I moved to a new level of busy after I became the head of engineering for a large organization. My leadership team was no longer first line managers but leaders of their own complex organizations. And with almost 500 engineers under my direction, my schedule quickly filled up. Busy became the new normal. It became harder to manage day to day demands. Problems came in from all directions. I barely had time to digest the first wave before the next would hit. It was frustrating but at the same time exhilarating. Busyness became a bit of a drug. All these meetings and a full schedule carried with it an outsized sense of importance.

As the new year rolled around, I founded a small innovation team. I traded the large organization of 500 for a hand picked team of 10 with a new strategic charter. And with the change, I went from a fully slammed calendar to a completely empty one. 

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