You’ve got too much to do and not enough time to do it in. As a result, you’re scanning your inbox, firing off decisions, jumping from one meeting to the next. It feels productive, like you’re getting things done. But at the end of the day, you’re spent—and somehow, your inbox has more emails than it did this morning and the projects aren’t moving forward.

Here’s what I’ve observed from the clients I’ve coached: the faster we go, the more time we waste.

Productivity vs. Presence

I’ve worked with leaders who pride themselves on speed and responsiveness, only to find themselves buried in rework, miscommunication, and team dependence—not because they’re bad leaders—but because they’re not present.

Presence isn’t just some meditative ideal. It’s a practical, business-critical skill. You resolve things fully when you’re truly present and focused on one thing at a time, whether in your inbox, with your team, or making decisions. And resolved problems don’t come back.

For example…

You open your email at 5:30 PM. You’ve got 30 minutes and 40 unread messages. Your instinct? Move fast. Skim. Fire off one-liners. Keep things moving.

But those short replies don’t have enough context—they invite more messages. More clarification. More follow-up. You feel productive in the moment, but you’ve just created more work for yourself tomorrow. (And the project still isn’t moving forward.)

Now imagine reading each email with the intent to resolve it completely. You pause. You ask:

• What does this person really need from me? What is the question behind the question?
• What context could I provide that would eliminate a follow-up question?
• What direction can I give here that would enable them to move forward?

You might send fewer responses. But you send better ones. And fewer threads would come back to haunt you. Over a couple of days, you go from 40 emails to answer at the end of the day to 10.

Presence in meetings

The same goes for meetings. If I’m rushing from one Zoom call to the next, still mentally tangled in the last one, how deeply am I listening? I find myself shooting back tactical answers, but missing emotional cues, hidden tensions, and unspoken doubts. As a result, the client, team member, or vendor walks away half-answered and still unclear and books another call.

Presence creates completion. And completion is where time gets saved.

But this isn’t just about productivity. It’s about leadership.

When I slow down and respond with clarity and empathy, I’m not just giving answers—I’m modeling how to think. I’m training my team to make better decisions, act with confidence, and move without me. I’m teaching them to slow down and think for themselves instead of relying on my quick answers.

And isn’t that the real goal?

Presence isn’t about doing less. It’s about doing what matters, fully and completely. It’s the difference between putting out fires and building a fireproof team.

Want to get more done in less time?

Don’t speed up.
Get present.

And notice what happens when you do.