Breaking free from the business of busy-ness

Why looking busy is the enemy of deep work

Lovingly throwing workshop participants in at the deep end is how we open one of our experiential, sticky-learning workshops. The quick dip provokes reflections around how we show up in life, especially under pressure.

“Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast” was the piece of wisdom that one participant shared this month. It’s stuck with me since as a powerful antidote to the busyness of business.

The quote came out of a discussion on how speakers can learn to slow down, be more connected and trust their impact will be accelerated as a result:

Smoothly laying out 3 carefully curated thoughts is more impactful than cramming 5 brilliant ideas into a talk, with lots of supporting data
A steady pace is often easier to follow, particularly if we have non-native speakers in the room.
Taking a pause to let our last point be absorbed, annunciating our words and having a calm demeanour makes it easier for the listener to hear our message
Taking time to connect and create psychological safety in the room allows the listener to relax, increasing their mental capacity to consider a fresh perspective

It’s this ‘mental game’ angle that – for me – really brings the ‘slow is smooth, and smooth is fast’ mantra to life in other areas of business.

Efficiency and effectiveness come from deliberate, thoughtful actions, according to this philosophy, which appears to have originated in special forces. Taking a steadier pace in high stakes situations, allows for a clearer head, better control and focus over our performance.

McKinsey quotes a global agrichemicals CEO saying of this approach: “What little time you lose in decision making, you gain in execution.”

McKinsey argues that a Newtonian view of business, where ever-increasing speed correlates with ever-increasing gains, is no longer relevant. We now inhabit a quantum world, where everything connects. Challenges are complex, and being present is the best way to access the solutions that are always available. Taking time pays off.

My current read – Cal Newport’s Slow Productivity – makes a similar point. We’ve inherited a cultural notion of success in terms of productivity, which arose from the agricultural revolution. Fit in more (wheat/cattle) for better results.

We unthinkingly apply this to emails too.

Newport argues that in our more complex, knowledge-based economy, the truly productive work – hours of pondering, reflecting, innovating – frequently generates little visible output.

The challenge is that the competition of modern life encourages us to look busy. We become entrapped in the pseudo-productivity of performative busy-ness (hence the emails). This time sink undermines our commitment to deeper dialogue and understanding of our challenges (and each other).

As I pondered on this further, I remembered crucial points in my life when I slowed down and sped up. The year after the birth of my first child, my business took a backseat. Despite this I managed to surpass – by some way – my all time record for annual revenue.

I was forced to spend less time on the business, which necessitated being very deliberate about where I placed my energy and attention. I slowed down and the business sped up. Disclaimer: In this instance nothing felt particularly smooth!

We’re curious about your philosophy around pace of work and busy-ness. Where do you put your attention when under pressure? How does this work for you? Drop us a line to share what works for you tania@twcreativecoaching.com

Photo by Francis Costa on Unsplash

Posted on Thu, March 27, 2025 in Coaching General Leadership Personal Development
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