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How I Make time for Strategic Work, even when Everything is on Fire

Section titled “How I Make time for Strategic Work, even when Everything is on Fire”

Back from holiday, I returned to a flood of meetings. The time I’d blocked for key priorities was now triple-booked. Escalations, VP reviews, Slack pings… and then my laptop overheated and shut down.

I put it in the office freezer, made tea, and sat down. For ten quiet minutes, I wrote all my priorities on paper.

Doing a bit of reflection in the middle of a crisis really helps.

I looked at the list.

One key task only I could do — I noted to find an hour for it today.

Another I could delegate — I texted my team and handed it off.

I ran into a team member handling a crisis. I didn’t have time to help much, but we synced up — and he was on the right track.

I delayed handling two escalations — I sensed they would not blow up further.

Six more “nice to haves” were on the list. They would wait for later in the week — or forever.

I retrieved my laptop from the freezer and rejoined the chaos — but now on my terms.

Early in my Amazon career, I thought mastering crisis management would free up time for strategic work. But no matter how fast I ran or how many hacks I learned, that space never came. My bosses and stakeholders kept piling up urgent work, and the future I wanted stayed out of reach. Eventually, I realised: I had to make time for strategic work—even while the fires still burned.

In my current role, I manage a central team in a matrixed Big Tech organization. We work across functions, relying on others while others rely on us. My days run 10 to 11 hours with meetings, reviews, launches, hiring, and VP updates — I am constantly switching between manager and maker mode.

Today, I’m sharing a handful of personal productivity tactics. In my next newsletter, I’ll cover how I stay productive as a manager (read it here). Subscribe if you’d like to follow along.

Here’s how I make time for strategic work amidst everything else going on.

1. I Commit to Strategic Work Publicly

Section titled “1. I Commit to Strategic Work Publicly”

My biggest hack? Make strategic work public.

Last year, I told my skip-level manager I wanted to write a 3-year plan. He mentioned it to his boss—and suddenly, it wasn’t a “nice-to-have” anymore.

It doesn’t have to go up the chain. Peer and team commitments work too. When I promise my team a Think Big workshop, it usually shows up in the calendar.

2. My Calendar is King

Section titled “2. My Calendar is King”

My calendar rules my day (not my inbox or Slack).

A simple tweak made a big difference: I have changed the default setting in the Outlook to open my calendar instead of email. If email loads first, something always grabs my attention: a stakeholder request, a response I have been waiting for, an overdue training reminder… and suddenly my most focused time is gone.

I keep my task list in the calendar. I developed a simplified version of Getting Things Done method and have used it for over 20 years. I update, move, or delete tasks as I action them.

3. I Guard My Morning Focus

Section titled “3. I Guard My Morning Focus”

I start each day with my most important task. Even if everything else goes sideways, I’ve moved the needle on one key priority.

I protect 90+ minute blocks for deep work. Deep work cannot be squeezed into thirty minute gaps. By the time I finish the previous meeting, close the tabs, grab water, and respond to Slack pings, the time is gone. It often takes me 15 to 30 minutes just to warm up — rereading context, sketching ideas — before real progress starts. If I don’t have a large enough block, by the time my mind is ready, another meeting is starting.

I schedule focus time two weeks in advance. Otherwise, my calendar fills with other people’s priorities. I wrote about my weekly planning system in the earlier post.

4. I Use Themes to Fight Fragmentation

Section titled “4. I Use Themes to Fight Fragmentation”

When deep focus isn’t possible, I give the day a theme. On meeting-heavy days, I don’t try to juggle five unrelated tasks in short gaps. Instead, I pick one focus—like “OP1 Planning”—and return to it whenever I can. Even small bursts add up.

Themed days help me stay realistic. In a packed week, I may only move two big rocks. Better to accept this early and manage expectations up front.

I also batch smaller tasks. For example, hiring involves many activities: responding to coffee chat requests, reviewing CVs, doing due diligence on a candidate, etc. If I try to do them all, they will fill up half of the working day. Instead, I block a couple of 30 or 60 minutes slots for “hiring” throughout the week, collect them, prioritise and knock out a few during the dedicated slot. I will never get the time to do them all, but the most important ones get done. This is Pareto principle in action: 20% of the right effort delivers 80% of the results.

5. I Prioritise Ruthlessly

Section titled “5. I Prioritise Ruthlessly”

Pen and paper are still my best productivity tools. I’ve tried many apps, but I find that they take more time than they save.

Writing clears the fog. I start to see patterns, group related tasks, and identify what truly matters.

Once I write things down, I ask myself this key question: What is the one thing I can do, such that by doing it, everything else will be easier or unnecessary? Often, the answer isn’t on my original list.

Writing and reflection change the course of action.

I hope this post gave you something useful. If it did, share it with a colleague — and consider subscribing to support future content like this.

Want to Read More? My Top 3 Productivity Books: