Busy or Avoiding? The Truth About Your Workload

Send us Fan Mail

Episode 256: Busy or Avoiding? The Truth About Your Workload

We kick things off mid-real-life chaos, with Sacha juggling admin dramas , a perfect reminder that sometimes the small stuff can feel way bigger than it should.

And it sets the scene perfectly for today’s conversation…

👉 Are you actually busy… or are you avoiding the work that really matters?

In this episode, Ish and Sasha unpack the uncomfortable truth about busyness, how it can become a badge of honour, a distraction, or even an avoidance strategy.

What We Cover

• Why busyness can feel productive (even when it’s not)
• The difference between urgent tasks vs high-impact work
• How we use “being busy” to avoid hard conversations or decisions
• The cognitive load of unfinished tasks (a.k.a. “the rubbish bin effect”)
• Why some work gets delayed until it becomes stressful
• The role of Working Genius in task avoidance
• How systems (and support like EAs) can free up real thinking time
• Why productivity should create space—not just more work

If you haven’t come across it yet, Working Genius is one of the simplest, most practical models I’ve seen for helping teams understand how they actually get work done. Not personality. Not fluff. Just clarity on where people thrive — and where they get frustrated.

If you’re planning your next team day, offsite, or work event, I’d love to bring this to your crew.

Find out more at IshCheyne.com