Why You Might Be Addicted to Busyness?
Busyness. It’s the ultimate badge of honor in today’s work culture. Packed schedules, endless meetings, and late-night emails are often mistaken for productivity. But what if busyness isn’t just a habit? What if it’s an addiction—one that comes with a hefty personal price tag?
In this episode of Sticky From The Inside, I sit down with Peggy Sullivan, author of Beyond Busyness, to challenge everything we think we know about productivity, time, and success. Peggy shares her powerful three-step Busy Busting Process, revealing how we can break free from the busyness trap and reclaim our time, energy, and joy.
If you’ve ever felt like you’re running on a hamster wheel—always moving but never truly getting anywhere—this episode is your wake-up call.
Why Busyness Is an Addiction—and What It’s Costing You
We live in a culture that glorifies overwork. We proudly declare how little sleep we get and how busy we are, equating it with success. But Peggy exposes a harsh truth: busyness is actually time poverty—and it’s robbing us of the things that matter most.
“I had a stress-related heart attack before I was 40. My husband walked out on me because I wasn’t present. I ignored every wake-up call. Busyness isn’t just a habit—it’s an addiction.” — Peggy Sullivan
Peggy argues that busyness is an unconscious addiction fueled by dopamine. We get a quick sense of achievement when we cross tasks off our to-do list, even if those tasks don’t actually move us forward. Over time, this cycle leads to burnout, decreased performance, and serious health risks.
The 3-Step Busy Busting Process
Peggy’s solution to breaking free from the busyness trap is simple, yet incredibly effective. It consists of three powerful steps:
1. Subtraction: Eliminate Low-Value Activities
Most of us are drowning in low-value activities—tasks that don’t meaningfully contribute to our goals or well-being. Peggy’s research identifies 21 common time-wasters, many of which we’re not even aware of.
🔥 Pro tip: Take Peggy’s Busy Barometer assessment to identify which tasks are stealing your time. Then, subtract one low-value activity at a time to free up space for what really matters.
2. Mojo-Making: Create Daily Moments of Joy
Happiness isn’t a destination—it’s something we create in small, intentional moments throughout the day. Peggy calls these “mojo-making” moments.
Whether it’s eating three squares of dark chocolate 🍫, taking a two-minute break to pet your cat, or calling a loved one for a quick chat, these micro-moments can rewire our brains for greater productivity and fulfillment.
“Your brain lights up like a Christmas tree when you’re happy! The more you intentionally create these small moments, the more energy and creativity you’ll have.” — Peggy Sullivan
3. Values Vibing: Align Your Life with What Truly Matters
Most of us live by default, not design. We spend our time on urgent, but unimportant tasks instead of aligning our actions with our deepest values.
According to Peggy’s research, there are four core values that lead to a meaningful life:
✅ Connection – Investing time in meaningful relationships
✅ Energy Management – Prioritizing physical and mental well-being
✅ Growth – Continuously learning and evolving
✅ Authenticity – Living in alignment with who you truly are
💡 Pro tip: At the end of each day, reflect on whether you lived in alignment with your values. If one value was neglected, commit to making it a priority the next day.
The Real Cost of Busyness—And Why It’s Time to Reclaim Your Life
Busyness isn’t productivity. It’s a distraction. It makes us feel accomplished while actually keeping us stuck.
Did you know?
95% of people say they don’t have enough time to complete their important work.
80% feel overwhelmed and stressed daily.
85% say they struggle with even basic self-care, like eating meals or getting enough sleep.
The solution? Stop measuring success by how much you get done. Instead, measure it by how much of your time goes toward things that truly matter.
Key Takeaways From My Conversation With Peggy
🚀 Busyness is NOT the same as productivity. Learn to identify and eliminate low-value tasks.🚀 Tiny, intentional changes = huge impact. Small joy-filled moments can rewire your brain for greater happiness and success.
🚀 Align your time with your values. Stop living by default and start making time for what truly matters.
🚀 You CAN reclaim control. With simple, actionable shifts, you can achieve more by doing less.
🎧 Listen Now & Subscribe
Don’t let busyness steal your time and energy any longer. Listen to the full episode now and start reclaiming your life!
If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe to Sticky From The Inside so you never miss an insight-packed conversation. And if something resonated with you, share this episode with a friend or colleague who needs to hear it!
What’s ONE low-value activity you’re committing to eliminating this week? Drop it in the comments below! ⬇️
To read the full transcript of this episode read on...
Full Episode Transcript
Are You Addicted to Busyness?
