The answers came quickly.

“Tired.”
 “My to-do list.”

No hesitation. No overthinking.

Just honest, automatic responses. Ones I could really relate to, as this is how I used to feel. Waking up every morning snoozing my alarm, checking my phone and grabbing caffeine because I always woke up feeling exhausted.

Because before the emails…
Before the meetings…
Before the pressure of the day kicks in…

Your habits are already shaping the day ahead.

The invisible starting point of performance

We often think performance starts when we start work.

But in reality, it starts much earlier.

It starts with:

●       The first thought in the morning

●       The first action you take

●       The first habit you repeat

And for many leaders, that starting point is already working against them.

The hidden cost no one is talking about

We then explored a second question:

“What habits are stopping you from achieving your potential?”

The responses were overwhelming - and incredibly consistent:

●       Scrolling

●       Constant notifications

●       Procrastination

●       Checking teams all day

●       Not prioritising myself

●       Overthinking

●       Poor nutrition

●       Lack of exercise

●       Not enough sleep

No one mentioned lack of skill. Or lack of ambition.

Because that’s not the issue.

The real performance leak

I’ve been reading a lot of research recently on distraction and focus and it suggests we could be losing 20 - 40% of our productivity every day, just from constant interruptions and task switching.

That’s the equivalent of one full day every week.

Now layer that on top of what the room shared:

A tired start.
A reactive mindset.
Habits that fragment focus before the day has even begun.

It’s not surprising performance feels harder than it should.

Why this matters even more for event leaders

Event leaders operate in environments where:

●       There’s no room for error

●       Energy needs to stay high

●       Decisions need to be fast and accurate

●       Pressure is constant

Which means performance isn’t just about what you know.

It’s about how you show up consistently throughout the day.

And that is shaped by habits.

Small habits. Big impact.

The challenge is that most of these habits feel normal.

Checking your phone.
Jumping between tasks.
Pushing through when you’re tired.

Individually, they don’t seem like a big deal.

But repeated daily?

They quietly drain:

●       Focus

●       Energy

●       Decision-making ability

And ultimately… performance.

Why doing more isn’t the solution

When things feel overwhelming, the natural instinct is to push harder.

Work longer.
Stay switched on.
Get through the list.

But without changing the underlying habits, more effort just reinforces the cycle.

A different way to think about performance

In my opening keynote at the BNCShow, I shared a simple idea:

One small habit can unlock up to 15% greater performance.

Not because it’s a magic fix.

But because it changes how you operate within your day.

What this looks like in practice

Instead of trying to fix everything, focus on one small habit change:

●       Starting the day with the most important task before checking emails

●       Doing 10 minutes of exercise

●       Taking micro breaks

●       Replace scrolling with a few pages of reading

Small changes.

But powerful ones.

The ripple effect

One of the most important insights from the keynote:

When you neglect yourself, everyone pays the price. When you take care of yourself, everyone benefits.

When a leader is running on low energy and feeling reactive that becomes the norm. But when a leader is focused, intentional and consistent, that is infectious.

The real opportunity

Then this isn’t a time problem. It’s a habit problem.

The actual answer to regaining;

●       Focus

●       Energy

●       Clarity

●       Performance

is not by adding more.

But by changing what you repeat.