When Everyone Else Freezes: The Surprising Productivity Hack That Works in Economic Downturns

In times of economic turbulence, the natural response for most business leaders is to hunker down, diversify efforts, and try to cover all bases. But what if this instinct is precisely what's holding you back?The Paralysis of Uncertainty

Last week, I worked with a commercial real estate executive who expressed frustration about deals moving at a glacial pace. "This business is affected by other aspects of the economy," he shared. Given these tariffs and market disruption, everyone just pauses and pulls close to the desk to wait it out."

His challenge resonated deeply with me because it's one I'm hearing across industries right now. When markets become uncertain, decisions stall. As leaders, we can't control the macroeconomic climate, but we can control our response to it.

Finding Your 20%

The Pareto Principle (often called the 80/20 rule) suggests that roughly 80% of results come from just 20% of efforts. In stable markets, we might tolerate some inefficiency. But in uncertain times? That luxury disappears.

My client had been spreading himself thin across multiple responsibilities: financial management, reporting, administrative work, and client meetings. When we dug deeper, an interesting pattern emerged:

The only appointments on his calendar for that week came from one activity: cold calling outreach.

This realization sparked a powerful question: If cold calls were generating 100% of his current opportunities, why wasn't he dedicating more time to them?

The Power of Strategic Subtraction

The answer lies in "strategic subtraction." Most productivity advice focuses on addition—do more, optimize more, add more systems. But true productivity often comes from removing the right things at the right time.

For my client, this meant temporarily postponing some administrative tasks he normally prioritized. "I like things to always be orderly," he admitted. "I find myself spending a lot of time on paperwork and updating files."

This perfectionism and administrative focus, while important in stable times, was now keeping him from doubling down on what was actually producing results. Even more interesting: his associate was the one doing the cold calling that generated these appointments.

The opportunity was clear: what if both he and his associate focused on cold calls together, effectively doubling their outreach capacity? By strategically subtracting some of the paperwork and administrative tasks that were consuming his day, he could join forces with his associate on the one activity currently moving the needle.

Four Questions to Identify Your Strategic Subtractions

To apply this in your own leadership context, ask yourself:

1. Where are your actual wins coming from right now? Look at your last 3-5 successful outcomes. Trace them back to their source activity. What pattern emerges?
2. What percentage of your time is currently allocated to those high-yield activities? Be brutally honest. Most leaders are shocked to discover they spend less than 10% of their time on activities driving 80% of their results.
3. What low-yield activities could you temporarily postpone? What deadlines could be extended? What standards could be temporarily relaxed? What meetings could be condensed or eliminated?
4. What permission do you need to give yourself? Often, the biggest barrier isn't logistical but psychological. What limiting belief is keeping you from making this shift?

The Temporary Nature of Strategic Subtraction

What makes this approach powerful is its temporary nature. You're not permanently abandoning responsibilities—you're making a calculated decision to reallocate resources during a specific market condition.

When I suggested this approach to my client, his response was telling: "So let go for a period of time just to lean in harder to what's working?" Yes, exactly. Permission to let go temporarily, knowing you can pick things back up when conditions change.

Beyond Busy: The Discipline of Focus

Look - I get it. Being busy feels productive. It gives us the illusion of control - something all of us wish we had a little more of right now.

But true leadership requires the discipline to distinguish between motion and progress.

By identifying the 20% of activities generating 80% of your results and strategically subtracting everything else that can wait, you create space to double down on what's actually working—even when everything else seems to be on pause.

Shine a Light on Your Time Allocation

If you're struggling to identify where your time is really going, I've developed a simple but powerful Time-Energy-Impact Audit Tool that helps leaders see their schedules through a new lens. The tool helps you categorize activities not just by importance, but by whether they're "battery drainers" or "battery fillers"—and whether they fall within your critical 20%.

Drop me a note for this tool, and let's start the conversation about where your strategic subtractions might be hiding in plain sight.

Rooting for you!