The Power of Creating Space: Why Less Leads to More Productivity

Do you ever look at your calendar at the start of the week and feel a sense of dread? That tightness in your chest, the racing thoughts of everything you need to get done, and the sinking realisation that there simply isn’t enough time?

It’s easy to fall into the trap of believing that more is the answer—more hours, more effort, more squeezing things into the gaps. But what if the real key to productivity isn’t adding, but removing?

Intention Over Accumulation

In The Focus Formula, my framework designed to help professionals cut through distraction and work with greater clarity, the AIM Model highlights Intention as a critical element in directing our time and energy effectively.

Intention as a critical element in directing our time and energy effectively. Without clear intention, we risk filling our days with tasks that don’t serve our bigger goals—leaving us exhausted yet unfulfilled.

Creating space in our calendar isn’t about doing less for the sake of it; it’s about making room for what truly matters. 

When we intentionally remove unnecessary commitments, distractions, and inefficiencies, we free up the capacity to do the things we’ve said yes to with more focus, energy, and impact.

Let's take a look at how the same person when intentional with their time can gain more focus, energy and impact.

A Tale of Two Workweeks: Cluttered vs. Intentional

Let’s take the example of Emma, a project manager in a fast-paced organization. She’s responsible for coordinating multiple teams, attending meetings, and ensuring deadlines are met.

Emma’s Cluttered Week: Busy, But Not Productive

• Monday Morning: Emma opens her inbox and immediately starts responding to emails. Before she knows it, she’s spent two hours putting out fires and answering messages that could have waited.
• Midweek Overload: She has back-to-back meetings—some of which she doesn’t need to be in, but she attends anyway to stay informed. Because she’s constantly switching contexts, she struggles to focus on high-priority projects.
• Thursday Rush: Emma finally finds time to work on an important report, but she’s exhausted. She stays late, missing a planned workout, and feels mentally drained.
• Friday Catch-Up: Because her week was reactive rather than intentional, Emma spends Friday scrambling to finish overdue tasks. She enters the weekend feeling behind, knowing Monday will be another chaotic start.

Emma was busy, but her lack of intentional time management kept her from being truly productive.

Let's see how Emma's week looks when she shifts her focus and is INTENTIONAL with how she uses her time, energy and attention.

Emma’s Intentional Week: Focused and Effective

• Monday Morning: Instead of diving into emails, Emma starts her day by reviewing her top three priorities. She blocks focus time on her calendar and postpones responding to non-urgent emails until later.
• Midweek Efficiency: She removes herself from unnecessary meetings and suggests alternative solutions (like a shared document for updates). She also replaces long email chains with quick, focused calls, reducing wasted time.
• Thursday Progress: Because she protected time for deep work, her report is nearly done—without late nights or stress. She also fits in her workout, keeping her energy levels high.
• Friday Reflection & Preparation: With her main tasks completed, she ends the week by planning the next one, leaving room for flexibility and focused execution. She heads into the weekend feeling accomplished rather than overwhelmed.

The Shift: From Chaos to Control

Emma’s week didn’t get easier by chance—it improved because she became intentional with her time and removed what wasn’t serving her. Instead of trying to do more, she focused on doing the right things well.

By creating space and focusing on what matters, she:

✔ Reduced distractions and decision fatigue

✔ Completed work more efficiently

✔ Felt less stressed and more in control

✔ Had more energy for what truly mattered

When every moment of your day is booked, you might feel productive, but in reality, you’re likely:

• Multitasking poorly – Jumping between tasks reduces efficiency.
• Making reactive decisions – Overcommitment leaves no room for strategic thinking.
• Struggling to prioritise – Everything feels urgent when you have no breathing room.
• Missing recovery time – Fatigue lowers creativity and problem-solving abilities.

Does this sound familiar? 

Instead, by being intentional with our schedules, we create space for deeper thinking, proactive planning, and meaningful work. It doesn't need to take up a lot of your time to be intentional.

Practical Ways to Create Space This Week

If your week already feels overwhelming, here are some small but impactful ways to free up space:

✅ Cancel a meeting that could be solved via email. Your time is valuable—don’t waste it on unnecessary meetings.

✅ Replace long email threads with a 5-minute call. Clarity and decisions happen faster with a quick conversation.

✅ Say no to tasks that shouldn’t be yours. If it doesn’t align with your priorities, delegate or decline.

✅ Ask for help instead of pushing through alone. Collaboration often leads to better results in less time.

✅ Block time to finish a project before jumping into new ones. Switching between unfinished tasks drains focus and energy.

Less is More—When It's Intentional

Being productive isn’t about doing everything—it’s about doing the right things well. When we stop seeing space in our schedules as "wasted time" and start viewing it as a strategic advantage, we set ourselves up for success. It is in these spaces where we can be creative, innovative and daydream.

This week, challenge yourself to create more space. What’s one thing you can remove from your schedule to allow yourself to focus more effectively?

Angela Lockwood

www.angelalockwood.com.au

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