[Andy Goram] (0:10 - 3:42)
Hello and welcome to Sticky from the Inside, the employee engagement podcast that looks at how to build stickier, competition smashing, consistently successful organisations from the inside out. I'm your host Andy Goram and I'm on a mission to help more businesses turn the lights on behind the eyes of their employees, light the fires within them and create tons more success for everyone. This podcast is for all those who believe that's something worth going after and would like a little help and guidance in achieving that.
Each episode we dive into the topics that can help create what I call stickier businesses, the sort of businesses where people thrive and love to work and where more customers stay with you and recommend you to others because they love what you do and why you do it. So if you want to take the tricky out of being sticky, listen on. Okay then, today we're diving into a topic that hits close to home for so many of us, the topic of busyness.
It's everywhere, we wear it like a badge of honour, boasting about how packed our schedules are, how little sleep we're getting and how much we're juggling. But what if I told you that busyness is more than just a working habit? What if it's an addiction and one that comes with a hefty personal price tag and a price tag for an organisation too?
And our guest today knows all about that price tag. Peggy Sullivan is the incredible author of the new book Beyond Busyness, How to Achieve More by Doing Less. And she's here to share how we can break free from this cycle of constant doing, doing, doing.
Peggy will show us how busyness isn't just about being busy, it's actually robbing us of time. And here's the kicker gang, the kind of time poverty we're talking about doesn't just rob us of the ability to do more stuff in our day, it stops us from doing the really good things in life, the things that bring us joy, meaning and connection and can also seriously, seriously damage our health. Peggy knows firsthand what it feels like to be stuck in the busyness trap.
She's lived it, but she didn't just escape. She turned her experience into, frankly, a beautifully powerful framework to help others reclaim their time and energy. And today I'm going to ask Peggy to share her fabulous three-step busy busting process.
And trust me, they're not just tips. These are intentionally simple, life-changing strategies to help you eliminate low-value activities, infuse your days with more joy and really realign your life with what truly matters. So, if you've ever felt like you're on that hamster wheel, endlessly running and chasing, but never feeling like you're getting anywhere closer to the goal, then I think this episode is for you.
It's time to trade in the feeling of busyness for balance and to take back your time, your energy and your life. Peggy, welcome to the show.
[Peggy Sullivan] (3:43 - 4:05)
Thank you. I am thrilled to be here. And for me, it's all about how do we ignite ultimate performance without wanting to slit our wrists, without feeling so burnt out, so tired, so exhausted?
How do we light our company up so everybody is working at full capacity? That's my passion.
[Andy Goram] (4:05 - 4:38)
I love that. We are in for one hell of a ride today, I think, with you, Peggy. It's the first podcast I can honestly say that within the first couple of minutes, we've used the term slitting our wrists.
I love that. We're on. This is going to be good.
Before we get all excited and start thinking about all the wonderful topics surrounded by busyness, let's just take a breath, ease our way in. Peggy, do me a favour, will you? Just give us a little bit more about your background and your journey to this point.
And then maybe just give us a little inkling as to where the whole idea for this book came from.
Peggy Sullivan’s Story: From Busyness Addict to Time Wealth Advocate
[Peggy Sullivan] (4:38 - 8:15)
Yes, I most certainly will. My name is Peggy, and I am a busyness addict in recovery. And throughout all of my life, there's been too much to do and too little time to do it.
And it's come with a really serious price tag. I was that girl that had the amazing job. I climbed the corporate ladder.
I made a lot of money for a lot of companies. But I didn't know how to do it in a way that was truly efficient and effective and didn't burn me out, you know, didn't wring me out. And I think that's the intersection where every organisations is at right now is how to do that.
So you asked what got me to today. I worked for the Fortune 500 companies, the Blue Cross Blue Shields, the United Healthcare, the Materians. I travelled the world.
But I decided to kind of give it all up to figure out what my legacy was going to be. And I started doing market research. And I asked thousands and thousands and thousands of people, what's your biggest challenge?
And people said, again and again, I do not have time for what's important. And what's important to one company is different than what's important to another individual. So for me, that's my legacy.
That's what I set out to do. And the last 10 years of my work, my research, my speaking, my consulting, it's all about how to unlock ultimate performance without wanting to slit your wrists. And, you know, I did everything the hard way.
And I know for me, I had wake-up calls, wake-up calls, wake-up calls. And I think the one wake-up call that kind of hit me the hardest was, you know, I came home from work. I was a single mom.
And I opened the door. And I was ravenous. And I was into my pantry.
