activity. With all of this in mind, what are we doing with our “busyness”? If this is all of our first responses to the question, “How are you?” then we should be able to clearly define what busy consists of. Unfortunately, many of us likely feel busy not because of the amount of items on the to-do list, but rather because of the lack of prioritization to tackle that to-do list.
Rather than searching for meaningless tasks to fill time or appear busy, what if we took advantage of those precious minutes or hours with the energy to tackle the most important problems we’re facing? In their book, Extreme Ownership , by retired Navy Seals and current leadership coaches Jocko Willink and Leif Babin, the authors describe a series of leadership lessons that translate from the battlefield to the boardroom. Willink and Babin emphasize one key idea, known as a Law of Combat, that applies in this situation, called “Prioritize and Execute,” which describes how to narrow your focus in order to be more efficient. Here are five steps to take back your time and “Prioritize and Execute” the issues that will make the
See DUNCAN ROBERTSON, page 8
THE ZWEIG LETTER JUNE 9, 2025, ISSUE 1589
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