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Not long ago, I spoke with a senior director who admitted something I hear all too often. She said, “I look back at my week, and I can’t figure out how I worked this hard and still didn’t move the needle on the important things. Why does proactive planning, coaching my team, and making space for strategy, always get pushed aside?”
Sound familiar?
That comment captures a reality many leaders quietly struggle with. The days are packed, the effort is there, but the impact feels flat. And as we enter the final quarter of the year, reflecting on our contributions becomes even more pronounced.
Here’s the good news: there’s a way to avoid ending another week wondering why the critical work didn’t get your best attention. It starts with re-framing how you set up your week.
- Name your top three outcomes for the next 60 days. Be specific. These should reflect what will truly advance your team’s objectives and the business overall. Without this anchor, everything on your calendar looks urgent. Think in terms of impact, not activity.
- Map out your commitments for the coming week. Include the obvious (meetings, reports, tasks) and the hidden (requests, interruptions, prep time).
- Bring AI into the mix. Share your objectives and your weekly commitments with your favorite AI tool. Ask it to sort your workload into three categories: Aligned Work: Directly advances your outcomes. Operational Work: Keeps things running but could be delegated or automated. Off-Mission Work: The distractions or routines that don’t move the needle.
- Recalibrate. Once you see the breakdown, make decisions. Take action to protect your time for the big stuff, delegate or automate the operational, and challenge or eliminate the off-mission tasks.
Leaders who try this often have a moment of surprise and clarity. They realize just how much of their energy is going to things that don’t deserve it.
Yes, you could do this exercise with pen and paper. But AI speeds it up and removes some of the bias we all bring to our own to-do lists. It acts like a thought partner, holding up a mirror to your week before it even begins. Of course, no tool can replace your judgment. At the end of the day, discernment and experience sit with you. AI just makes it easier to use them wisely.
Try this and let me know how it goes. As we head into the last stretch of the year, this might be the perfect time to experiment.
Until next time,
Sara
