#561 How to Spend More Time in Your Zone of Genius at Work
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The hosts of Squiggly Careers, Sarah and Helen, dive into a powerful framework for reclaiming time and impact at work by identifying four distinct zones of professional activity: zone of genius, zone of excellence, zone of competence, and zone of incompetence. Drawing from Gay Hendricks’ model and inspired by Emma Greed’s 'Start With Yourself,' they reveal how most professionals spend over 70% of their time in zones where they’re good but not uniquely impactful—especially in their zone of excellence and competence—while their actual zone of genius, where they’re most energized and effective, is often underutilized. Through a simple yet transformative exercise—mapping daily tasks across the four zones and analyzing diary entries with AI—they uncover that Helen spends only 41% of her time in her zone of genius and 22% in her zone of incompetence. The real breakthrough comes when they challenge themselves: what if they redirected even half of that 22% from low-impact tasks into creating clarity, a core strength? This reframing turns self-awareness into actionable strategy, proving that time spent in your zone of genius isn’t just about joy—it’s about leverage. The episode ends with a practical, shareable method: use Post-it notes, color-code your calendar, and let AI analyze your time to turn reflection into results.
Your zone of genius is where you’re uniquely energized and impactful—only 41% of Helen’s time is spent there, despite being her most valuable work.
Over 70% of time is spent in zones of excellence and competence—where you’re good but not necessarily fulfilled or maximally effective.
Use AI to analyze your calendar: upload a photo of your ticked-off tasks and ask it to calculate time spent in each zone for instant insight.
Reallocate just half of your 22% zone of incompetence time (e.g., admin, passive meetings) to your zone of genius—like creating clarity—to multiply impact.
Color-code your calendar in real time (e.g., pink for passive meetings) to build a live, automated system for tracking time across zones.
…and 3 more takeaways available in PodZeus
The Ice Cream and the Law: A Wake-Up Call
The episode opens with a quirky ad for Cespri Kiwis and a government reminder about landlord compliance, setting a tone of mundane urgency that contrasts with the deeper theme: the need to act on time-wasting tasks before they become costly.
The Four Zones: A Framework for Impact
Sarah and Helen introduce the four professional zones—genius, excellence, competence, and incompetence—based on Gay Hendricks’ model and Emma Greed’s book. They explain how most people spend too much time in zones where they’re good but not uniquely valuable.
Zone of Genius: The Diamond in Your Day
“I think you are amazing at coming up with ideas that other people that go beyond the obvious... you're like oh no I've gone to like a whole different area like your ideas leapfrog into other other areas which is fantastic.”
Zone of Excellence: Where You’re Good, But Not Known For
The hosts reflect on their zone of excellence—editing, branding, copywriting—tasks they’re good at but don’t want to be known for. They question why they’re doing them and whether they’re truly aligned with their purpose.
Zone of Competence: Enjoyable But Not Best
They identify tasks they enjoy but aren’t the best at—like process organization and social media—highlighting that enjoyment doesn’t equal genius, and that delegation is key.
“Imagine if you applied even half of that 22% to creating more clarity. Taking people's work, turning it into data for their development and doing something that's going to make a positive difference.”
“I've got 41% of my time in my zone of genius, and I've got 32% of time in my zone of excellence, which means that I'm spending over 70% of time on things that I'm good and great at.”
“Could you build an agent to do it as you go? You know, if you were good enough at, you know now people are really into colour coding their diaries.”
Hosts
Squiggly Careers
media
Post-it Notes
product
Emma Greed
person
Gay Hendricks
person
other
Learn Like a Lobster
book
ChatGP2
product
Nikki Kemp
person
Microsoft Teams
product
Evergreen
book
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