From Frazzled to Focus

Good weeks don’t come from pushing harder.

They come from a focus on how the work works.

“Working on the work” sounds smart – strategic, even.

But here’s the catch – most of us spend the week in the business: full on, flat out, long hours fixing too many things on the fly.

Yes, we’re busy – but also increasingly frazzled.

Meet Anna

She’s determined and capable.

She cares deeply about building her business and delivering a great service to clients.

But she’s always in the work.

Her week is a blur of emails, meetings and problem-solving.

She’s constantly fixing things that should already be fixed – staying late, picking up the slack and convincing herself that next week will be calmer.

It feels productive but it’s really busy-ness disguised as progress.

The Idea Behind “Working on the Work”

The phrase sounds like the answer – and it can be.

This isn’t just theory.

Studies show that real change happens when leaders stop managing harder and start redesigning how the work actually gets done.

It’s not about packing in more or pushing faster – it’s about designing better. Looking at how things really flow. Spotting where effort leaks out and creating something simpler, smoother, stronger.

It’s only one little word different – on instead of in – but the impact is huge.

That’s where the shift happens – from frazzled to focused.

Your Quick Fix

Take the first step towards working on the business.

Identify one part of your week to redesign – the bit that makes you most frazzled.

Write down one way you could do it differently and give it a go next week.

Then notice if it saves you time or gives you more focus.

It did for Anna.

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Small redesigns lead to big calm.

Moving from frazzled to focused means having more good weeks – and more time.

Make change – one fix at a time.

🧡 Clare, Business Therapist