“’I am so busy.’
We say this to one another with no small degree of pride, as though exhaustion were a trophy…
To whiz through our obligations without time for a single, mindful breath,
this has become the model of a successful life.”
—Wayne Muller, Sabbatha
A resident looked up as I blasted past her and said, “Denise, you ought to wear roller‑skates you fly by so fast!”
It felt like a punch right to my gut.
I didn’t get into senior living to be a blur in the hallway. I got in to serve people like her!! Yet there I was too “busy” to stop. What happened to that young Denise that was going to change the world of senior living?
That night, reading through the leadership book Sabbath, I landed on Wayne Muller’s words above. They hit me like a freight train:
Exhaustion isn’t a trophy. It’s a trap.
I could tick every box on my to‑do list and still miss the point of my job…and my entire life!!
Thinking back on those days is why I’m so excited about the changes happening in our world today:
The new success metric is not busy, it’s purpose!
Author Brianna Wiest calls it out perfectly: “We no longer see stress as a status symbol.
Success is no longer just wealth and privilege, it’s purpose and meaning.” Translation for senior‑living leaders:
Your team doesn’t want another gift card or pizza party. They want to know the work matters and that they matter!!!!
When I ditched my own personally “busy badge” and stopped chasing the next crisis, I started aligning every day with what actually matters:
- Residents: Roller‑skates came off. Conversations went up.
- Staff: Coaching instead of firefighting. Turnover began to fall and fast.
- Me: Nights with my young twin boys felt like I was actually present.
Worry didn’t disappear (I’m still human), but it stopped running the show. So how can you make the same shift in outlook, in less than 1 minute a day?
Try deleting the word “busy” from your vocabulary this week.
When someone asks “How are you?” replace: “I’m so busy, I’m doing this and this and this…”
Instead, answer in a way that reflects what you want as an outcome, but still feels right to you.
With a huge smile, I usually answer the question of “How are you?” with, “I’m fabulous!” If you’re not fabulous, that’s ok. If you’re so busy that you honestly can’t think of another word simply say, “I’m prioritizing XYZ” or “I’m choosing to XYZ”.
Your OUTLOOK becomes your OUTCOMES. And language shapes outlook.
Shift your outlook, shift your result. And here’s why you must: We are approaching the largest labor deficit in history. Lose great people now, you may never replace them. Employee retention isn’t optional; it’s survival!
I built my online program, Fully Staffed, for leaders who can’t find one more hour in the day, but still need real results!
- 10‑minute video & implementation that takes less than that (watch over coffee or listen while driving to work in the morning and apply it at lunch!!)
- Built by a senior‑living operator with 17 years experience, not a board‑room theorist
- Hyper‑practical: reduces call‑outs, raises morale, and proven to lower employee turnover
Price: $27 / month or $297 / year
Risk‑free: 30‑day money‑back guarantee!! You literally have NOTHING to lose (besides stress and overwhelm)
Individual enrollment closes: Thursday, May 8 @ 11:00 p.m. ET
“Today I have ZERO open positions for licensed staff. Thank you Denise Boudreau and the Drive team.”
—Ellen C., Administrator
(PS Ellen just signed up for Fully Staffed again and I was SO happy to see her name in my inbox!)
If you’re spending 10 minutes doom‑scrolling, venting about staff, or juggling workforce issues, you’ve already paid for the time. Invest it where it grows!
Here’s to no more roller‑skates,
Denise
