If you’d love more time for strategic thinking, but the day keeps filling up with tasks, you’re not alone. Research shows that many mid-level leaders spend around half their time on admin and individual contributor work.
The issue isn’t skill or ambition. It’s that the conditions for strategic thinking aren’t in place.
Here are five practical tips that actually help.
1. Clear goals, deliverables, or direction
Strategy needs something solid to work on. When goals are vague or outdated, strategic thinking can feel pointless.
Be clear on what you’re aiming for: 1–3 clear 90-day deliverables that align with the yearly direction. With clear goals, strategic thinking has somewhere to land.
2. Shared understanding of what “strategic” means in your role
In organisations, you’re evaluated by the impact others can see. Doing the tactical work is expected. It doesn’t set you apart. Ask your executive:
- How do you know I’m being strategic?
- What outcomes, behaviours, and impact matter most to you?
- Which relationships across the organisation would be helpful to strengthen?
- Who needs to know about our impact?
Keep asking until you move past surface-level answers and have concrete examples.
3. Time in the diary (with a regular cadence)
Strategic thinking needs protected time. Quarterly is rarely enough. Even monthly can be too intermittent. Diarise a weekly strategic review with yourself. You’ll need about 75 minutes: 15 minutes to settle in, 60 minutes to review and think.
Strategy doesn’t survive exhaustion or constant interruption. Familiar surroundings can pull you back into the weeds. Schedule this time when your energy is strongest, often mid-week mornings. If possible, change your environment. A meeting room, a café, or a space with a view can make a real difference
4. A framework for strategic thinking time
Strategic thinking time works when it’s purposeful. Use a short list of prompts to guide your thinking as you review goals and priorities. For example:
- What’s moving? What’s stalled?
- What’s getting in the way?
- How much time did I spend on strategic goals last week?
- Where is the return on my team’s time and effort highest?
- What could I delegate?
- Who needs coaching or training to support that delegation?
- Who is seeing our impact?
- What impact could we communicate more clearly?
5. Commitment to hold the boundary
Holding the boundary is the real work. If you notice yourself skipping strategic thinking time, reconnect with your why. In my experience, people who protect time for strategic thinking enjoy their jobs more. They feel less reactive and more influential. They do more interesting work. Strategic thinking time isn’t a luxury. It’s an investment in yourself: your impact, job satisfaction and career progression.
More time for strategic thinking doesn’t come from working harder. It comes from clear goals and systems that make space for it.