And I had to find something to eat. And so I grabbed a handful of pistachio nuts. The only thing I could find.
And I chopped them down. And then I felt this pulling on my leg. And I looked down.
And it's my cat, Dazzle. And he's hungry. So I throw some kibbles into his dish and fall asleep on the couch.
And next thing I wake up, and there's this gagging noise. It's just so incredibly loud. And I look up.
And it's my cat, Dazzle, throwing up pistachio nuts. And I realized that I was in such a burnt-out, mindless haze. I had just eaten cat food for dinner.
And it was one of the many things that I did unintentionally. Because when we're on that hamster wheel, life isn't about choice. It's not about intention.
It's about checking the list and getting it done. So for me, when that happened, I knew I needed to do things differently. And I was really surprised on what the solution ended up being.
And it came through a lot of trial and tribulation and testing and refining and throwing it out to a group or individual and just refining it. But I'm really proud to say I have no doubt anyone who uses my three-step busy busting process will get minimally five hours back in their work week and be happier and healthier.
[Andy Goram] (8:16 - 9:27)
Well, we love a bit of practical resourcing on this show, for sure. There's just a couple of things I would like to just pick up before we start going through this journey together. Firstly, I think the signal of eating cat food, that's bound to be a big signal, right, that something's not quite right in the world.
And I'm sure we'll dig into that. The other thing I just want to have a quick question or a quick pause about, because it's quite relevant to some conversations I had with some clients recently. I love it when people think about the legacy they want to leave behind.
And just recently, having some discussions with people, even asking them the question to think about, what legacy do you want to leave behind? That's proven to be quite a challenging topic for some people to get their heads around, to even begin to think about, what do you mean? I've never thought about what legacy I'm leaving.
That process for you, Peggy, of even recognising that, hey, I want to leave a legacy, and then going through a process to understand what that legacy might look like. How did that feel for you? Did you just get a sudden bit of inspiration one day and said, hey, what is going on?
What legacy am I leaving? Or was it something that evolved over time for you?
[Peggy Sullivan] (9:28 - 10:40)
I love helping people. When I can help people and make their world better or brighter, that is something that just floats my boat. I thought, if I could figure out a challenge that just about everybody in the world faces and figure out how to solution for it, that would be the best legacy I could give.
It was crazy, because I started with market research, not a research geek. Market research is the foundation for everything I do. The market research led to this topic of, I just don't have enough time for what I really need to be doing.
I'm not igniting performance. I'm not igniting growth. I'm not igniting relationships, connection, all of that stuff people felt was missing from their lives.
I wanted to take a complicated pain point and give people an easy, actionable solution on how they can step into their personal power and get to the end of the day saying, darn, I had a damn good day today.
[Andy Goram] (10:40 - 11:42)
That is a fantastic legacy. Hence asking the question. It fits so well with this podcast about leaving behind some practical, actionable things that people can do to improve their working life.
This will have knock-ons in personal life, no question about that. In all of the research that I've done into you, and that's not meant to sound like the complete stalker it might come across, but you are an incredibly honest and direct individual. Some of the stories that I've heard you tell about, they're incredibly, well, they share a lot.
And I mentioned in the introduction, which is based off a lot of what you've talked about, this topic that busyness is really an addiction. And I wonder if you would help my listeners understand why and how you see it like that. How has that come about?
What's your own lived experience of that? And how do you like to try and help others as a result of that?
Why Busyness is an Addiction & How It Robs You of Joy
[Peggy Sullivan] (11:43 - 15:04)
An addiction is described by the American or the International Psychiatric Association as being something that keeps you from doing what you should be doing, what you need to be doing, what's important. And so for busyness addicts, we love checking the boxes. I know some people who will empty the garbage.
So at the end of the day, they can check something off their list and feel a sense of accomplishment. But emptying the garbage isn't important. So it's really important that we have this filter on matching what is critical, what is important, what's going to make a difference.
And that's how we spend our precious time. We don't get more than a couple of hours every single day, the same 24 hours. So we live in a hustle society.
And when you ask people, how you doing? How you doing? They'll say, I'm so busy.
Aren't I great? And they'll pound their chest and feel really good about it. Or look at what I accomplished.
But busyness rarely equals success. And so it's about looking at what is success. And those are the few intentional things that you spend your precious resources on.
And it's hard because busyness is habitual. I used to get up every morning and look at my email. And then I'd be stuck in the email rabbit hole.
