In today’s business environment it is now commonplace for companies to run very lean. This often results in employees having additional daily tasks and activities on top of their normal scope of work. Some of these tasks often present themselves as “fires” that “have to be done right now.” This leads to employees becoming fire fighters and instead of focusing on the most important task, they have to focus on whatever is on fire, at that moment. As a result, when an employee is approached with a meeting request or to help out on a certain project, they often respond with “I am just too busy to help.” Has this become our standard response now when we are asked to do something? Are we truly too busy or maybe do we just need a little help in prioritizing our daily tasks? Is there anything that can be done to break this repetitive cycle?
Productivity expert David Allen describes the above dilemma as "the busy trap". This is simply “the pattern of reactively handling the latest and loudest issues, instead of proactively deciding what's the most important thing to work on, at the moment.” He describes all work into two modes: doing stuff and deciding what stuff you have to do. To work smart, one must be able to balance these two modes. If you react before you decide, you will in evidently be stuck in “the busy trap.” Take a few minutes to watch this short video created by Gina Trapani from Fast Company, who details how to avoid falling into “the busy trap.”
Productivity expert David Allen describes the above dilemma as "the busy trap". This is simply “the pattern of reactively handling the latest and loudest issues, instead of proactively deciding what's the most important thing to work on, at the moment.” He describes all work into two modes: doing stuff and deciding what stuff you have to do. To work smart, one must be able to balance these two modes. If you react before you decide, you will in evidently be stuck in “the busy trap.” Take a few minutes to watch this short video created by Gina Trapani from Fast Company, who details how to avoid falling into “the busy trap.”
There will always be interruptions thrown at you in the form of emergencies or requests, that won’t change. What you can change though is how you respond to them. As this short video highlighted, the key to avoiding the busy trap is to make decisions, early and often, about what your priorities are today.
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