Business author Tony Schwartz has spent fifteen years looking at the American workplace, so he knows that engagement is always a struggle. But the latest numbers even took him by surprise.
70% of workers say they lack time for creative or strategic thinking. Two-thirds say they can’t focus on more than one thing at a time. And nearly as many say they never have time for the things they enjoy most in their work. The urgent, he said, overwhelms the important on a daily basis.
The solution is to take control of your boundaries. There are no finish lines any more in American business. We are going all the time. But research shows that being relentlessly “on” diminishes productivity, creativity, and focus.
Turn off your devices and don’t reply to emails in the evening or on most weekends. Encourage others to do the same so it becomes the norm at your company.
If you have control over your break schedule, short breaks every 90 minutes DRAMATICALLY increase focus and productivity, much more than a single long lunch break.
Do what you can to work smarter, not harder, and the results will speak for themselves.