The Fearless Business Podcast

My Guest today is Paul Holbrook who describes himself as all round optimist and the Creator of The Diary Detox. Paul is a time rebel, speaker and author who walked away from a 20-year career in the City of London having become frustrated at standing-by watching the toxic effect of people's diaries on themselves and those around them without them realising it. On the way to creating a world of better-led people, Paul stumbled across the Diary Detox®, a business that he now runs.

Having covered a variety of roles within technology and people management, Paul is passionate about improvement. He believes the only thing stopping people getting the most from themselves, is an unerring attention to getting the best from everyone and everything around them. It all starts with what's in their diary.

Paul’s journey began while working as a technologist in banks across the City, where he spent years observing colleagues, particularly managers, frantically filling their days, running around with their hair on fire, yet rarely finding the time to focus on what truly mattered. He often found himself silently asking: What on earth are you doing? This persistent question eventually became the spark for his next chapter.

After two decades in the banking world, Paul decided he’d had enough. He left to change the story for those overwhelmed by their own calendars. Initially, he set out as a leadership coach, eager to help people step back and reclaim control of their time. But time and again, he heard the same refrain from potential clients: “It sounds really interesting, but I just don’t have any time to talk to you.”

Recognising this as the core issue, Paul drew upon a simple technique he’d used while managing large teams, one that helped people uncover hidden pockets of time and gain clarity on their priorities. What started as a doorway to meaningful conversations quickly grew in popularity, evolving into the Diary Detox itself.

Paul delivered the Diary Detox in person, then expanded into group courses, and soon realised that both large organisations and individual entrepreneurs were hungry for these insights. To reach even more people, especially those outside the corporate world, he captured his approach in a book, making his techniques for reclaiming time accessible to anyone ready to take back control of their day.

Having covered a variety of roles within technology and people management, Paul is passionate about improvement. He believes the only thing stopping people getting the most from themselves, is an unerring attention to getting the best from everyone and everything around them. It all starts with what's in their diary.

Why We Get Nervous About Our Use of Time

Let’s be honest—most of us get a little uneasy when the spotlight turns to how we manage (or mismanage) our time. It’s the classic case of the internal mirror: as soon as someone starts talking about priorities or productivity, we instinctively check our own calendars and ask, “Am I making the most of my days?”

There’s a reason for this. Time is the one resource none of us can get more of, and once it’s gone, that’s it. Unlike money or knowledge, you can’t hit “refresh.” That pressure, sometimes just beneath the surface, makes us question whether we’re truly focusing on what matters, or if we’re letting distractions run the show.

It’s normal to feel a bit exposed or self-conscious when this subject comes up, because deep down, we know the stakes are real. Reflecting on how we spend our time is uncomfortable precisely because it matters so much. The good news? Pausing to check in with ourselves is the first step to turning those nerves into action, and making every hour count.

What we’ll be discussing today:

• Time and how people waste it without realising.
• Management and Leadership and how they're misunderstood.
• The effect on not being sure where you're going.
• The effect of not planning time.
• Reflection on what's REALLY happening.

Accidental Managers: The Hidden Risk in the Workplace

One of the big culprits behind wasted time and disenchanted teams is something called the “accidental manager.” These are people who, often through no fault of their own, find themselves promoted into management simply because they were good at their previous job, not because they genuinely wanted to lead or had any training in how to do it.

Here’s the catch: when individuals are bumped up without a real appetite for people management, organizations often end up with frustrated leaders, stressed-out teams, and confusion all around. Instead of inspiring their teams or making decisions that drive the business forward, accidental managers spend most days reacting, firefighting, and just trying to keep up. The result? Toxic diary overload, wasted hours, and a workplace buzzing with avoidable drama.

To avoid this trap, it’s crucial to rethink how people move into leadership. Instead of just promoting the top performer, we need to focus on finding those who have a real passion for helping others succeed. Only then can businesses build strong foundations and create environments where both leaders and teams can truly thrive.

Guidelines for Balancing Your Activities

Now, when it comes to what you should actually do with your time, there’s no magic formula that fits everyone, especially as your role changes within an organization. If you’re the CEO of a startup, your daily breakdown will look very different compared to a middle manager in a multinational, or a freelancer spinning multiple plates.

