The Hidden Cost of "Always Busy"
We fetishize the word “busy.” In scaling companies, “busy” is often worn as a badge of honor, a symbol of necessity. We see founders running perpetual sprints, executives buried under back-to-back meetings, and engineers multi-tasking across sprints. As a CEO, the job isn’t to praise how busy you are; it’s to find the quickest, smartest way to create real value.
Think of it like this: in science class, you learn that wasted energy just turns into useless heat. In the world of business, all that wasted activity (like endless, pointless meetings) just turns into noise that hides your main goal. The huge problem with being “always busy” isn’t just that you lose time; it’s that you suffer a complete breakdown in clarity and focus.
The problem is that most teams mistake busyness (high Work-In-Process) for velocity (high Output), leading to the illusion of progress.
I use a simple framework to diagnose this problem, which I call the Focus Debt Ratio.
The Framework: The Focus Debt Ratio (FDR)
The Focus Debt Ratio is the single metric that I use to quantify the difference between the actual value I’m delivering and the sheer volume of tasks I’m currently engaged in. It is a direct measure of structural clarity.
The ratio is brutal in its assessment of whether your commitment to output outweighs your temptation toward overhead.
FDR = Work In Progress / High Value Output
Defining the Variables
Work-In-Process (WIP): This is the sheer number of active, non-trivial projects, tasks, or initiatives a team (or individual) is currently involved in. This includes meetings, maintenance, open tickets, and tasks that lack clear deadlines. WIP is the measure of your busyness and scattered attention.
High-Value Output (HVO): This is the number of major, committed goals successfully deployed or finalized within the cycle that directly contribute to the company’s top-line strategic objective (e.g., launching a core feature, securing a key partnership, resolving a critical scalability bottleneck). HVO is the measure of your velocity and value creation.
The Clarity Threshold
Optimal FDR (The Clarity Zone): An FDR between 3:1 and 5:1 (3 to 5 active tasks for every 1 major goal finalized). This zone indicates you have enough parallel work for efficiency but not so much that you trigger cognitive overload.
Danger Zone (FDR > 8:1): If you or your team is tracking 8 or more active projects for every 1 goal completed, you are critically Work-In-Process (WIP) rich and Output poor. You are busy, but you are not moving.
Note: This is based on my own journey; what’s worked for me and the teams I’ve been part of. Everyone has their own way of working, and there’s no universal formula. Still, this approach has made a real difference for me.
My Framework of Focus
The only way to reduce the Focus Debt Ratio is not to simply work harder, but to apply ruthless structural clarity to your WIP.
The solution is an exclusionary framework: For every new project or meeting, you must explicitly eliminate or defer one existing one. The work of a strategic CEO isn’t defining what to start; it’s defining what must stop.
If your team is drowning in “busywork,” recognize that busywork doesn’t only stall progress, it actively drives it backward through noise. High performance isn’t measured by maximum effort; it’s measured by minimum friction. You are here to execute, not to appear busy. Fix the system or accept the drag.