"Beyond the Market" with Gaelen Trombley, Associate Real Estate Broker
- Jodi Brunner
- May 6
- 3 min read
Updated: Jun 11
"Focus on Being Productive Instead of Being Busy" - Tim Ferriss
Hello friends! This month, I’m taking a short break from real estate to talk about something that’s helped me a lot—how I use my time.
Over the last few years, productivity has been a core focus of mine. I’m a dad of 3 young kids, and I run a small business. With work and personal responsibilities loading up over the last few years, I've had to make adjustments. I could no longer grind long hours and be the dad I wanted to be. Those two couldn't go hand in hand moving forward. I had to make a change.
Step 1: What Matters Most? I asked myself: What are my top priorities in life? This was easy for me:
My health
Time with my family
Work that supports my family—without taking time away from them
Simple. But not easy. I had to tighten my focus, and be selective with my time.
Step 2: Cut Out the Extra Stuff. I looked at my calendar and removed the “non-essentials” that didn’t align with my priorities:
Unneeded meetings
Extra boards and activities
Coffee chats, lunches and events I didn’t really care about
Those things aren’t bad, but they didn’t fit my priorities right now. Knowing your priorities makes saying no to these things easy. And you’ll be happy with how much time you get back by eliminating dumb stuff from your day.
Step 3: Do Work That Matters. Taking the quote from Tim Ferris above, I focused on being productive, not busy. What’s the difference? I spend my time working on work that’s actually productive. Think of work that moves the business forward (typically revenue generating). I avoid “busy work”. What is busy work? Things like:
Replying to every email right away or answering every call as it comes in (it’s why we have voicemail!) Moving papers around
Running little errands
Meetings just to say you had a meeting
Busy work can feel important—but most of it doesn’t really help, and it’s not truly urgent. Think about it: how many emails, messages, or meetings really matter? Not many. And they rarely move your business forward. Instead, do the work that moves the needle. Focus on the tasks that make a real impact. Get those done first. The rest can wait.
Don’t work just to stay busy. Work to get things done. Be impressed with time on task, not time spent in the office or mindlessly staring at your Gmail account. Checking off small, easy tasks can feel good—but it often distracts us from the big, important work we’re avoiding. Busyness becomes a comfort zone. In fact, constant busyness can be a form of lazy thinking—it keeps you in motion without progress.
Being busy isn’t the same as being productive. We all have limited time and energy, so it’s important to spend them on what truly matters. Since changing my focus, I work fewer hours, without losing money. And I have more time for my family and things I enjoy. I plan my work, stay focused, finish it fast, and then I'm done.
If you find yourself stuck, pause and ask: Am I making real progress, or just staying busy to feel productive? Use your time with intention. Choose progress, not just motion.
Next month, I'll go over some of my favorite tactics and hacks that go hand in hand with this approach. Until then, cut the fluff!
Gaelan Trombley is an Associate Real Estate Broker with Kavanaugh Realty and host of The Gaelan Trombley Show, a long-form podcast with guests across various fields.
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