Don't run a marathon on that treadmill

How to avoid feeling busy, but not getting much done

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,
This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
tip is that hard work is good, but make sure
it is getting you somewhere that you intend to go.

(00:25):
So I recently heard of someone who, in the words
of her colleague, runs a marathon on a treadmill. It
is a striking image. We all probably know somebody who
is always busy but without accomplishing much. Maybe you have
a colleague who is always stressed and frowning at her computer,
but who doesn't seem to produce that much. Perhaps you

(00:48):
know someone who moves around her house at one hundred
miles per hour, taking objects from room to room, straightening
the same pictures again and again, but without the house
ever feeling tidy enough to stop. Or maybe you have
a coworker who's always keeping balls in the air for
a dozen projects, but strangely doesn't seem to finish any
of them. Maybe you feel like you are running a

(01:10):
marathon on a treadmill. You are going at the fastest
pace you possibly can, but you aren't finishing what you
want to finish. Now in running, treadmills serve their purpose
I run a few miles on the treadmill when it
is icy outside or dark at four pm. But if
you are training for a marathon and running longer distances,

(01:31):
this would soon become quite maddening to have no real
sense of forward motion. So how do you get off
the treadmill and onto the roadway where those twenty six
miles actually cover twenty six miles. One idea is to
first focus on your language of productivity. Try to talk
about what you will accomplish rather than vague projects you

(01:55):
are randomly working on. Generally, there should be a noun
and a verb in your place, or even a time limit.
Email doesn't work. Instead, you could decide to spend thirty
minutes processing my emails. You will know you have accomplished
that when you have spent thirty focused minutes addressing what

(02:16):
is most important in your inbox and capturing tasks into
your task processing system. Likewise, job search is too vague. Instead,
you might plan to review a particular job board and
identify any jobs you want to apply for, or reach
out to three connections on LinkedIn and ask for their

(02:36):
help in particular ways. Make sure your plans get you
going in a particular direction. There is no point being
busy just to be busy. Just as you use language
about what you plan to accomplish in the future, you
can also use the language of accomplishment looking back on
your time. If you don't already have a way of

(02:59):
tracking way you have done, consider keeping a spreadsheet where
you have a row for each day and a column
for each phase of the day, perhaps morning, afternoon, evening,
and each cell you jot down your accomplishments in a
few words, thank edited, banks document and sent it in,
or drafted agenda for quarterly meeting and sent it around.
Doing this keeps you focused on what you have gotten done,

(03:23):
and if you have gotten done, what you set out
to get done. Give yourself freedom to choose what to
do next. You don't have to seem busy if you're
done with your priorities for the morning, great read an
article related to a topic you are interested in, have
a cup of coffee with a new colleague, or flesh

(03:43):
out ideas for a project you want to pitch to
your boss. When you reach your destination early, you do
not have to keep running in place. Now. Maybe you
are not the one who stays busy but doesn't accomplish much.
Maybe you are a manager and you have a direct
report who always seems to be running a marathon on
their treadmill. A lot of the same strategies apply. Use

(04:07):
the language of accomplishment. Ask what they plan to get done,
what projects or tasks they completed, any barriers to accomplishment
they need your help on, et cetera. Also recognize accomplishment,
not long hours. You don't want your team to think
you see good employees as those who arrive early and

(04:30):
stay late and are always talking about just how busy
they are, so don't praise that behavior. Instead, compliment high
quality work. People will get the message. You may also
need to address the treadmill directly. When an employee is
always busy but doesn't seem to be getting a lot done,

(04:50):
ask what their top priorities are. Be a guide and
a thought partner, and making sure their effort is focused
on those priorities and moving forward on them. It is
not always obvious how to do this, Having guidance from
a supervisor can be transformative. No one really wants to

(05:10):
run a marathon on a treadmill. A few miles are fine,
but too much treadmill time can be exhausting and not
all that satisfying. So if that is you, sometimes take
a step back and refocus, figure out what you want
to do in any give and unit of time, do it,
and then celebrate the accomplishment. You won't feel so much

(05:32):
like you are running in place in the meantime. This
is Laura, Thanks for listening, and here's to making the
most of our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast.

(05:53):
If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach
me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast
is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia,
please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you

(06:15):
listen to your favorite shows.