Busy to Death

Barry O'Reilly examines how constant busyness undermines productivity, strategic thinking, and effective leadership. The danger lies in mistaking motion for meaningful progress—being constantly 'busy' doesn't equal productivity, and over-optimizing for execution prevents critical reflection. Leaders often compromise 'reflection, retrospection, and review of outcomes' by filling every moment with tasks that don't align with core priorities. The framework emphasizes balancing reactive (System 1) and deliberate (System 2) thinking, making 'thinking is an activity too' by dedicating time for strategic reflection. Practical recommendations include maintaining clear priority lists, blocking time for strategic thinking, avoiding 100% calendar booking, tracking actual time usage, and setting intentional percentages for different work activities. Engineering leaders will learn that constantly booked calendars prevent meaningful collaboration and that respecting colleagues' time while avoiding immediate response expectations is crucial for genuine organizational progress.