by John Gross
“I have all the time in the world.” Said no one. Ever.
Most leaders spend their days sprinting from fire to fire. By Friday afternoon we’re exhausted—and wondering where the week went. Somehow, being busy has become a badge of honor.
It shouldn’t be.
The better question isn’t How busy was I? but Did what I did actually matter? Productivity is about progress toward meaningful goals, not how many emails you answered before lunch.
To shift this mindset, it helps to borrow a concept from the ancient Greeks, who had two words for time: Chronos and Kairos.
- Chronos is clock time—the minutes and hours we obsess over.
- Kairos is the right time—moments that carry greater importance or impact.
Most leaders manage their calendar in Chronos while their strategy lives in Kairos. Vision, planning, and improvement get squeezed out by urgent—but less important—tasks.
The fix is simple: time block your Kairos work. Start with two hours a week dedicated to strategy, improvement, or deep thinking. Gradually build toward four to six hours. Guard it like your most important meeting—because it is.
While you’re at it, retire the myth of multitasking. Doing two things at once rarely saves time; it usually slows you down and increases mistakes. Focus on one task—preferably the most important—finish it, then move on.
Time is the one resource you can’t replenish. No supplier, no loan, no overtime can create more of it.
So ask yourself the question that separates progress from chaos:
Am I being productive—or merely busy?
John Gross, a Business Architect, helps small and mid-sized businesses clarify strategy, build resilient teams and gain control of their operations to achieve sustainable growth. Contact him at John@DrivingChangeInc.com or 636.667.0579 to start driving change.