Instead, think of the recommended “mix” of activities, like time spent planning, leading, executing, or networking, as signposts rather than strict rules. For example, you might see advice suggesting “spend 50% of your time on strategic work.” But don’t panic if you notice you’re actually hitting 70%. The point isn’t to follow these proportions rigidly. Instead, use them as a prompt to pause and reflect: Does this match what your role genuinely needs? Is the extra time in one area serving you, or is something else falling by the wayside?

Ultimately, these guidelines are meant to encourage honest reflection, not to add another layer of guilt to your diary. Consider them springboards for better self-awareness, rather than a checklist you must tick off every week.

Can we ever accomplish everything we want to do?

Let’s be real, there’s no magic formula to give us unlimited hours in the day. We all have a never-ending to-do list, and it’s tempting to believe we can tick every single box if we just try hard enough or find the right productivity hack. But here’s the kicker: none of us will ever have enough time to do absolutely everything we dream of. And that’s okay.

The trick isn’t to chase after every single opportunity or to spread yourself so thin that you burn out. Instead, the real skill is learning how to say “no” (or at least “not right now”) to the less important stuff, so you can give your energy to what truly matters, those things that move the needle for you, your business, or your team.

Give yourself permission to let go of the pressure to accomplish it all. Focus instead on what’s essential. Prioritize, plan, and make deliberate choices about your time. That’s how you make real progress, not by adding more to your diary, but by making sure what gets in there really counts.

How Diary Detox® Turns Time Management on Its Head

Now, if you’ve ever taken a time management course, you’ve probably left armed with to-do lists, colour-coded calendars, and the hope that if you simply sliced your hours into more bite-sized pieces, you’d finally conquer the elusive beast called “busy.” The trouble is, all those brilliant hacks last about five days, and then, whoosh, you’re right back to old habits.

But here’s where Paul Holbrook’s Diary Detox® does things wildly differently. Instead of teaching you to carve up your diary into 15-minute chunks or forcing your tasks through a productivity sausage machine, Paul gets you to pause and conduct a proper audit. Where exactly is your time actually going?

It starts with a simple exercise: look back at your previous week and break down everything you did, no fluff, no wishful thinking. Paul uses a colour-coding system (green, amber, red, brown, blue), which helps you see at a glance what your time is actually spent on. For example, green is all about leadership, making those crucial, strategic decisions that actually move your business forward. Amber is your classic management mode, overseeing, guiding, and ensuring the cogs are turning as they should.

The real genius? You begin to notice how much of your week is swallowed up by things that aren’t really yours to do—tasks you’ve adopted out of habit, obligation, or because someone else dropped the ball. Instead of grinding through endless checklists, you finally get clarity on which activities genuinely belong on your plate, and which ones are masquerading as your responsibility.

This way, Diary Detox® doesn’t try to squeeze more into your schedule. Instead, it helps you create space for meaningful work, so you can lead better, manage smarter, and actually enjoy the process, no stopwatch required.

The Five Colours of Diary Detox®

Paul's Diary Detox® method revolves around five distinct colours: green, amber, red, brown, and blue. Each colour shines a spotlight on how you actually spend your time, and, perhaps more importantly, how you could be using it more effectively.

• Green represents true leadership activities. This is your strategic thinking time, the moments spent shaping the bigger picture, making fundamental decisions, and steering the ship. If you're plotting the future of your business or setting a new direction, you're in the green zone.

• Amber covers management tasks. These are more about oversight than vision: making sure the gears are turning and things are running smoothly. It's the checking in, the course-correcting, and the gentle nudges to keep everything on track. Not quite steering the ship, but ensuring it stays on course.

• Red, brown, and blue round out the spectrum and point to other key activities and potential pitfalls, each inviting deeper reflection into whether your efforts are truly aligned with your goals or if your time is slipping away in areas that don't serve your best intentions.

By categorising your week using these colours, you gain clarity on where your leadership shows up, where you're simply managing, and where you might be missing opportunities to lead or improve.

What's Paul working on at the moment?

• Book – “What are You Doing?”
• Diary Detox® Practitioner

How to get hold of Paul:

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulmichaelholbrook/
Website https://diarydetox.com

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