And before I knew it, I wasn't doing things that were really important. I wasn't working towards my goals, my objectives. I wasn't spending time with my cat that for three minutes gives me so much joy brushing him and hearing him purr, purr, purr.
I mean, it just wasn't the best way for me to start my day. But yet for 30 years, that's what I did because I didn't know any different. So it's really about understanding your low value activities and knowing that they can be addictive.
So taking the discipline and saying, no, I'm not going to do that. I'm going to put a post-it note on my computer that says no email today till 1030, period, end of discussion. You're going to work on what's most important.
And if people need you, they know how to contact you. And it's just this change in mindset. And the funny thing about a habit, I always tell people to sit down and cross a leg.
They always use the same leg. And then I tell them, use the other leg. And they'll be like, well, that feels uncomfortable.
And I'll be like, well, do it. Do it three, four, five, 10 times. It gets more comfortable, doesn't it?
And it's really, that's all. It's all about is changing a habit, changing what you're addicted to. So busyness is an addiction.
And 98% of the world is addicted to getting stuff done. It makes them feel good. They love the endorphin high.
So they do it again and again, crossed it off my list. Cool beans. I'm going to do it again.
[Andy Goram] (15:05 - 15:47)
I guess, and I'm no psychologist or psychiatrist or anything like that, or even health practitioner. I'm just an enthusiast for all this sorts of stuff. But I guess part of dealing with an addictive behaviour is very much about facing into that, right?
Facing into that addiction, recognising the signs, and then I guess having the courage to try and do something about it. What were the signs really, honestly, for you, Peggy? When did you realize that this was becoming almost an unhealthy obsession with getting stuff done as opposed to trying to be productive?
Because there's a fine line, I guess, in some people's heads.
The Hidden Costs of Busyness: Stress, Health, and Relationships
[Peggy Sullivan] (15:48 - 16:47)
Yeah. We had so many wake-up calls and I kept on going back to my busyness. I mean, I had a stress-related heart attack before I was 40.
I had the love of my life. My husband, the father of my child, walk out on me because I wasn't spending time with him. I mean, I had all of those big deal moments, but I didn't do anything about it because I didn't understand the power of a micro-step.
I didn't understand that these small little things, these baby steps that I would take would make a difference. And I'd get a little bit more time back in my day and I'd feel better. So then the next day would get more productive and I'd be healthier and happier and more energetic.
And so for me, yes, I had lots of wake-up calls, but it was understanding what micro-steps, what small little actions I could take that would really change my paradigm.
[Andy Goram] (16:47 - 16:52)
Can you remember the first micro-step that you had to take on that journey?
[Peggy Sullivan] (16:53 - 18:06)
I would absolutely say that it was about time blocking and blocking out time for me to work out. When I work out, I get very, very creative. I solve problems and I wasn't working out.
And so I was logging and I wasn't happy and healthy. And so as soon as I started to time block for workouts, that really helped. And that email thing with the post-it notes, it was really, really important.
I mean, I look at that post-it note and I'd be like, nope, not gonna do it. And that little post-it note stayed on my computer for probably about six weeks until I finally got into the habit of not email first. And meetings, I'd say is another one for people.
We think we're productive if we go from meeting to meeting to meeting. And yet 85% of people say one third of their meetings are not productive. They get nothing out of them.
So why do we keep on going to meetings? It just makes no sense to me.
[Andy Goram] (18:06 - 19:24)
Yeah. I think what I really like about that and is I think sometimes, I don't know, sometimes you feel like a bit of a fraud when you recommend solutions to people that aren't majorly complicated. They expect a big solution to be tough and big and complex.
And I think this is the key, especially with habit stuff, tiny, tiny little changes, really focusing on that tiny little thing rather than trying to achieve something crazy all at once and building the confidence and I guess the repeat the muscle memory to kind of do that, do it again, stake it in the ground and move on. I absolutely love that. It should give anybody listening the real kind of like fortitude that tiny things are okay and they are the things that all add up to make big changes.
I really, I love the fact that you talk about this addiction thing, but then we've still got this trap of busyness that you talk into that people unintentionally fall into. You gave a bit of a signal as to perhaps where that all stems from, but if you try and unpack that problem for us of falling into the busyness trap, what is it do you think about the current climate or culture in work that makes this trap so prevalent and that so many people fall into?
