Too busy to listen

With so much on our plate and so many things to be doing at work, our preoccupied minds can overlook listening to other people. Whether it's our colleagues and team members, our manager, other people at the meeting, or our clients, we can get so caught up that we don't hear concerns and ideas outside the mountain of work we are ploughing our way through.

It's understandable. There is so much whirling around in our brains that taking the time to listen to everyone will slow us down. It seems reasonable to think that if it doesn't affect me and my work directly, why add to the cacophony? All this noise is just getting in the way of getting our stuff done. And, as you know, I am a massive fan of getting stuff done.

But there are consequences to not listening and being solely focused on our stuff.

There is a need to keep broadly across what's happening so that you can fully understand where your work fits in the bigger picture. Not paying attention to what others are doing creates silos and duplication that is wasteful and slows the business down.

We can miss very real concerns and great opportunities others may have about projects, initiatives and business-as-usual activities. Things that may save us time and resources in the long run.

When we are not listening because of our busyness, it can mean we overlook the well-being of our people, the health of our business and compromise our own humanity.

So what do we do? We can't pay attention to everything, get our work done and stay sane all at the same time. Where we focus our attention has to be a conscious choice, and that will require some good boundaries. But wherever you choose to be, be there.

Whether it's taking a few minutes to listen to a colleague right now or letting them know that you have something to do that requires your full attention and setting up another time (and fulfilling that commitment).

It could be closing down notifications, setting up the busy sign, and getting to a quiet space to do some interruption-free deep work.

Or it's ensuring you are fully present with what is happening in your meeting, keeping it meaningful rather than multitasking through pointless meetings.

And it is equally important when we are having a laugh and a drink after work and enjoying the company of our colleagues.

Listen to yourself about your attention intention and be fully where you are. Listen to those around you and show them they matter.