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<v Speaker 1>Helping leaders motivate their people to a higher level of

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<v Speaker 1>performance through strong human relations, team building, and goalajiving. This

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<v Speaker 1>is the seven Minute Leadership Podcast with your host Paul

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<v Speaker 1>fella Aledo. Hello everyone, and welcome to the seven Minute

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<v Speaker 1>Leadership Podcast. It's episode five thirty four today. I want

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<v Speaker 1>to give you a piece of advice that might sound simple,

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<v Speaker 1>but if you actually live by it, it can transform

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<v Speaker 1>your leadership and your entire organization. The lesson is this,

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<v Speaker 1>don't cram your schedule. I know the pressure you feel

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<v Speaker 1>as a leader, meetings stacked on top of meetings, back

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<v Speaker 1>to back calls, deadlines breathing down your neck. Somewhere in

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<v Speaker 1>that madness, you're expected to think, strategically, lead with clarity

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<v Speaker 1>in motive team. But let's be honest. If your calendar

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<v Speaker 1>looks like an air traffic controller's radar screen, where's the

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<v Speaker 1>room for joy, creativity, or even a decent lunch break.

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<v Speaker 1>And here's the truth. Leadership isn't just about how much

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<v Speaker 1>you can pack into a day. It's about what you

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<v Speaker 1>choose to leave out when you cram your schedule. Three

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<v Speaker 1>things happen. First, you stop being approachable. Your people see

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<v Speaker 1>you as too busy, too buried, and they'll hesitate to

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<v Speaker 1>come to you with questions, ideas, or concerns. And second,

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<v Speaker 1>you stop thinking clearly. You're moving so fast from one

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<v Speaker 1>thing to the next that all you're doing is reacting

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<v Speaker 1>instead of leading. In third, you burn yourself out. You

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<v Speaker 1>run on caffeine, adrenaline and quick snacks grabbed between tasks,

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<v Speaker 1>and that's no way to sustain great leadership. Now here's

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<v Speaker 1>the shift. I want you to make. Leave for spontaneous

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<v Speaker 1>joy and a decent lunch break. That's not weakness, that's leadership.

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<v Speaker 1>Think about it. If you give yourself a margin in

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<v Speaker 1>the day, you're available when an employee stops by with

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<v Speaker 1>good news they want to share. You're present enough to

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<v Speaker 1>notice the team's energy drop at two pm, and you

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<v Speaker 1>can walk them outside for five minutes to reset. You

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<v Speaker 1>have the freedom to turn a regular lunch into a

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<v Speaker 1>meaningful conversation that builds trust. So let me paint you

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<v Speaker 1>a picture two managers side by side. Manager A has

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<v Speaker 1>every minute booked. They wolf down lunch at their desk

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<v Speaker 1>while responding to emails, and buy three pm. Their patience

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<v Speaker 1>is gone. Their team knows not to bother them unless

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<v Speaker 1>it's an emergency, and manager B has protected white space

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<v Speaker 1>in their day. They take a real lunch, maybe with

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<v Speaker 1>a team member, maybe just for themselves. When a small

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<v Speaker 1>win happens in the office, they're free to step in, celebrate,

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<v Speaker 1>and keep morale high. Which manager do you think people

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<v Speaker 1>want to follow? Which one is actually leading? As a leader,

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<v Speaker 1>you need to build your schedule with intention. Block your meetings, yes,

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<v Speaker 1>hit your deadlines absolutely, but also schedule breathing room. I

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<v Speaker 1>call this leadership margin. That margin is where spontaneous joy lives.

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<v Speaker 1>That margin is where creativity gets sparked. That margin is

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<v Speaker 1>where you're not just a manager of tasks, but a

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<v Speaker 1>leader of people. So here's your master template for scheduling

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<v Speaker 1>as a leader. Number one, never book one hundred percent

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<v Speaker 1>of your day. Leave at least one open block every

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<v Speaker 1>morning and every afternoon. Number two, take a real lunch,

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<v Speaker 1>not a working lunch, not something you eat hunched over

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<v Speaker 1>at your computer, a real break to reset your body

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<v Speaker 1>and your mind. Number three protect your margin time like

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<v Speaker 1>it's an important meeting, because it is. Margin time is

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<v Speaker 1>where leadership magic happens. Number four, use open space for people,

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<v Speaker 1>walk around, check in, be present. That's where trust is

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<v Speaker 1>built and finally, teach your team this idea too. A

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<v Speaker 1>culture of NonStop cramming is contagious, and so is a

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<v Speaker 1>culture of margin. So I'll end with this. Nobody looks

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<v Speaker 1>back on their career and says, man, I'm glad I

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<v Speaker 1>skipped every lunch and work fourteen hour days without a break.

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<v Speaker 1>But they do look back and say, I remember when

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<v Speaker 1>my leader took the time to notice me, to encourage me,

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<v Speaker 1>and to share a real moment in the middle of

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<v Speaker 1>a busy day. Leadership is not just about results, It's

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<v Speaker 1>about the moments in between. Don't cram your schedule, leave

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<v Speaker 1>room for spontaneous joy, and never underestimate the power of

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<v Speaker 1>a decent lunch break. This has been the seven Minute

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<v Speaker 1>Leadership Podcast, and I thank you for listening. For more,

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<v Speaker 1>Paul Fell of Alito Podcasts, visit paulfellowalito dot com.