When did the buzz of your phone become more important than the colleague right here? In front of you is a long time co-worker, crying. They tell you how their nanny is getting so close to the kids and they feel like a guest in their own home. Your face listens but then you check your phone because “I gotta get this.” They prattle on sharing their mess with you. All you can think about is the how this human break down in front of you fits into your GTD action plan. Colleague sobbing. Actionable. Do it, delegate it, or defer it? “I’m late for a VP status review. I need to run. Let’s talk later” You choose defer.

After years in this corporate bog your humanity has been leached from you. Heart and soul replaced with presentations and faux business plans that lose their value the minute after the meeting ends. You are now defined by your project plan, mileage plan status, and last performance review. You used to be a human.

Just on the edge of your memory, sometime between finishing school and spending too much on your first condo, you have a hazy memory of another life. You would go to a job, do your best, and leave – really leave. Both mind and body would depart and you would move on to be with friends, family, or just alone with your own thoughts.

Drone, let’s try to focus on that memory right now. Force out the corporate noise and professional fear of missing out. That missed face time with your boss? A diversion meant to steal your attention away from a friend. Your overdue monthly business review deck? A barrier to separate you from your lover. Remove all of the career distractions and a certain clarity emerges.

You got it. You see yourself being present and authentic. That image floats the flitters away as your phone buzzes with the latest budget numbers you need to pretend to understand. Farewell old self. We had a good run.