🔬 🔗From Supplier to Patient: Careers in Supply Chain...

💡SKILLS SPOTLIGHT
Why Being “Always Busy” Is Quietly Holding Your Career Back

In STEM roles, busyness is often mistaken for value. Full calendars, constant Slack messages, and nonstop task lists can look like commitment—but they don’t always signal impact.

In fact, chronic busyness often hides a bigger problem: Your effort isn’t being aimed strategically.

Career growth doesn’t reward those who do the most. It rewards those who do what matters.

🔍The Hidden Cost of Constant Busyness
When you’re always reacting:
1️⃣Important work gets squeezed out by urgent work
2️⃣Thinking time disappears
3️⃣Your role becomes execution‑heavy and influence‑light

Over time, you become reliable—but replaceable. Impact requires space to think, decide, and prioritize.

 🧠3 Ways to Shift from Busy to Strategic

1. Identify your highest leverage work
Ask yourself:
Useful questions include:
- “Which tasks create downstream impact for others?”
- “What work would be hard to replace if I stopped doing it?”

These are the responsibilities worth protecting.

2. Reduce “invisible effort
Not all work is visible—or valuable. If you’re spending significant time on:
- Fixing preventable issues
- Handling tasks no one else wants
- Doing work that isn’t connected to outcomes

It may be time to renegotiate scope or process

3. Build thinking time into your workflow
Strategic professionals don’t find time to think—they block it. Even short, protected windows for:
- Reviewing priorities
- Anticipating risks
- Evaluating trade-offs

Can dramatically improve decision quality and visibility.

💡Pro Tip
Busyness feels productive, but clarity creates momentum. The goal isn’t fewer tasks—it’s better alignment.

Weekly Challenge  
This week:
- Identify one task that keeps you busy but adds little value
- Reduce, delegate, or redesign it

Use the reclaimed time to focus on higher‑impact work. Your calendar reflects your career priorities—whether you intend it to or not.