Too busy? Help someone else.

As a leader, do you sometimes feel too busy?  If so, help someone else.

It can be irritating to hear someone else complain about being busy, especially if you're busy too. But instead of competing with your own story of how busy you are, offer to help. Start by empathizing. Tell your colleague that you understand, and paraphrase the complaint back to them. Then offer to help in a specific way: Tell them you'll grab lunch, look over work that needs tending to, or...something else tangible. Chances are your colleague will take you up on the offer and feel appreciative. This act of generosity will make you feel better and more productive. You'll likely see that if you have time to help someone else, you have enough bandwidth to complete your own work.


Adapted from Guide to Managing Stress by by Gill Corkindale, Judith Ross, Tony Schwartz, Catherine McCarthy, Stewart D. Friedman, Peter Bregman, Amy Gallo, Alexandra Samuel, John Baldoni, Linda Steinberg, Ron Ashkenas, Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Vickie Elmer