[Peggy Sullivan] (19:26 - 20:56)
I think we feel as though when we're over the top busy, we're more productive and actually if you look at the science of productivity, when we're nonstop busy, we're actually less productive. We get less done. The concept of multitasking, if I do three things at once, I'll get three things done, but the reality is you're going to make 3.5 times as many mistakes and it's going to take you multiple times as long. So I think you know, the reality is really understanding what's important and I know for me, every day I realign my priorities because sometimes what I thought was going to be important isn't that important. And so I always like to make sure I'm making progress on what's important to me. You getting a job done, helping people, you know, move the bar, you know, those are the things that are really important to me and we'll talk later about it.
But step number three, values vibing. There's a simple report card that I do that reminds me every day to do something that matters to me. And it's just a 60 second exercise I do at the end of the day and next day I didn't miss out on something that was really important to me.
[Andy Goram] (20:57 - 21:48)
I am very keen to get into that busy busting process because I think the three headers there are so beautifully clean and simple and yet so rich in content. But before we do get into that, I do want to have a look at this price tag. And you talk about the price tag of busyness quite a bit.
And I, again, from what I have gleaned, there are seen and there are unseen costs or the price tag associated with this busyness trap. In your experience, what does that look like? I mean, what was the personal toll for you?
And I know you help thousands of people kind of sort this stuff out. Are there any kind of common themes that really play out in how this stuff manifests and the costs on, I don't know, life and health and all those good things?
[Peggy Sullivan] (21:50 - 23:41)
Yeah, I'm going to give you some stats because I'm a research girl and I feel as though statistics tell a story. And 95% of people do not have a schedule that allows them to get their work done. They don't have time for what's important.
So we overschedule ourselves day in, day out. What if we just stopped doing that? What if we learned how to say no?
What if we said, sorry, that doesn't make sense for me right now. Maybe we can revisit it in a month. And we just held our time precious and realized that we've got a limited amount of it.
80% of the population feels overwhelmed, stressed, and struggles with mental health. We don't take time to think. We don't take time to take care of ourselves.
85% of individuals feel like basic self-care, like eating a meal and getting a good night's sleep, is out of reach. Why is it out of reach? Those are the things that set us up for success.
So from my perspective, the habits we get into set us up to fail. We don't set ourselves up for success and yet there are choices. And when you kind of have that mind shift change, I'm going to have a great day today and I'm going to focus on what's important and stress.
I'm going to eat stress for breakfast and I'm not going to be overwhelmed. And today is going to be a productive day. You know, when you get that mindset and just focus on a couple of things that will be micro steps to you getting there, that's when it all starts to come together.
[Andy Goram] (23:42 - 24:13)
I mean, you, I think at the start and certainly in the book and in your TEDx talk, you know, there were some serious health problems that you ended up encountering as a result of being overly busy and addicted to that busyness. I'm glad to see that you're healthy and well today. But these are real risks.
These are some of the unseen things. No one really necessarily sees the stress or the damage that's being built up inside until it overflows.
[Peggy Sullivan] (24:15 - 25:04)
Depression, anxiety, just being a good parent. You know, one of my proudest moments was last year when I was up on the TEDx stage and my son who had a single mother who spent most of her life stressed, overwhelmed, too busy for everything that was important. He got to see me up on that stage talking about how I conquered that and the framework that I came up with that.
And to me, like, those are the moments that we want in life, you know, where we can really make a difference. And so it's a paradigm shift. It's how you measure success and learning how to measure success by what's important, not by what's trivial.
[Andy Goram] (25:04 - 25:52)
I think that mindset thing is so interesting and so important. Sometimes if I'm with clients or groups and we're talking about trying to be more effective or productive, I use that concept of 1440, so 1440 minutes at your disposal every day. If you think of them as minutes, we don't put any worth or commodity alongside a minute.
It's just a thing that kind of happens. But if we thought about having 1440 gold coins every day, we might be a little bit more thoughtful about how many we invest in things, how many we give away, how many being stolen from us, how many we just forget about. And I love the fact that you talk about that mindset piece within this whole busyness trap in that making that flip and thinking about things differently, reframing as to what really matters.
[Peggy Sullivan] (25:53 - 26:01)
Yeah, it's about turning time poverty into time wealth and having enough time for what is important to you.
[Andy Goram] (26:02 - 26:20)
Yeah. Brilliant. Okay.
Now then let's get into the process. Let's get into the busy busting process. It's made up of three beautiful headers that contain a whole bunch of stuff underneath.
I don't want to be the one to talk about it. I want you to talk about it. Tell us about the process.
The 3-Step Busy Busting Process: Subtraction, Mojo-Making & Values Vibing
[Peggy Sullivan] (26:21 - 31:08)
Yeah. I wanted to develop a process that was easy and as easy as counting one, two, three. And so that's why I labeled my process subtraction, mojo making, and values vibing.
