Although this Harvard Business Review publication *Managers Can Avoid Wasting Time* was originally published on May 1982
Using this four-part strategy, managers can do a great deal to infuse zest into the way they respond to anxiety-provoking job requirements at the same time they introduce work-planning and control disciplines that minimize the chances of their escaping into busyness.
To sustain a reduction in busyness, executives need to attack not only the symptoms but also the source of the problem: the way managers plan, organize, and carry out the key anxiety-provoking requirements of their jobs.