I remember when my calendar was blocked out with long, color coded stretches of meetings, calls and visits that would spread over one, maybe two dedicated hours. I’d create “buffer” time in my calendar to be able to respond to email, put out any fires or get ahead on a project. When my color coded blocks ended, I’d drive home and do my best to unplug. Wake up and repeat…..
Then I left that life. Punched it in the teeth, never looked back and set off to change the world!
As a mother, founder, wife, daughter and workplace disruptor, “there are never enough hours in the day” has taken on a whole new meaning these past couple of years. No longer am I able to block out neat little color blocks of time on my calendar. I have so many overlapping items it looks like a Van Gough painting in my Outlook. I find 10 minutes to reply to an email while my toddler is briefly entertained with a toy that I’m sure has choking hazards. I check my website traffic with one hand while making lunch for my 1st grader with the other.
Working in the creases works for me. I have never been more efficient with my time or more maniacal with my goals than I am right now.
So for all of the women and men out there who have found the creases to be much more productive than previously thought- keep it up! It’s productivity and work life integration at it’s best. And for all of the employers out there still scanning a time clock as opposed to tracking deliverables, just stop it. Manage your people to the level you know they can perform and break ‘the way it’s always been done’ thinking before you lose all of your great talent.