I used to wear busy like a badge of honour.
Back-to-back appointments, an overflowing inbox, never enough hours in the day. I was always in motion, constantly doing, fixing, helping, chasing. If you’d looked at my calendar, you’d think I was the most productive person on the planet.
And for a long time, I believed that being busy was the mark of importance, of success. If people needed me all the time, then I must be doing something right, but over the past few years, and especially in my work with elite teams and leaders, I’ve learned something powerful:
Being busy isn’t a superpower. Being available, calm, and clear-headed is.
Lessons from the Sidelines
Recently, I was doing some consultancy work with a sports team, and I challenged a senior leader about their non-stop schedule. They were constantly in meetings, always “on,” and wearing their busyness like a symbol of how valuable they were.
I told them:
“You’re not leading, you’re reacting. There’s no space to think, no time to plan, and no margin for clarity. You’re always in the building, but never truly available.”
It landed. But as I said it, it landed with me, too.
Because as I said I’ve been that person – and I know that if I don’t work on it, then I’m aware that I can revert back to those old habits of filling my calendar with endless calls, tasks, appointments, not always because they are necessary, but because my old belief was that being busy meant I was being effective.
If you’re guilty of this then you know that busyness feels like you’re being productive at the time. but in reality, you’re crowding out the space you need to truly lead. When we’re always busy, we stop thinking clearly. We become reactive, not strategic. We move through the day in survival mode and in high-performance environments, that simply isn’t sustainable.
Why Leaders Need Space
CEOs, Head Coaches, and Founders often try to carry it all on their own and get caught up in constant meetings, constant decisions, constant pressure. Somewhere along the way, busy became a status symbol for them. Whilst it may feed their ego, what it actually reveals is often something else:
Alack of clarity, poor boundaries, and a fear of slowing down.
I once met with a senior executive whose entire identity was wrapped up in how unavailable he was.
Every meeting was delayed, rescheduled, interrupted. He told me proudly that people struggled to get time with him. That’s how he measured his value.
But here’s what I saw:
A man drowning in meetings, constantly apologising, unable to focus long enough to create anything meaningful. He was confusing busyness for performing.
High Performers Protect Their Time
Now, contrast that with one of the best leaders I’ve worked with a senior figure in the banking sector, this guy ran a huge organisation, but his calendar was almost empty. He refused to be busy for the sake of it. He made space for thinking, connection, coaching. He never rushed, and yet he always delivered.
He understood something that most don’t:
Time to think is not wasted time, it’s essential.
His leadership style created calmness and clarity. His decisions were intentional. His creativity was sky high and because he had space, he had time for people. Real conversations, not transactional updates. That’s why people lined up to work for him and why his teams consistently outperformed expectations.
Rethinking Productivity
At Pro Sport Lab, we work with some of the most successful individuals and teams in the world and here’s a universal truth:
The highest performers don’t chase busyness. They manage energy, attention, and outcomes.
They don’t pack their schedules. They prioritise the right things and give themselves room to breathe, reflect, and adapt.
Meetings don’t drive performance. – Thinking does.
Constant activity doesn’t make you effective. – Clarity does.
So if your calendar is overflowing, and you’re wearing that as a point of pride, it’s worth asking: Is this helping, or is it hiding something? Are you really leading or just reacting?
The Power of Saying No
The ability to say NO is one of the greatest tools a high performer can have.
Say NO to meetings that don’t need you.
Say NO to urgency that isn’t real.
Say NO to the idea that you need to be available 24/7 to be valuable.
Create space. Let your calendar reflect your priorities, not just your obligations.
If you feel the need to prove your importance through how busy you are, pause. Reconnect with what matters, because the real currency of leadership is impact, not activity.
Empty Time = Full Power
I’ve learned this lesson the hard way. I now protect my calendar ruthlessly. Not because I don’t want to help, but because I want to give the best version of myself to the people I lead and support. It’s not about doing less. it’s about doing what matters with presence, energy, and intention.
So, here’s your challenge this week:
Review your schedule.
Remove what’s not essential.
Create time to think.
And ask yourself: Am I building a calendar that reflects who I want to be?
Because in the world of high performance, an empty calendar isn’t a sign of laziness it’s the sign of a leader who knows what truly counts.
