Hi. My name is George, and I’m a fad-chaser.

There. I said it. It’s out in the open now. You might think the owner of a consulting firm would have his act together, someone who helps other leaders focus and execute with precision. And yet, here I am, confessing to you that I’ve started more “game-changing initiatives” than I can count, only to find myself three weeks later reorganizing my desk drawer or finally getting around to updating my LinkedIn profile photo.

Sound familiar? If you’ve ever downloaded a new productivity app with the enthusiasm of a kid on Christmas morning, only to abandon it by New Year’s, pull up a chair. We need to talk.

The Anatomy of a Fad-Chase

Here’s how it typically goes down for me. I’ll be at a meeting, usually Zoom, scrolling through LinkedIn, or catching up with a colleague, and someone mentions the thing. You know, the revolutionary new software that’s going to streamline everything. The marketing strategy that’s generating 10x ROI for everyone who tries it. The networking approach that builds relationships while you sleep (okay, that one sounded suspicious from the start, but I was intrigued).

My brain lights up like a pinball machine. This is it, I think. This is the missing piece.

I dive in headfirst. I watch the sales videos about how great it is. I set up the account. I tell my team about it with barely contained excitement. Their reactions should tell me something, but do I listen? I might even schedule a meeting to discuss implementation. For about 72 hours, I am the most motivated person on the planet.

And then… something happens.

The Great Escape into Busy Work

Here’s where my confession gets a little embarrassing. Instead of pushing through the inevitable learning curve or dealing with the discomfort of change, I suddenly discover a thousand other things that need my attention. Urgent things. Important things.

Things like:

• Reorganizing my desk (it was chaos in there, truly)
• Reviewing expense reports from two months ago
• Cleaning out emails that have been sitting in my inbox. There are 385 of them right now
• Perfecting the formatting on a document that only three people will see

You see the pattern, right? I trade high-impact, uncomfortable work for low-level tasks that feel productive but aren’t. It’s the business equivalent of eating celery and calling it dinner; you’re doing something, but nobody’s getting nourished.

Why Do We Do This to Ourselves?

If you’re nodding along, feeling personally attacked, take comfort: you’re not alone, and you’re not broken. This behavior is incredibly common among leaders, and there are real psychological reasons behind it.

The shiny new thing gives us a dopamine hit. Starting something new feels exciting. It’s full of possibilities. We haven’t failed at it yet! But the moment things get challenging, when the software doesn’t integrate smoothly, or the marketing strategy requires consistent effort over months, our brains start looking for an escape hatch.

Busy work feels safe. Cleaning out my inbox or organizing files doesn’t require vulnerability. It doesn’t push me outside your comfort zone. And at the end of the day, I can point to a tidy desk and say, “Look how productive I was!” even if nothing actually moved the needle on your business.

We confuse motion with progress. This is the big one. Running on a hamster wheel burns calories, but it doesn’t get you anywhere. Similarly, staying busy with low-level tasks creates the illusion of productivity without delivering results.

The Leadership Lesson Hiding in My Chaos

Here’s what I’ve learned from years of chasing fads and hiding in busy work: the problem isn’t the fads themselves. Some of those tools and strategies are genuinely valuable. The problem is my relationship with discomfort.

Real leadership growth, real business growth, happens in the space where things feel hard. It’s in the follow-through, not the kickoff. It’s in showing up on day 47 of a new initiative when the excitement has worn off, and you’re just grinding.

And that’s exactly where most of us bail.

So what can you learn from my (many, ongoing) mistakes? Let me offer some hard-won wisdom.

How to Break the Fad-Chasing Cycle

1. Implement a “Cooling Off” Period Before Committing

The next time you hear about something revolutionary, resist the urge to dive in immediately. Give yourself 48-72 hours to sit with the idea. Ask yourself: Does this solve a problem I actually have, or does it just sound exciting? You’ll be amazed how many “must-haves” become “meh, never mind” with a little distance.

2. Define Success Before You Start

Before adopting any new tool, strategy, or approach, write down what success looks like. Be specific. “This CRM will help me follow up with 20% more prospects within 48 hours” is measurable. “This will change everything” is not. Clear metrics create accountability, and they make it harder to justify abandoning ship when things get tough.

3. Schedule the Uncomfortable Work First

Here’s a trick I’m still learning: do the hard stuff before I talk yourself out of it. Block time on your calendar for the high-impact work that actually moves your business forward. Treat it like an appointment you can’t cancel. The busy work will always be there waiting; it’s not going anywhere.

4. Find an Accountability Partner (or Several)

Left to my own devices, I will absolutely convince myself that reorganizing my bookshelf is a strategic priority. Having someone to check in with, a colleague, a coach, a peer group, keeps me honest. It’s a lot harder to explain to another human being why you spent Tuesday afternoon color-coding folders instead of launching that campaign.

5. Embrace the Boring Middle

Every initiative has a boring middle. That’s the part between the exciting launch and the satisfying results, and it’s where most fad-chasers give up. Expect the boring middle. Plan for it. Remind yourself that discomfort is a sign you’re doing something that matters, not a signal to retreat.

6. Audit Your “Busy” Regularly

Once a week, look back at how you spent your time. Be brutally honest. How much of it was genuinely moving the needle? How much was disguised procrastination? This isn’t about beating yourself up, it’s about building awareness. You can’t fix what you don’t see.

When You Need More Than Self-Awareness

Look, I’ve made a lot of progress on this front. But I’ll be honest: some of my biggest breakthroughs have come from working with people who could see my patterns more clearly than I could. Coaches. Facilitators. People who asked the uncomfortable questions I was avoiding.

If you’re recognizing yourself in this post, if you’re tired of starting strong and fading out, of trading strategic work for busy work, of wondering why all your good intentions don’t translate into results, you might benefit from some outside perspective. At Raleigh Consulting Group, we work with leaders who are ready to stop spinning their wheels and start making real progress. Sometimes that means executive coaching. Sometimes it’s facilitation that helps you and your team focus on what actually matters. Sometimes it’s just having someone in your corner who won’t let you hide in your inbox.

The Ongoing Journey of a Recovering Fad-Chaser

I wish I could tell you I’ve conquered this completely. That I now approach every new opportunity with perfect discernment and iron-willed follow-through. But that would be a lie, and you’d see right through it anyway.

The truth is, this is a practice, not a destination. I still get excited about shiny new things. I still catch myself drifting toward busy work when the real work feels hard. The difference is that now I notice it. I call myself out. And more often than not, I redirect.

That’s progress. Imperfect, unglamorous progress.

And honestly? That’s the kind of progress that actually changes things.

So the next time you find yourself deep-cleaning your keyboard instead of making that sales call, or watching your fifteenth tutorial video instead of just doing the thing, give yourself a little grace. Then close the tutorial, step away from the keyboard cleaner, and get back to work.

You’ve got this. And if you don’t? Well, you know where to find me. I’ll be over here, resisting the urge to reorganize my filing system.