The Busyness Paradox

Fans of American College Football were recently treated to a baffling display of heroic determination. Needing only to touch a kneecap to a blade of grass to secure a hard fought victory, the University of Miami's gridiron team bravely stole defeat from the jaws of victory. How? With unnecessary busywork, of course.  

Come visit us at busynessparadox.com to see episode transcripts, blog posts and other content while you’re ther...

Larry Thornton and Dave Ketchen join us to discuss their award-winning graphic novel, "You Have to Live, Why Not Win?" and Larry's journey from racial segregation to success as an entrepreneur, author, teacher and artist. This is our most inspirational interview yet and will make you question your perceptions of yourself and others. In a good way. We promise. If you listen to one episode of the Busyness Paradox, make...

We humans have a love/hate relationship with change. Many of us are probably alive today because some cave-dwelling ancestor said “on second thought, let’s not try that new shortcut through viper country cousin Erg suggested before he mysteriously disappeared.” Yet we also fear the consequences of NOT changing with the times: obsolescence, boredom and generally getting left behind as the world moves on. 

And so we cling to...

Have you ever gotten a pay raise and then, looking back, sort of wished you hadn't? It's become a surprisingly common phenomenon as employees have found hidden strings attached to the Covid-era generosity shown by employers. To discuss this unusual predicament, we sought out someone with a usual perspective on the workplace: meet Dr. Caleb Sanchez, a former police officer turned business psychologist. Join us as Dr. Sanch...

With all the fanfare about artificial intelligence these past few months, listeners have asked us: "Will ChatGPT put an end to busywork?" Like all self-appointed experts, we took the question straight to ChatGPT. It tells us that "ChatGPT is designed to provide automated assistance and support...helping employees perform tasks more efficiently and effectively, reducing the amount of busywork they need to do." We...

It’s that time of year when endless news reports about March Madness-related “time theft” bubble up to the surface (get it? like teams on the bubble? anyone?) They all bemoan the incalculable dollar amount, which dozens of studies nonetheless claim to calculate, lost to employees watching basketball instead of working. Our take: if your employees are doing what you pay them to do and you’re furious that they didn’t do more because ...

Join us as we pat ourselves on the back for reaching the fabled 52-episode milestone. Because 52 is way more exciting than 50. Not because we had already passed 50 episodes without realizing it. Why would you even think that? Anyways, publishing 52 episodes has taught us that podcasting shares a (wait for it…) paradox with many seemingly simple jobs: the more skill and effort you put into it, the less skill and effort the average c...

We all know the story. After worshipping at the altar of "lean" for decades, we spent two years wondering where all the toilet paper and pickup trucks went. Covid reminded us that too much efficiency could be colossally inefficient, slack was back, hooray. Then you tried to board that Southwest flight a couple months ago and you realized the germ-like aversion to slack had taken root far beyond the manufacturing sector. I...

If you're like us, you grew up being told that American labor unions were a fading relic of the past. After a string of successful organizing drives and a stunning 406 strikes in 2022, we're beginning to question that assumption. Reflecting on the ongoing labor strife in the American railroad industry, we decided it was time to bring in an expert to discuss the current state of organized labor in the U.S. In this episode,...

Back in March 2020, millions of workers around the world abruptly learned that their jobs didn't always require their presence at a specific desk in a specific building at a specific set of times each and every week. After a bumpy start, many began to appreciate the flexibility, autonomy and, to varying degrees, empowerment this new approach to work afforded. Others decided it wasn't for them. A few decided it wasn't...

“Everyone’s got a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” So says Mike Tyson, and so it is with layoffs. No one starts a new job expecting it to end with a pink-slip. Even when the grim employment reaper is seen milling about our own workplace, it’s easy to convince ourselves that he’s only harvesting other people’s jobs. And yet, almost half of us will be downsized at least once in our careers. Join us as we discuss some warnin...

Almost three years in, we think it's safe to conclude that history will view the 2020's as "an interesting time to be alive." But a silver lining of these turbulent times has been the widespread rethinking about how work should "work." The resulting push toward previously-unthinkable levels of flexibility, empowerment and compensation has met with some friction, however. The resulting labor unrest, str...

By now you've probably heard about "quiet quitting," the latest workplace trend to blow the minds of journalists and social media posters alike. This stunning act of rebellion involves employees doing the work they are paid to do. Seriously. That's what quiet quitting is. It's neither quiet nor quitting, but it's a movement nonetheless.

The hoopla, of course, is about what these mutinous work...

We've all seen the signs and memes. We've heard the cranky scorn from talking heads, business owners, politicians and old men yelling at clouds. No one (except them) wants to work anymore! Everyone (except them) is lazy! In this episode, we challenge the ironically lazy thinking behind these claims and ask those who feel this way to consider an alternative explanation: maybe people just don't want to work for you?

You asked us to talk more about four-day work weeks, we did you one better. Join us for a discussion with Charlotte Lockhart, founder and managing director of the 4 Day Week Global Foundation! With operations in North America, Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Europe, Charlotte and her husband, Andrew Barnes (author of The 4 Day Week), are at the literal forefront of this movement. If you’ve ever questioned the Monday-Friday, one-...

With all the changes brought about by Covid-19, you might not be surprised to hear about a huge uptick in research on the effects of shortened work weeks. You might be surprised to hear that this sudden burst of scholarly interest began - and ended - in the 1970s. What did our (presumably) bell-bottomed forebears learn about the pros and cons of ditching the traditional five-day workweek? Why did it take a pandemic to rekindle our ...

There is such a thing as "good" busyness - that baseline euphoria you feel when you're humming along, pummeling your to-do list like it owes you money. There's also such a thing as fake busyness - that absurd phenomenon where adults convene in an office and pretend to be doing important work stuff.

Look over at your employees or coworkers. Which type of busyness do you see? Are you sure? Join us as we ...

That's it! We're starting a church...

Links to articles, episodes and topics discussed in this episode:

0:30 - The U.S. tried permanent daylight saving time in the 1970s — then quickly rejected it

2:10 - What Happened the Last Time the U.S. Tried to Make Daylight Saving Time Permanent?

3:30 - The Nocturnals

5:40 - Nixing Busyness with Niksen

13:42 - We Put the Cult in Culture

17:11 - Goldman Sachs wants worke...

Every few months someone proclaims the death of this working-from-home silliness. Citing indisputably indisputable sources, they assure us that our long nightmare of comfort and efficiency is over. "Rejoice!" they tell us! All who toil in their comfy clothes under the scornful eye of their pet cat, "Buttons"...fear not! The commutes, cubicles, and in-person meetings that are the God-given right of every man, wom...