Return On Minute

You’ve made your goals for 2025, and like any great business leader you check in on your progress. Summer offers leaders a powerful opportunity to recalibrate. As 2025 reaches its halfway point, the best leaders reconsider their Boundaries, Overcommitment, and Busyness (BOB) before the second half sprints forward. Use these practical tips, curated reads, and nine self-assessment questions, to examine the systems and habits shaping your energy, confidence, and time.

What about BOB?

Summer is a great time to dedicate time and space to focus – to consider what might be working for you and against you. If things aren’t going the way you hoped, why is that? Let’s dive into a few common areas – Boundaries, Overcommitment, Busyness (BOB), and the questions that you need to ask yourself now.

BOUNDARIES

Specifically undefined boundaries. It’s important to clearly established with your leader, peers and direct reports what you’re willing and not willing to do. Without this clarity those around you might make assumptions about your capacity causing confusion and frustration on their part and resentment by you.

Dig deeper

• “Have Trouble Setting Boundaries At Work? Try These 14 Expert Tips” – Forbes Coaches Council (2023) Offers executive-level strategies from leadership coaches, including how to align boundaries with personal values, communicate them clearly, and model them for teams.
• “How to Actually Set Boundaries At Work” – Elevate Leadership (2023) Written with people leaders in mind, this article blends science-backed insights with actionable scripts for saying no, setting expectations, and maintaining focus without guilt.

OVERCOMMITMENT

In over a decade of executive support, nearly every leader has been an overcommitter saying ‘yes’ to things that seem easy or are far enough in the future that the schedule can accommodate the request. However, when the time comes the challenge to effort or schedules are much greater than expected causing stress and unnecessary pressure on yourself and your teams.

AI can’t solve this problem. The desire to be helpful is uniquely beautifully human. The skill comes in deferring the ‘yes.’

Pro Tips:

Here are a few phrases to save the day. REMEMBER: It is really important to get back to the person making the request. Letting this hang out there will work against you and your reputation as the leader you want to be.

• “Sounds interesting. Let me think about it and get back to you in a few days/a week.”
• If you’re being pressed say, “Well, if you need an answer now, I’ll have to say no. But if you can wait, I’ll give it more thought.” Beginning with ‘no’ sets the expectation low. It’s easy to say ‘yes’ later.

Dig Deeper

• The Power of “No” – Return On Minute (2023) By understanding your core values, you are able to discern more clearly how and where you spend your time. The value you get from each interaction is inextricably linked to your core values whether you know them or not.

BUSYNESS

Ask yourself are you doing the most impactful work or just the most work? Do your days feel so crammed with answering other people’s emails/messages and attending meetings you find no value in that you rarely find time to focus on the most important work. Busy does not equal always equal better.

If this sounds like you, it’s time to take control of your calendar. Look at the next six months and be ruthless about the meetings you need to attend. Identify when you’re at peak performance (for most people that’s in the morning) and dedicate 90 minutes at least twice a week to focus work time without distractions.

Dig Deeper

• The optimal Morning Routine for 2025 – Cal Newport podcast In this episode, Cal wades into this content, identifying three major categories of these routines. For each, he explores what’s good and what’s bad. In the end, he uses these lessons to update his own daily routines in some highly specific ways.
• Mastering Daily Focus – Return on Minute (2023) Intentionally paying attention to yourself and your rhythms, and thus creating balance, can help you invest your time more purposefully. Here are three steps to help you along your way.

9 Questions to Ask Yourself Now

It’s time to focus on the biggest challenges you face. It’s critical to be honest with yourself. If you need help in assessing, ask a trusted friend, colleague or mentor.  Consider if the challenges are situational or is there a pattern you can address. Remember that it’s human to believe that the problems are “other” – other people, or other situations – vs looking inward. You’ll find greater growth for yourself by finding opportunities to take ownership and action.

So, in addition to picking up that juicy summer read, make time this summer to take stock of how you’re feeling about how things are going towards achieving those goals. Ask yourself these important questions:

EMOTIONALLY

On a scale of high to low do you feel:

• Energized? If not, why not? If so, why? What can you do about it? When?
• Confident? If not, why not? If so, why? What can you do about it? When?
• In control of your success? If not, why not? If so, why? What can you do about it? When?

SOCIALLY

• Is there anyone you haven’t or rarely connect with? If not, why not? If so, why? What can you do about it? When?
• Which interactions would you handle differently now? Which exceeded your expectations? Why?
• What feedback have you received from your team/manager? Why? What have you done about it?

PROCEDURALLY

• Of the meetings you attended, which has given you the most energy? Which has been the most draining? Why?
• In control of your time? If not, why not? If so, why? What can you do about it? When?
• Which of your decisions turned out well? Not so well? Why? Did you have all the information you needed? Why or why not? What would you change going forward?

Bottom Line

2025 is halfway over, and with the summer solstice behind us, it’s time to pause and assess. From redefining boundaries to breaking the cycle of busyness, recalibrate with purpose—and ask the questions that set the tone for a more intentional second half. The message is clear: meaningful change requires honest self-inquiry, thoughtful adjustments, and a bias toward intentional leadership.