Unbusy Leadership

The Art of Deep Work in a Distracted World

It’s no secret that I’m a busy guy. I lead B:Side Capital and B:Side Fund, I teach at Arizona State University, sit on boards, have a wife and two small kids, and still manage to find time to read, research, and publish. People often ask me how I manage to get it all done while still maintaining a relatively laid back lifestyle.

Photo by Carl Heyerdahl on Unsplash

The truth is, I do more than most think possible, not because there are more hours in my day, but because I’ve mastered the art of deep work. Deep work is not just a practice but a philosophy that enables me to move the needle significantly in various aspects of my life, without falling prey to the trap of ‘work as performance art’.

Let’s get this straight: most people waste an incredible amount of time. They engage in activities that resemble work—responding to every email, attending back-to-back meetings, making calls, and juggling multiple tasks—all in the name of being ‘busy’. But being busy isn’t the same as being productive. Busy is a form of laziness—lazy thinking and indiscriminate action. It’s engaging in motion without progress, like running on a treadmill and wondering why the scenery never changes.

I've adopted a different approach. I prioritize my work, focusing on the vital few rather than the trivial many. I tackle projects that require deep thought, creativity, and concentrated effort—the sort that drives my ventures forward. This is deep work, and it’s about working smarter, not harder. I create value with each hour, not just fill it.

Here's how I do it: I divide my day into blocks of uninterrupted time. During these blocks, distractions are banished. Calls are deferred, social media is a non-entity, and multitasking is out of the question. This is when I dive into the deep end—strategizing for B:Side, preparing lectures, or engaging in high-level decision-making. It is in these stretches of focused time that real progress is made.

What about leadership, you ask? Deep work is at the heart of effective leadership. A leader distracted is a leader diminished. To guide others, one must first steer oneself with discipline. By committing to deep work, I set an example. I show that leadership is not about perpetually spinning plates, but about knowing which plates to spin, and when to let them spin on their own.

This focus also enables me to be present. When I'm with my family, I’m truly with them. My time at work is productive enough that it doesn’t seep into my home life. That’s why, despite my many roles, I can afford a laid-back lifestyle. I’m not constantly catching up because when I work, it’s with full intensity and purpose.

Now, this approach requires you to be ruthless with your time. It demands saying no to meetings without a clear agenda, calls that could be emails, and emails that could be... well, not sent at all. It involves cutting through the clutter to identify what truly matters. It’s about doing less, but better. You’ll be surprised how much time you have when you’re not busy being busy.

This leads to a profound leadership lesson: respect your time and others will follow suit. When your team sees you producing high-quality work in your focused blocks, they’ll understand the value of deep work. This understanding will permeate the culture, leading to a more efficient, creative, and satisfied team. It's about setting a standard of quality over quantity, depth over breadth.

Let’s face it, the world doesn’t need more busy people. It needs more leaders who can cut through the noise and do work that matters. Leaders who can find silence amidst the chaos and clarity within complexity. Leaders who understand that the true measure of productivity isn't how full your schedule is, but how well you use your time to create something of significance.

In conclusion, I encourage you to challenge the status quo. Reject the hustle culture that glorifies busyness as a badge of honor. Embrace deep work and watch as the true potential of your leadership unfolds. It's not easy, but nothing worth doing ever is. Remember, the aim is not to fill every minute with task, but to fill every task with meaning. And as you do so, you’ll find that not only do you achieve more, you also enrich the lives of those you lead, and ultimately, your own.