And subtraction is just simply eliminating all these low value activities so you have time for what's important. And I developed a tool I call the busy busting barometer. I work with industrial psychologists to understand there are actually 21 things that we do that keep us from what's important.
And we don't even know we're doing it. So for me, that subtraction is really about the metrics, finding out what your low value activities are, and just fixing one, one. Fixing one habit will give you hours back in your work week to do something that's more meaningful.
Step two, I'm really passionate about, and it's my favorite step in the process, and it's mojo making. Because we tend to think that happiness, it's a destination. It's a thing.
I'm going to be happy when I get married, when I get the job done, when I'm on vacation. But happiness is really about these micro moments that we create for ourselves. And I think you and I chickled.
I told you that I eat dark chocolate every day, three pieces of dark chocolate. And it just, I don't know if it's the cacao. I don't know if it's because I close my eyes and I let myself just really lean into how good it tastes.
And we talked about, gee, is it appropriate to say on air? One time before a big interview when I was out in LA, I just last minute got really nervous. So I went to a coffee shop and I put my headphones on and I started looking at my talking points.
And I had my three pieces of chocolate and I just ate them and closed my eyes. And it was only three minutes. And when I opened my eyes, I noticed everybody in the coffee house was staring at me.
And I'm like, why? What am I doing? Why are they staring at me?
And then one kind soul came over to me and said, you were moaning so loud with delight. It was almost a Harry Met Sally moment. And it was only three moments, but it woke up my endorphins.
It woke up my energy. It put a smile on my face. And then I was able to go into that interview that I was nervous about and ace it.
So that's step number two, mojo making. And then the third and final step is values vibing. People tell you that they want to align their decisions with their values, but they don't have a process to do it.
And few people really understand what values equate to quality of life. I mean, you can be trustworthy and that's a great value, but is being trustworthy going to give you quality of life? Probably not.
So I got really curious, what are the values that equate to quality of life? And what I learned is that there are four, some variation, we personalise them with their connection, energy management, growth, and authenticity. And when you have those four values in your life, and you make sure they happen day in and day out, you get to the end of your day saying, I had a great day.
And so what I do because we're human, we're natural. And for me, the one that goes all the time is human connection. You know, I love my work.
So I can walk into my office and just do and do and do and not connect with the people I love or just not get out of my own head. And so at the end of the day, I just take those four values and I rate myself and I take the one that I didn't rock. And I say, you're going to rock it tomorrow.
What are you going to do tomorrow differently? And it's usually connection. Once in a while, it's about energy management.
It's very rarely, I'm a positive person, but sometimes it's about taking care of myself or getting, you know, eight nights, you know, eight hours of sleep. But it's really about understanding what was void and adding it back in and knowing I'm perfectly imperfect. And the next day, I'm probably going to have something else that I was ignoring or not maximizing.
But I go through the process of figuring out what it is and making a change the next day.
[Andy Goram] (31:08 - 32:00)
I just love the framework. I think it's great. And in the book, there's loads of examples and loads of practical ways to kind of work it through.
I'm curious about some bits in there that I wouldn't mind just sort of digging a little bit in with you. So when we think about subtraction, you make it sound so simple, right? Letting go of the low value activities.
I would imagine in the work that you've done, there's a certain amount of subjectivity and objectivity in people really being able to identify those low value activities and actually then physically letting go of them. How do you help them move from that subjective place of, oh, really, you can't really let go of that, to getting on with it and really starting to make progress in that area? Are there any kind of secrets or tips or piggiesms that really help people get on the way?
How to Identify & Eliminate Low-Value Activities
[Peggy Sullivan] (32:00 - 34:03)
There is. For me, it's like, whenever I speak, whenever I consult, I send people to my website to do what I call the busy barometer. It's a three to four minute survey.
And if you spend more than three or four minutes on it, you're overthinking it. But it asks you a bunch of questions that seem very casual, and it will help you figure out what are your low value activities and kind of where they fall. Are you not doing well with meeting management and communicating?
Are you not doing well with your calendar and scheduling? Are you not doing well on self-care? They'll manage all these things up and they'll say, hey, here's one micro step in one area that you should work on.
And once you ace that one, do it again, and then figure out the next one in line. So it becomes very easy to figure out how to put gum in that hole in the bucket, because it's just there in writing. And I guess that's why I'm such a data-driven person, because your low value activities may be different than mine.
