Today is an Untouchable Day
Why conscious leaders know how to maximize their time
Ever feel like no matter how much Tetris you play with your calendar, you can never get all the pieces (meetings and projects) to fit together in 24 hours? In a time in history where being busy is almost vaunted as a virtue, we often feel like we’ll never catch up, which leads to feelings of hopelessness and frustration, which can eventually turn into burnout.
In one of my newsletters earlier this year, I shared how your calendar can become your greatest ally for guarding your time and productivity. One of the main reasons we struggle with feeling productive is we get so caught up in the tyranny of the urgent, we neglect to protect the valuable time necessary to be creative and engage in what Cal Newport calls “deep work.”
I recently came across a fantastic article that further expands on this important topic: Why You Need an Untouchable Day Every Week. Author Neil Pasricha shares how he struggled for years juggling work meetings, passion projects, and life. He thought by cramming everything into his schedule and essentially burning the candle at both ends, he was productive. But as he confesses, “I now understand that you can only drive in the express lane for so long before the wheels come off.”
So Neil instituted what he calls “untouchable days.” These are days where he is literally unreachable by anyone. He sequesters himself so he can focus on meaningful work, not busy work. He’s so dedicated, he actually schedules these days sixteen weeks ahead of time so nothing else can interfere with them. This certainly reflects the significance of one of my favorite quotes: “If it’s not on your calendar, it’s not in your heart.”
Neil shares that the results are so remarkable that he literally can’t justify not doing untouchable days. That’s how important they have become to his creativity and productivity. Essentially, Neil redefined what productivity means for him. It’s not the number of meetings, calls, or blog posts. It’s the quality of the content and its impact.
So often managers measure success or productivity based on vanity measures like numbers of meetings, events, or hours clocked. But in reality, if you could have twice the impact in a fraction of the time, wouldn’t that be more valuable? After all, time is our most fleeting resource.
As a conscious leader eager to transform the way we work, consider ways you can create such “untouchable day” opportunities for yourself and your team.
How can you leverage more asynchronous communication?
How can you structure workflow so everyone gets a weekly untouchable day?
Can you institute a company-wide untouchable day?
How are you modeling quality over quantity with your team?
These are just a few thoughtful prompts for conscious leaders considering how to shift how we think about work and real impact. Working with a conscious leadership coach is a powerful way to help you determine the right priorities and establish your team for success. We can schedule a call right before your next untouchable day…
Work happy. Live happy. BE happy.
Meredith
Meredith’s coaching helps conscious leaders step courageously into the future of work. Contact her to develop your conscious leadership and transform your organization into the workplace of the future.
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Love this Meredith! Wednesday is my untouchable day :)