I Wasn’t Joking

“What would you do with five extra hours this week?”

I like asking that question because people usually answer quickly, and the answers tend to sound good. Exercise. Time with family. Something they used to do more of before work took over.

Then I asked a CEO I was working with.

By that point, I already knew how this might go. With him, everything was the business. Every conversation, every decision, every ounce of energy. It wasn’t just that he was busy. Work had become the default setting for everything.

So when I asked the question, he did exactly that.

He went straight to work.

What he would fix. What he would improve. Where he would invest the time.

I cut him off.

“It can’t be work.”

He laughed.

Then paused.

Because once work was off the table, the answer wasn’t obvious anymore.

We stayed with it. Took a step back. Talked through what used to be part of his life that had slowly disappeared.

Eventually, he landed on something simple.

He used to play video games with a group of friends. Nothing serious. Just a way to unwind, talk, and enjoy himself.

He hadn’t done it in a long time.

And it wasn’t just the games. The friendships had faded into the background too. A few texts here and there, nothing that really felt like connection.

That’s where I stayed with him.

Because this wasn’t about finding something to fill time. It was about recognizing something that had value and had quietly been removed.

In most cases, clients decide their own next steps. I help them think it through and hold themselves accountable.

This time, I stepped in.

Five hours of video games over the next couple of weeks. With those friends. No multitasking. No “just checking one thing.” Just show up and play.

He laughed again.

Then he realized I wasn’t joking.

There was some pushback. Timing. Workload. Everything you would expect.

Still, he did it.

And within a couple of weeks, the shift was obvious.

He reconnected with people he genuinely enjoyed. Some close friends. Some people he hadn’t realized he missed. That alone changed his energy.

He started showing up differently. More focused. More relaxed. Thinking more clearly. Seeing things in the business that he had been too close to before.

At one point, he mentioned an opportunity that came out of one of those conversations.

Nothing about the business itself had changed.

But he had.

And that changed how he showed up to it.

This is where a lot of leaders get it wrong. They assume the way to get better at work is to spend more time on it.

Sometimes the better move is to step away.

Not to escape. To reset.

Because when everything becomes work, your thinking narrows. Everything feels urgent. You end up putting in more effort and getting less perspective.

That’s not a great trade.

For him, it was video games.

For you, it might be something completely different.

Time with friends you haven’t really spoken to.
Something you used to do for fun.
Exercise that actually clears your head.
A walk where you’re not checking your phone every five minutes.

Something that looks like a break and ends up making you better at what you do.

If a CEO can make time for that and see the impact, it’s worth asking what you’ve taken out of your own life that used to help you think better.

And whether it’s time to put it back.

If “play more video games” wasn’t on your leadership plan this year… you might want to reconsider.