So it's important that you're able to identify yours, not so much. I mean, there are ones that everybody in the world, you know, right now, meetings is the biggest fall, and always on communication and feeling like we always need to respond. Those are two really, really big ones, universal.
But when you know your individual ones and just fix it, you know, one little micro step at a time, it really helps. And so I recommend, you know, taking the Busy Barometer. It's free.
I never wanted to really charge for this. It's on my website, PeggySullivanSpeaker.com. Go take it and see what your low value activities are, and work on that one thing.
[Andy Goram] (34:04 - 34:58)
I love that. We're going to put the links to all that sort of stuff in the show notes for sure, so people can get easy access to it. I think that it's an iterative process, right?
I'm a big believer in that, you know, winning needs witnesses. So you need little things to kind of work for you to kind of take the next step. So I think that is brilliant.
When it comes to mojo making, I might need some direction. I might need some help on this, because in my head, listening to what you said and researching, there's almost two sides to the mojo making, because in my head, there's a bit of the vibe that we give off of others by our own activities that has a positive impact on them. But there's also the pieces of understanding what makes us tick and take energy and have fortitude and all those things.
I know you're a massive fan of neuroscience and what have you. Are there any particular pieces that you'd really like to share with the audience today that sort of like help us understand what on earth is going on with our brains with this mojo stuff?
The Neuroscience of Mojo-Making: How Small Joys Can Transform Your Energy
[Peggy Sullivan] (34:59 - 36:44)
Yeah, I mean, you know, think of it like you're looking at a Christmas tree and you're trying to decide, you know, which one and one is lit up and it's beautiful and it's got it's spending so much energy and the other one isn't. And that's what happens. Your brain lights up like a Christmas tree.
You know, when you're happy, it happens biologically. We don't have to do anything. And the thing of it is, is it happens by smelling a cinnamon candle.
It happens by taking two minutes and petting your cat. And so I tell people to stop thinking about happiness as about this big destination, this thing, I'm going to be happy and enjoy these tiny little micro moments, you know, whether it's just petting your fur baby, whether it's, you know, deciding in the middle of the day, which I never do, I'm going to call my son up and say, Hey, I love you thinking of you. You don't need to take time out of your day.
Bye. You know, just the little things, the little things that take no resources. We need to get more focused on those.
It's not about how much money we spend. It's, it's not about, you know, marriage or, or just all these destinations, the promotion, it's, it's the tiny little things because we control them. Everything else in many ways is out of our control.
Take on the things that you can control and get that neuroscience, get your brain igniting those endorphins. It's, it's a mood changer.
[Andy Goram] (36:45 - 37:44)
Absolutely. And I think there's a key piece in there about tuning into your mood, how you're feeling, what your physical state is, what's go, what's going on with the body when you're feeling these moments, because spotting and understanding those triggers can really, really help you kind of like make the connections, right. Make, make the connection.
And we know connection is, is, is important with each other, but also understanding what's going on with ourselves when we're doing this stuff. And then the, the, the final piece, the values vibing, it's so close to my heart because I'm a big fan of, of purpose and values and understanding the true meaning of those. Not some thing that's a marketing tagline for an organisations or, you know, sounds good to somebody else.
The things that really, really do matter to us. When it comes to your own experiences, are you really now very, very clear on those personal alignment bits and have they stayed solid, Peggy? Or do they, do they change in different scenarios and, and in different, different times?
What, what's been your experience with that?
Values Vibing: The Key to Time Wealth and a More Meaningful Life
[Peggy Sullivan] (37:45 - 39:51)
I love the four values that my research shows really equate to a meaningful life. The fact that you personalise them according to your life and they may look differently. You know, if, if you have a young family, connection may be about spending time with your family.
If you're, you know, a woman who is an empty nester like me, connection may be girls night out and leaning into girls night out, not saying no, because you've got work on your desk. You know, it's, it's really about taking those things and understanding, you know, what are the little micro things. I love learning.
My dad always used to say to me, but a day without learning something new is a lost opportunity. So I love learning. I don't need to read a novel.
I don't need to do something big. You know, sometimes I'll just Google, give me a new word today. You know, yesterday, I think it was pontificate, talk endlessly about something, you know, just the small little things are, are so important.
So I think that, you know, this, this values vibing is the connection, the energy management, authenticity and authenticity. I want to spend a moment talking about that because we tend to think that authenticity is about being true to ourselves. But I tell people, turn it on your head and be understanding and empathetic with the world around you, because all of a sudden you'll realize there's so many different vantage points and so many different ways of doing things and ways of getting to the finish line.
