From The NSC Stage 🎤 | Zena Everett: The Crazy Busy Cure

If you walked into the office tomorrow and found an extra hour in your day, what would you do with it? When Zena Everett posed this question to the National Sales Conference audience, the answers weren’t about “closing more deals” or “clearing the inbox.” They were fundamental: Sleep. Exercise. Cooking a decent meal. Unscheduled time.

The hard truth is that we have reached a breaking point. We are operating in a 24/7 workplace that is making us slower, more exhausted, and less efficient. To win in 2026, we don’t need more time; we need a “Crazy Busy Cure.”

The Productivity Drag: Why You’re Only Working 40% of the Time

Research suggests that most professionals spend less than 40% of their week on real work. The rest is consumed by what Zena calls “ultraprocessed work,” tasks that feel like work but don’t actually move the needle.

She identifies five main causes of this Productivity Drag:

1. Excessive Collaboration: Too many cooks in the kitchen. When every decision requires a committee, nothing gets done.
2. Technology Friction: Spending more time fighting with passwords and incompatible systems than actually using the tools.
3. Overservicing: Following the “Squeaky Wheel” and giving too much attention to low-impact customers who provide minimal revenue.
4. Lack of Accountability: High performers often carry the load for the bottom 25% of the team.
5. Bureaucracy: Navigating internal red tape that serves the process, not the client.

The Myth of the Multi-Tasking Ninja

We like to think we are “switch-tasking,” but Zena is blunt: our 300,000-year-old brains can only concentrate on one thing at once. Every time you are interrupted by a WhatsApp group, a Teams message, or an “FYI” email, it can take up to 20 minutes to get back into a state of flow.

“Attention is the new superpower of sales,” Zena told the stage. If you want to cut through the noise, you have to go “old school”:

• Do one thing at a time.
• Adopt email etiquette: Stop the global “data dump” of 376 billion emails sent daily.
• Respect “The Flow”: Avoid meetings on Friday afternoons and turn off notifications when doing deep work.

Be the Lion, Not the Critter

Zena’s most vivid metaphor was the “Lion Strategy.” Lions don’t waste energy chasing small, furry critters; they go after the antelopes. They focus on the “Big Stuff” that sustains the pride, and then, crucially, they rest.

Most sales professionals treat their to-do list like an infinite scroll. Your brain cannot tell the difference between “Winning a major new client” and “Wiping down the kitchen counter.” We are hardwired to stay busy, which is why we spend all day triaging an inbox instead of hunting antelopes.

The “Holiday Eve” Mindset

Think about the day before you go on holiday. You are ruthlessly focused. You don’t “faff.” You delegate, you say no, and you clear the decks. Why? Because you are preoccupied with completion. Zena challenges us to bring that “Pre-Holiday Energy” to every Tuesday morning.

The Growth Hub Verdict: Talk About Time

As a leader, your role has shifted. You are no longer just managing workers; you are managing the workflow.

• Set Time Expectations: Don’t just ask for a report; tell your team, “This should take 45 minutes.” If it takes three hours, there is a glitch in the flow that needs fixing.
• Schedule Your Respect: If you work late, schedule your emails to land during business hours. Don’t infect your team’s rest time with your “crazy busyness.”
• Stop Doing: It is November. Before you plan what to do in 2026, decide what you are going to stop doing right now.

The goal isn’t to be the busiest person in the room, it’s to be the most impactful.

Check out our other From the NSC Stage articles, including:

The ‘Invisible Sale’: 3 Lessons from Simon Hazeldine

Ben Hanlin: The Psychology Of Sales Audience Engagement

Andy Bounds: Why Your Prospects Don’t Care About Your History