Summary
This one’s personal. I’ve been thinking a lot about how I spend my time — especially with my son — and how that intersects with creative leadership. If we’re not intentional, the people and work that matter most end up getting the leftovers.
I’ve been thinking a lot about time lately.
More specifically. how I spend it, who gets it, and what version of me shows up when they do.
And it all comes from something I’ve been mulling around lately when I think about the time I spend with my 2-year-old son: Don’t give him the leftovers, Matt.
I don’t want him to get the part of me that’s drained, half-listening, mentally somewhere else.
I want him to get the best of me.
My clearest mind.
My most patient self.
My full attention.
Because this stage of life with him is short, and when it’s gone, I can’t get it back.
So I’ve been working on arranging my day around him, not the other way around.
And it got me thinking... this applies to creative leadership, too.
How many of us are giving the best of our time, focus, and energy to the wrong things?
We go heads-down in Slack and email first thing in the morning, when our mind is sharpest. We fill our calendars with meetings that don’t move the needle. We say yes to every request, then wonder why we’re exhausted and unmotivated when it’s time to do the work that actually matters.
And you know… that’s not leadership.
That’s survival.
If you want to lead well (whether it’s your team, your family, or yourself), you have to stop giving the leftovers to the things that matter most.
The calendar will never protect your values unless you do. That means intentionally blocking time for what’s most important. Not just for productivity, but for presence and clarity
And if you’re leading a creative team, it means protecting their time and energy, too. Making sure they’re not stuck on a hamster wheel of reactive work that steals their best hours and leaves them with nothing in the tank.
The best creative work doesn’t happen in the margins. Neither does meaningful leadership.
So yeah. I’m trying to keep the main thing the main thing. At home. At work. Everywhere.
Because leftovers might be fine for lunch.
But they’re not for the people that matter most.
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