some people have to wait
A few years ago, my workday was simple. A few conversations here and there. Chat
with someone, hop on a meeting, do some actual work, wrap up. Easy peasy.
These days it looks a little different. I've got around 20 people spread across
the world: England, India, South America, and a good chunk in Louisville, KY. And
the one thing they all have in common? They all want something from me.
As we grew, the math stopped working. I literally cannot talk to everyone. I'd
have to be awake 24/7 to keep up. And somewhere in there I hit a funny little
realization: sometimes it's okay for people to work around your schedule.
If I'm free, I'm free. If I'm not, and nothing is literally on fire, it's okay
for it to wait until I'm around.
the pulling grows with the role
Here's the thing nobody warns you about: as you take on more responsibility, or
your company grows, the pulling grows right along with it. More people, more time
zones, more "hey, you got a sec?"
I get messages basically 24/7 now. The skill isn't answering all of them the
second they land. It's knowing when you're actually in the right headspace to
handle them. Sometimes I'm deep in thought, heads-down on something that matters,
and the best thing for everyone, me and them, is for it to wait until I've got
the mental space to really engage.
Being yanked around all day isn't productivity. It's just distraction wearing a
productive costume.
batch the chaos into a meeting
So here's the actual takeaway, the thing that changed the game for me: give every
team structured time.
Set a standing meeting each week with each team. That's where the requests go.
Instead of getting peppered with a hundred one-off pings scattered across the
week, you collect them all at once, in one block, when you're ready for them.
It sounds almost too simple, but it does two things:
- It protects your peace during the week, so you can do real, heads-down work
without a hundred interruptions. - It tells your team, clearly and kindly, "I've got you, and here's when." They're
not being ignored. They just have a place to bring things.
Everything that isn't on fire can wait until the meeting. And most things can
wait until the meeting.
the takeaway
If you're the person everyone needs, you don't actually help anyone by being
available every second and half-present for all of it. Protect your headspace,
batch the requests, and let some things wait. That's not you being unavailable.
That's you making sure you can really show up when it counts.