University of Minnesota - UMN Executive Leadership Insights
The Crazy Busy Cure
Book

The Crazy Busy Cure

A productivity book for people who don’t have time to read productivity books

Zena Everett
Nicholas Brealey Publishing, 2021
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Editorial Rating

7

Qualities

  • Applicable
  • Concrete Examples
  • Hot Topic

Recommendation

In a world of cognitive overload, constant distraction and fraying boundaries between professional and personal life, busyness has become epidemic – and is triggering burnout, ill health and reduced productivity. Yet busyness is as unnecessary as it is counterproductive. Leadership coach Zena Everett identifies the sources of busyness, helps readers evaluate how they spend their time, and shares tools for boosting productivity. Although her guide treads well-worn ground, it offers valuable tips for escaping busyness hell. If you’re too busy to read a book, this might be just the book you need.

Summary

Being too busy can damage your health and stymie your progress toward your goals.

Humans today are facing cognitive overload, the result of an accelerated lifestyle, cultural busyness in organizations, and digitization. The constant overwhelm leads to feelings of stress, frustration and loneliness. And busyness can have profound impacts on your career. For one thing, overly busy people tend to spend too much time on mundane tasks and not enough time on big-picture thinking; they put excessive effort into tasks that are already in the works rather than creating something new. Moreover, crazy busyness can limit managers’ ability to do their job well, as they lack time to anticipate roadblocks, build relationships with their employees and help their workers develop their careers.

Being “crazy busy” robs you of valuable head space – the time left over after you’ve completed your core duties, necessary administrative work and unexpected but important tasks. Head space gives you a precious window of time for strategizing, innovating, learning and building relationships. Yet many people neglect these activities because busyness inundates their head space.

About the Author

Leadership coach, author and speaker Zena Everett specializes in helping executives and teams set priorities and achieve goals.

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