Subtraction: Making Room for What Truly Matters
Most people don't realize they're drowning until they're already under.
Take the example of someone standing in their kitchen, surrounded by sticky notes, half-finished to-do lists, a buzzing phone, an overflowing inbox, and nothing in the house to eat for dinner. It’s not dramatic. It’s not epic. It’s just everyday life—layered with invisible weight. A thousand small obligations pile up until something cracks: a missed deadline, forgotten birthday, skipped meal, or simply the sense that you’re failing at everything, no matter how hard you try.
This is the hidden cost of trying to do more. We push harder. Wake up earlier. Schedule tighter. Work faster. But instead of getting ahead, we just get more overwhelmed and exhausted.
What if the answer isn’t to add another strategy, another productivity hack, another layer of pressure?
What if the answer is subtraction?
“Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.”
— Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
I love this quote from writer and poet Antoine de Saint-Exupéry as it speaks directly to the heart of minimalism, intentionality, and subtraction—reminding us that clarity, beauty, and efficiency often come not from piling on, but from letting go of low value transactions.
What Is Intentional Time Design?
Intentional Time Design is the art and science of structuring your personal and professional time around what truly matters—your priorities, values, and well-being—rather than being ruled by the urgent, the noisy, or the habitual.
Rather than stuffing more into every hour, you subtract the non-essential. You don’t just manage your time—you design it.
But this isn't a theory. According to my proprietary research The Workplace Busy Report:
94% of working men and women do not have time for their priorities.
95% don’t have a schedule that allows them to complete their vital work.
79% struggle to identify their daily priorities.
Let that sink in. Nearly all of us are living in schedules that don’t reflect our actual goals.
Why "More" Isn't Working
Our culture worships busyness. More meetings. More emails. More multitasking. More checkboxes. More goals. But all this “more” is silently destroying our capacity for performance, joy, and human connection.
Our data also revealed:
¾ of the population suffers from a basic lack of self-care
75% report inadequate sleep.
87% struggle with proper nutrition and movement.
80% feel overwhelmed, stressed, and mentally exhausted.
79% say they’ve lost their sense of purpose and alignment.
74% struggle to maintain meaningful connections due to busyness.
83% use multitasking as a strategy—one that actually reduces productivity and cognitive performance.
Busy Traps: How We Sabotage Ourselves
The belief that busyness equals success is one of the greatest myths of the modern workplace.
Take it from my own experience: At one corporate job, I had to strip off every piece of metal, wait in line to go through the metal detector to walk into the plant four times a day. I was the Director of Marketing, but endless operational meetings ate up half my schedule—and added virtually no value.
This is just one example of a Busy Trap: low-value, habitual activities that clutter our day, drain our energy, and crowd out time for what truly matters.
Common Busy Traps include:
The “Have you got a minute?” interruptions
Hourly email and chat check-ins
Chronic multitasking
Failing to delegate tasks
Over-committing out of guilt or ego
We don’t just fall into these traps—we often defend them as necessary. But they’re actually subtle forms of self-sabotage.
How to Design Time with Intention
So, how do we break free?
Here’s how to integrate Intentional Time Design using the Art of Subtraction:
1. Get Self-Aware
Recognize when busyness becomes a badge of honor or a default identity. Ask:
Am I overcommitted with low value activities?
Am I using busyness to feel important or in control?
Am I actually achieving what matters most to me?
2. Use the Busy Barometer
I created the Busy Barometer, a 3 -minute online assessment that helps identify low-value activities sabotaging your performance. This tool helps shine a light on habits that can be eliminated immediately—at work and at home.
3. Define Your True Priorities
If 79% of people can’t even name their daily priorities, no wonder we’re overwhelmed. Start small: What three things must happen today to make it meaningful or productive?
4. Set Boundaries and be accountable for them
Saying “no” is a radical act of productivity.
Block out sacred time for focused work.
Decline low-value meetings.
Create buffer zones to think, rest, and recover.
5. Disconnect to Reconnect
Busyness numbs our relationships. If 74% are struggling to maintain meaningful connections, it’s time to unplug. Be fully present in one conversation, one dinner, or one walk. That’s where true connection lives.
6. Single-Task to Multiply Results
83% of people are multitasking—but it doesn’t work. Our brains aren’t wired that way. Try single-tasking as a challenge. Measure your focus. Notice your energy. You’ll get more done, and you’ll enjoy doing it.
7. Reclaim Rest and Rhythm
Your body and brain are designed for rhythm—not 24/7 hustle.
Sleep is not optional; it’s performance fuel.
Movement is not a “nice to have”; it’s a cognitive enhancer.
Stillness isn’t wasted time; it’s where insights are born.
8. Realign with Purpose
Nearly 80% of workers feel disconnected from their purpose. No spreadsheet or task list can fix that. You need time to reflect, realign, and recalibrate. Without purpose, even the most productive day feels hollow.
Your Time Is Not a To-Do List—Intentionally spend time on what matters
Let’s stop glorifying busyness. Let’s stop duct-taping more systems, mindsets, and obligations onto something that isn’t broken—our mind, our time, our humanity.
Instead, let’s practice intentional time design—and start subtracting.
Because subtraction isn’t a loss. It’s clarity. It’s control. It’s peace.
It’s the way we reclaim joy, performance, and purpose.
Ready to see what’s standing in your way?
Take the [Busy Barometer Assessment] to uncover your personal Busy Traps and start subtracting today.