That’s exactly what happens to most professionals when they try to lead or navigate change (or anything else).
Last week’s Thrive Through Change panel was full of powerful insights, but here’s the one that’s stuck with me:
To lead change well, you need to make space for it.
Slow down to speed up, and all that.
It reminded me of a coaching conversation I had recently. My client was overloaded already and new stuff kept coming up. They were stuck in reaction mode, and it kept getting worse.
I told them to picture their workload like one of those divided plates from childhood:
- 🍽 The main section? That’s your core workload. The must-do, mission-critical work.
- 🥗 The side? That’s all the incoming requests and curveballs that land mid-week.
- 🍰 The dessert slot? That’s for the things that make you better at your job, but get pushed aside because they aren’t urgent.
Think: strategic thinking, team development, process improvement, deeper relationship-building.
The stuff that changes everything, if only you had time for it.
So how do you make that time?
Start with my go-to tool: The 6 Ds.
- Delete what doesn’t need to happen (something’s not going to get done, you decide what)
- Defer what can wait (if it’s not happening this month, put it in a backlog)
- Diminish the scope of overbuilt tasks (figure out why you’re doing each thing and focus on only what will meet that)
- Digitize repeatable processes (this can be as simple as creating a checklist)
- Delegate what someone else can own (if you don’t need to be the one to do it get creative)
- Then prioritize your most important Do’s, and book them on your calendar.
Still too full? Revisit the first 5 Ds before you sacrifice what matters.
And if it’s still not adding up?
That’s a conversation to have with your manager, because your capacity matters.
Your bandwidth isn’t infinite. It’s just your entrée.
Protect the dessert plate. That’s where sustainable success lives.
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