Don't Boil the Kettle Dry

Leadership = Focussing on One Thing at a Time

Here’s me with my morning mint tea. We were out of coffee this morning (Gasp!).

I put the kettle on,🫖and immediately left the kitchen to quickly scratch a few things off my to-do list while it boiled. Unfortunately, the cap wasn’t on the spout.

You guessed it – I came back to a kettle boiled dry. 🙄 I literally burned the kettle black. I think I may have melted the handle given the toxic plastic smell wafting through the house. 🕱

Here’s the thing. We all think we can multi-task and be super productive when, in reality, we can really only focus on one thing well at a time. 👀

Our mind switches rapidly between two or more things, but we’re still only focussing on one thing at a time. 🔬

Research and science backs this up – we’re more productive when we focus on one thing at time (& have fewer messes to clean up afterward).

The ruined kettle was a good reminder to slow down and focus. So, I sat and sipped my tea. 🍵

I really savoured the flavour and warmth. It energized my mind before I focussed on writing. 😌 45 minutes later – 2 LinkedIn posts complete.

Where are you wasting time and productivity by trying to do too many things at once?

Focus on one thing well and avoid burning things or burning yourself out in the process.