And when you're open-minded and when you're tolerant and not judgmental of others that are different from you, that's when you really get to success.
[Andy Goram] (39:52 - 40:54)
I totally believe that. I totally believe that. And I think everybody's life has to improve if we can find ways to make more time and actually put more importance on the things that really matter.
I mean, and again, that sounds so simplistic, but in the hurly-burly world that we live in today, we almost put up with and make do with what time we have left to do the things we like to do, rather than make sure we've got the right time to do the things that we really need to do. I love that. Peggy, this kind of time frame has whizzed by.
It doesn't feel busy. It feels purposeful, the conversation that we've had. And we've got to the bit in the show that I like to call sticky notes.
So there is so much stuff in the book. I mean, we have unpacked a little bit of it today, but there's so many more things in there. If you were going to leave behind, for the listeners, three little sticky notes of wisdom on all this avoiding the busyness trap and leaning into those sort of three wonderful kind of segments of your process, what would be on your sticky notes?
[Peggy Sullivan] (40:56 - 42:10)
One of them is not really highlighted in the book, but it's a way I live my life, and that is give generously and always be nice. When my mom died, she led an ordinary life, but everybody that came to the funeral, the thing they said about her was, oh my God, your mom was so nice. And I thought, what a legacy.
And it doesn't cost anything to be nice, to be kind, to give generously. So that's my favorite thing in the world to tell people, just give generously, be a good person, be nice. I'm going to get back to what my dad talked about in growth, and a day without learning something new is a lost opportunity.
And then I think the third thing is, it's these micro steps that equate to something big. It's taking those small little actions and reaping the benefit. So you have the power, the energy, the drive to keep them up.
And so take that micro step. It's not the big things, it's the really small things that matter.
Sticky Notes Of Wisdom
[Andy Goram] (42:11 - 42:42)
So true. And the point that you make about, we don't control many things in our life, but these things are in our control. These are the things that we choose to lean into or not.
I love those sticky notes. It's been fantastic. It's been wonderful meeting you, Peggy.
I've thoroughly enjoyed the conversation. I'm enjoying the book. And we will put all the resources that you've left behind in the show notes.
Before I let you go, just repeat the website address for everybody so they can go and find all this great stuff directly.
[Peggy Sullivan] (42:43 - 43:35)
Yeah, it's Peggy Sullivan, S-U-L-L-I-V-A-N, speaker.com. And you can reach out to me also on LinkedIn under Peggy Sullivan. I live in Palm Beach and I love hearing from people.
So please reach out. I love meeting new people. I love helping people.
And for me, that's what it's all about, making a difference, making the world a better place, helping you find your personal power. And when you learn how to go from time poverty to time wealth, you have time for what's important. It's a gift.
And it's not unattainable. It's not. It's something you can do every single day just by making intentional decisions.
[Andy Goram] (43:36 - 43:56)
I genuinely would say I am confident anybody that listens to you or reads the book will absolutely feel that these things are within their grasp and they have agency and control over some of these things and their life will improve. Peggy, thanks so much for coming on. I can't tell you how grateful I am.
It's been lovely to meet you. I wish you all the very best with the book.
[Peggy Sullivan] (43:56 - 44:22)
Thank you. Thank you. It just launched.
It's on Amazon.com. It's called Beyond Busyness. So feel free to grab a copy.
You know, definitely. It's got it's a laugh out loud book. It's a how to book.
But definitely people that have been reading it for the first time tell me they're laughing out loud. And I love that.
[Andy Goram] (44:22 - 44:28)
Well, we'll put links to the book and to the TEDx and everything in the show notes. Thanks so much for coming on, Peggy. You take care now.
[Peggy Sullivan] (44:28 - 44:30)
You too. Bye-bye.
[Andy Goram] (44:31 - 45:12)
Okay, everyone. That was Peggy Sullivan. And if you'd like to find out any more about what about Peggy or any of the things that we've talked about today, then please check out the show notes.
So that concludes today's episode. I hope you've enjoyed it, found it interesting and heard something maybe that will help you become a stickier, more successful business from the inside going forward. If you have, please like, comment and subscribe.
It really helps. I'm Andy Goram, and you've been listening to the Sticky from the Inside podcast. Until next time, thanks for listening.
Andy Goram is the owner of Bizjuicer, an employee engagement and workplace culture consultancy that's on a mission to help people have more fulfilling work lives. He's also the host of the Sticky From The Inside Podcast, which talks to experts on these topics from around the world.
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