LEADERS CAN TAKE A TIP FROM SIMON & GARFUNKEL

If you do not know who Simon & Garfunkel are, I encourage you to Google them, ask AI about them or phone a friend.
Many years ago Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel had a song whose title is “The 59th Street Bridge Song.” Its first line is “Slow down, you move too fast.”

I have given this advice to many leaders over the years, including to myself! So many of us think it merits a badge of courage when we are able to move from one Imessage to another, from one text to another, from one meeting to another and from one conversation to another with barely a breath.

Actually, the opposite is true. When we move that quickly throughout the work day, we never give ourselves time for reflection, for analysis and for thinking. Our adrenaline may work that quickly, but our brains do not.

I was reminded of those Simon & Garfunkel lyrics this week when I read a short piece from the Harvard Business Review by Kandi Wiens. Her title was “Stop Hurrying All the Time.” She termed it “hurry sickness” and offered several tips for slowing down without sacrificing productivity. I invite you to determine if you regularly use these tips for yourself and teach them to your teammates:

-Build in Buffer Time- Schedule space between tasks to account for surprises or to have quiet time and block out time for deep work or reexamining your priorities

-Pause Before Committing- Ask yourself if a task is best suited for you prior to automatically saying “yes” and seek advice from a trusted teammate if you are not sure

-Write It Down- Give yourself permission to lay out the consequences of assenting to a request and do it on paper so you can reflect on it and can easily see the trade-offs involved

-List the Benefits of Slowing Down- Close your eyes and strive to visualize the benefits of going a little more slowly, such as more quality rest, stronger relationships with peers, and less negative stress for you

-Use Prioritization Tools- Set priorities each month, each week and every day. One popular method is called the “4D Technique,” which includes Do, Delegate, Defer and Delete. A method like this helps us distinguish between activities that Stephen Covey called “Important and Urgent,” “Important but Not Urgent,” “Urgent but Not Important” and “Not Important and Not Urgent.” Moreover, you can give yourself permission to postpone new tasks until current tasks are complete.

-Show Yourself Grace- So many leaders i9gnore what they have completed or accomplished because they are focused on what is remaining to complete. This mindset produces two negative results. It robs us of the ability to give ourselves a pat on the back and acknowledge our achievements and it prevents us from showing ourselves the same kindness and support we would show a colleague.

Practice Mindfulness- As many of you know, for years I helped facilitate a mindfulness course for students at Georgetown Law Center. This one-semester course taught students to use various strategies for slowing down, for reflecting, for giving themselves permission to pause, and for scheduling their priorities rather than prioritizing their schedule. Many student labeled it the most valuable course they had taken in law school because it allowed them to perform more effectively in all their other courses.

Seek Support- We all have the ability to reach out through our personal or professional networks to seek assistance through coaches, therapists, accountability partners or HR specialists. You will not win a prize for striving to seek all the answers yourself. Give yourself permission to seek out help in slowing down. It will help you in the short term and the long term and allow you to become an even more effective leader and team member.

Now – please slow down and enjoy the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. Feel and express gratitude for the good things in your life. I will see you again next week!!!

If you believe this content would resonate with a friend or colleague, please feel free to forward it along!

-Larry