Three Ways Leaders Self-Sabotage Deep Work and How to Stop It.

Gotta minute?

Two words that can completely derail your day. Picture this: you’re heading to a meeting, settling in at your desk to finish an important report, or rushing out the door almost late to your child’s game, and someone drops those two words.

What do you do?

If you’re like most of us, you instinctively say yes—even though you know you should really say no. But why? Why do we sacrifice our own time, even when it means taking on more than we can handle or doing something half-heartedly?

“When we say yes to everything, we don’t do anything well.”
– Principal in Balance

In Slow Productivity, Cal Newport highlights how our tendency to grind nonstop is more arbitrary than we realize. He gives us the reminder many of us need: “It’s often our own anxieties that play the role of the fiercest taskmaster.”

Ouch.

So how do we resist the urge to say yes and stop sabotaging our time? I like to think of this as protecting my “prep.” As a teacher, I had a prep period every day to focus on IEPs, family outreach, lesson planning, and newsletters. As a principal, I know how crucial this time is for teachers, and I do my best to safeguard it for them. That’s when it hit me: I hadn’t done the same for myself. I wasn’t blocking my own prep time.

Here are three ways to protect your prep time and stop self-sabotaging your productivity:

1. Build your master schedule—and keep it sacred.
   In our Mastermind group, we work on crafting weekly schedules that prioritize time for our biggest goals and most critical needs, both professionally and personally. Blocking this time on your calendar isn’t optional—it’s essential.
2. Batch time and tasks.
   Do you have recurring tasks like newsletters, board reports, or annual reviews? Schedule weekly or monthly blocks to tackle these bigger projects and add them to your calendar. Include specific tasks or links to resources in the appointment itself to make getting started even easier.
3. Say no before saying yes.
   This is the hard part: as high-achieving leaders, we’re wired to be everything for everyone. But shifting from always saying yes to strategically saying no is a game changer. Once you’ve nailed #1 and #2, this becomes a little easier. Here are some ways to gracefully handle the “Gotta minute?” interruptions:
   • Offer a scheduled time: “I’d love to give this my full attention, but I’m tied up right now. Can we schedule time later today or tomorrow to discuss it?”
   • Redirect to written communication: “I’m in the middle of something at the moment, but if you send me an email, I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.”
   • Set boundaries with compassion: “I want to be fully present for this conversation, but right now isn’t a good time. Let’s plan for a time when I can focus on what you need.”

If you’re like me, you might want to print these out and keep them handy—for when you’re deep in focus or dashing out the door to have dinner with your family.

Remember: to lead well, you have to live well. Sometimes, that means saying no to the things that won’t help you find balance or improve your leadership.