Doing Nothing Well: Productivity, Efficiency, and Time Well Spent (bring your own coffee/tea and snacks).

In a culture where high productivity and increasing efficiency are not only lauded, but expected, using our time “well” becomes imperative. Tools, tricks and hacks for getting the most out of our day abound, with professional success and social capital measured in terms of busyness. If you aren’t writing a book, marketing your side hustle, and training for a marathon, while also working more hours at your demanding job, you aren’t spending your time well, and you certainly aren’t measuring up. 

When time is money, activities that are “unproductive and unprofitable” feel like a waste. Are rest, reflection and real connection a rebellion? Or are they time well spent? 

In this Change SIG, inspired by Celeste Headlee’s book, Do Nothing: How to Break Away from Overworking, Overdoing, and Underliving, we’ll examine the roles of productivity and efficiency in our approaches to time management, and consider how our conceptualization of time as both linear and a commodity influences how we use and evaluate time. 

We'll discuss the value of our time, the ways we spend our time, and whether doing nothing well is worth our time.

Jami Yazdani, Founder and Strategist, Yazdani Consulting
As a Project and Leadership Strategist and Type-A personality, Jami Yazdani has spent much of her time striving to maximize efficiency and productivity, but recent experiments with “doing nothing” have made her at least 10% more content. Jami is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) with more than a decade of experience managing complex projects and technology implementations, supporting the growth of staff and colleagues, and guiding (sometimes reluctant) groups of diverse colleagues and stakeholders towards change and positive outcomes. Jami founded Yazdani Consulting and Facilitation in 2018 to help people solve management problems, turning her passion for supporting the development of leaders at all levels and her experience leading projects, teams and trainings into a solutions-focused approach to project management consulting. 

NOTE: Do you have an idea to polish or a presentation to try out? The Change SIG is looking for 2021 speakers (July, August, October).

For more information, contact SIG leaders, Mary Charles Blakebrough (919-656-9573) or Vickie Bevenour.