You Can’t Control Time, But You Can Leverage It

I’m not someone who misses deadlines. In fact, I’ve gotten pretty good at working backward from a due date, counting the number of hours or days I need to pull it off, and then...waiting until just before the countdown ends to get it done.

This skill has served me well—until it didn’t.

Years ago, when I was working toward my CPCU designation (a respected insurance designation), I felt confident going into one of the exams. I had read the material (mostly). I understood the concepts (mostly). I thought I was ready. But I hadn’t taken the practice exam. And due to overconfidence, I waited until the Friday night before the Saturday morning test to finally sit down and take it.

I failed. Miserably.

Cue the panic, the caffeine, the all-nighter. I scrambled to make flashcards I should have created weeks earlier. I studied until sunrise, walked into the exam groggy and tense—and somehow passed. But I also knew that level of stress wasn’t sustainable. Or smart.

Recently, I took the Six Pillars of Productivity assessment created by Cindy Sullivan, a productivity consultant and coach we had on the Leaderish podcast. Unsurprisingly, my highest score was in the “Leverage” category—the area that covers how we self-manage our time day to day. It includes things like managing distractions, minimizing procrastination, building efficient routines, and creating structure that supports your priorities.

Cindy said something that stuck with me: “Leverage is about focus. When this pillar is strong, you’re not constantly deciding what to do next—you already know. And you’re doing it.”

What I’ve realized is this: procrastination can work—until it doesn’t. And sometimes the cost isn’t just lost sleep or added stress. It’s missed opportunities, fractured confidence, or the feeling that you’re always scrambling.

I still work well under pressure, but I’ve started paying more attention to the activation gap—that moment between knowing what I need to do and actually doing it. Cindy’s mantra helps: “Don’t aim to finish. Aim to start.”

Now, when I find myself delaying a task that feels big or boring or hard, I don’t think about finishing. I just open the doc. Create the first slide. Write the first sentence. That simple shift lowers the pressure—and usually, once I start, I keep going.

I’m still learning. Still practicing. But I’ve realized that high performance doesn’t have to come with high anxiety. And sometimes the most productive thing I can do...is just begin.

To learn more about the six pillars: Planning, Time Awareness, Leverage, Goals, Arrangements, and Resources, check out our latest podcast, Productivity and Its Enemy: Perfection and Procrastination, where Cindy shares a little about the pillars and dives deep into Leverage.

If you’re curious where your own productivity challenges might be hiding, I highly recommend taking the free Six Pillars of Productivity Assessment. It takes just a few minutes, and Cindy will help you understand your results and how to make simple changes to increase your productivity. My results helped me see exactly where to focus, and you might discover something surprising too.