You're Not Busy. You're Hiding.

My Chain-Smoking Boss Knew More About Success Than Your Productivity Guru

Saturday edition of CTRL by JP Bristol

Most of us don’t quit. We just hide in “busy.” Meetings, emails, checklists. Looks productive. Feels safe. Produces nothing.

Back when I worked for a timeshare company, my manager hammered a rule into us:

“Spend 80% of your time on income-producing activities. The other 20% you can waste on paperwork and odds and ends.” Then he’d slurp his coffee, drag on his cigarette, and stare us down until the point landed. We were finding things to do so we didn’t have to do the one thing that mattered: selling. Picking up the phone. Asking for money.

The same trap shows up in midlife reinvention. We tweak websites. Reorganize files. Watch endless YouTube videos about how to do the thing. All motion, no forward momentum. We tell ourselves it’s necessary. Really, it’s stalling. The stuff that matters (publishing, pitching, shipping, asking) gets pushed to “later,” which is code for “never.”

Clarity means calling this out. If 80% of your time isn’t going to your version of income-producing activity, you are hiding. Reinvention does not reward the busy. It rewards the bold.

Here’s your audit: Block out your calendar from last week. Highlight what was actually income-producing: the pitches sent, the content published, the conversations that could lead to paid work. If it’s not 80%, you’re hiding. What actually moves the ball forward? Do that first, every day. The pencil-pushing can fill the cracks.

Stop mistaking activity for progress. The hard thing is where change lives. Eat the frog.

CTRL: T

CTRL by JP Bristol
Clarity. Tenacity. Reinvention. Legacy.