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A Day in the Life of a Senior Leader
book

A Day in the Life of a Senior Leader

by Michael Lopp
November 2026
Beginner to intermediate
242 pages
5h 1m
English
O'Reilly Media, Inc.
Content preview from A Day in the Life of a Senior Leader

Chapter 29. The Seven Levels of Busy

Following is every level of busy, so you can honestly know where you are. That’s how you start to fix the it you’ve been facing:

Level 1: Not busy

My schedule is wide open. I can choose infinite paths. Zero commitments. The weekend. I sleep like a baby. Life is good, but am I living my best life?

Level 2: Stuff to do

I have a few commitments wandering around my brain. They are reasonable, knowable, and not deadline-based. I can keep track of everything in my head.

Level 3: Significant commitments

I have enough commitments that I need to keep track of them in a tool because I can no longer organically triage. My calendar is a thing I check infrequently, but I do check it to remind myself of the flavor of this particular day.

Level 4: At capacity

My to-do list and my calendar are full. I frequently have to make “What is more important?” decisions to help me figure out where to invest my time. I have no unscheduled time, but I continue to feel on top of things. Inbox zero maintained.

Level 5: Cracks in the facade

I tell myself I’m on top of all the things, but there are early signs of excessive work. This is when inbox zero fails. I know daily surprises could be avoided if I had…just a bit more time. I start saying “I’m sorry” a lot. Stuff isn’t getting dropped, but execution becomes sloppy.

Level 6: Crushing commitments

The number of incoming things is beyond my ability to triage them. Change is constant. Just saying no to inbound ...

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Publisher Resources

ISBN: 9781098162924Errata Page